Mutt

TUIEmail client

Long-running text-mode email client with IMAP, POP3 and SMTP support, configured through a muttrc file.

Mutt is a full-screen terminal mail user agent that reads local Maildir, mbox and MH folders and remote IMAP and POP3 mailboxes, and can send through its built-in SMTP client or a local sendmail. It supports PGP/MIME, S/MIME, Autocrypt, threading and a sidebar. It suits users who want a stable, conservative client; it has no notmuch, NNTP or Lua support, which NeoMutt adds.

Type: Email client
Interface: Full-screen terminal interface
Systems: Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux.
Language: C
License: GPL 2.0 or later
Latest version: 2.4.2
Maintained: Yes
Website: mutt.org
Source: gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt
Documentation: mutt.org

Install

System	Support	Install
Linux	Native	apt`sudo apt install mutt` dnf`sudo dnf install mutt` pacman`sudo pacman -S mutt`
macOS	Native	Homebrew`brew install mutt`
Windows	Through WSL	WSL`sudo apt install mutt` MSYS2`pacman -S mutt` No native Windows build; runs in WSL, and Cygwin and MSYS2 also package it.
BSD	Native	FreeBSD pkg`pkg install mutt` OpenBSD`pkg_add mutt`
Android	Through Termux	Termux`pkg install mutt`

Protocols and features

Protocols
Protocol	Mutt
IMAP	Yes
POP3	Yes
SMTP	Yes
JMAP	No
Maildir	Yes
mbox	Yes
notmuch	No

Features
Feature	Mutt
OpenPGP	Yes
S/MIME	Yes
OAuth2 sign-in	via script
Threads	Yes
Search	built-in patterns; server-side IMAP search
HTML mail	via mailcap and an external viewer such as w3m or lynx
Mouse	No
Multiple accounts	Yes
Offline use	with isync or OfflineIMAP; IMAP header and body cache
Calendar	No
Contacts	via query_command with abook or khard
Vim-style keys	Yes
Configuration	muttrc text file

Pros and cons

Pros

Packaged by major Linux distributions, Homebrew, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and Termux
Conservative releases that rarely break existing muttrc files
Built-in PGP/MIME, S/MIME and Autocrypt

Cons

No notmuch, NNTP or scripting support (NeoMutt has these)
Configuration is a text file with hundreds of options and no setup wizard
HTML mail needs an external viewer set up in mailcap

Use Mutt with Forward Email

A working setup for a Forward Email mailbox. Replace you@example.com with your alias and the password command with your own. The same settings work with any provider once the server names change.

~/.muttrc

# Forward Email: IMAP over SSL/TLS (993), SMTP over SSL/TLS (465)
set realname = "Your Name"
set from = "you@example.com"

set imap_user = "you@example.com"
set imap_pass = "`pass show email/forwardemail`"
set folder = "imaps://imap.forwardemail.net:993/"
set spoolfile = "+INBOX"
set record = "+Sent Mail"
set postponed = "+Drafts"
set trash = "+Trash"

# The @ in the username is URL-encoded as %40
set smtp_url = "smtps://you%40example.com@smtp.forwardemail.net:465/"
set smtp_pass = "`pass show email/forwardemail`"
set ssl_force_tls = yes

Protocol	Server	Port	Security
IMAP	`imap.forwardemail.net`	993	SSL/TLS
POP3	`pop3.forwardemail.net`	995	SSL/TLS
SMTP	`smtp.forwardemail.net`	465	SSL/TLS
SMTP	`smtp.forwardemail.net`	587	STARTTLS

Username: your full alias address, such as you@example.com. Password: the one shown by Generate Password next to the alias in your Forward Email account. Folders: INBOX, Drafts, Sent Mail, Trash, Spam and Archive.

Prefer no config at all? Forward Email's terminal app signs in with your account and has mail, calendar and contacts in one program.

Compare Mutt

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Questions

Does Mutt work on Windows?

Not natively. It runs in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). No native Windows build; runs in WSL, and Cygwin and MSYS2 also package it.

Does Mutt support IMAP?

Yes, Mutt connects to IMAP servers directly.

Is Mutt open source?

Yes, under the GPL 2.0 or later.

How do I use Mutt with Forward Email?

Use the config in the Forward Email section on this page, saved as ~/.muttrc, and replace the address and password with your own.

Sources

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