NeoMutt

TUIEmail client

Full-screen terminal mail reader forked from Mutt, with notmuch, NNTP, Lua scripting and a sidebar built in.

NeoMutt is a text-mode email client that started as a collection of Mutt patches and is now a separate project. It reads and sends mail over IMAP, POP3 and SMTP, opens local Maildir, mbox and MH folders, and adds notmuch and NNTP (Usenet) support that Mutt does not have. It suits users who want the Mutt workflow and muttrc configuration with more features merged in and a faster release pace.

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: 20260616
Background: Fork of Mutt
Maintained: Yes
Website: neomutt.org
Source: github.com/neomutt/neomutt
Documentation: neomutt.org

Install

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

Protocols and features

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

Features
Feature	NeoMutt
OpenPGP	Yes
S/MIME	Yes
OAuth2 sign-in	via script
Threads	Yes
Search	built-in patterns; notmuch for full-text
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	neomuttrc text file

Pros and cons

Pros

Built-in notmuch support for tag-based virtual mailboxes and full-text search
Reads Usenet over NNTP and supports Lua scripting
Reads most existing muttrc files with few or no changes

Cons

Configuration is a text file with hundreds of options and no setup wizard
HTML mail needs an external viewer set up in mailcap
OAuth2 needs an external token script such as mutt_oauth2.py

Use NeoMutt 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.

~/.config/neomutt/neomuttrc

# Forward Email: IMAP over SSL/TLS (993), SMTP over SSL/TLS (465)
set real_name = "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 spool_file = "+INBOX"
set record = "+Sent Mail"
set postponed = "+Drafts"
set trash = "+Trash"

set smtp_url = "smtps://smtp.forwardemail.net:465"
set smtp_user = "you@example.com"
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.

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Questions

Does NeoMutt 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 NeoMutt support IMAP?

Yes, NeoMutt connects to IMAP servers directly.

Is NeoMutt open source?

Yes, under the GPL 2.0 or later.

How do I use NeoMutt with Forward Email?

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

Sources

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