Wanderlust

EmacsEmail client

Mail and news reader for Emacs, written in Emacs Lisp, with built-in IMAP, POP3, NNTP and SMTP support.

Wanderlust is an Emacs mail client that talks to IMAP, POP3 and NNTP servers directly and also reads local Maildir and MH folders. Folders are named with a compact prefix syntax (for example %inbox for IMAP), and it can cache messages for disconnected use. Development continues on GitHub as unreleased 2.15.9 snapshots, distributed through MELPA and distribution packages. It suits Emacs users who want a client that needs no separate sync or SMTP tool.

Type: Email client
Interface: Runs inside Emacs
Systems: Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux.
Language: Emacs Lisp
License: GPL 2.0 or later
Latest version: 2.15.9
Maintained: Yes
Website: github.com
Source: github.com/wanderlust/wanderlust
Documentation: wanderlust.github.io

Install

System	Support	Install
Linux	Native	apt`sudo apt install wl` pacman`sudo pacman -S wanderlust` MELPA`M-x package-install RET wanderlust RET`
macOS	Native	MELPA`M-x package-install RET wanderlust RET`
Windows	Through WSL	WSL`sudo apt install wl` Native Windows Emacs is not documented upstream; use WSL.
BSD	Native	FreeBSD pkg`pkg install wanderlust`
Android	Through Termux	Termux`pkg install emacs, then M-x package-install RET wanderlust RET`

Protocols and features

Protocols
Protocol	Wanderlust
IMAP	Yes
POP3	Yes
SMTP	Yes
JMAP	No
Maildir	Yes
mbox	No
notmuch	Through a separate tool

Features
Feature	Wanderlust
OpenPGP	Yes
S/MIME	No
OAuth2 sign-in	via oauth2.el
Threads	Yes
Search	IMAP server-side search; local search via mu, notmuch, grep or namazu
HTML mail	via mime-w3m (emacs-w3m)
Mouse	Yes
Multiple accounts	Yes
Offline use	message cache and disconnected operation
Calendar	No
Contacts	built-in address book
Vim-style keys	No
Configuration	Emacs Lisp in ~/.wl, folder list in ~/.folders

Pros and cons

Pros

Built-in IMAP, POP3 and SMTP; no external sync or send tool needed
Offline cache with disconnected operation
Packaged in Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, FreeBSD and MELPA

Cons

No formal release in many years; only 2.15.9 snapshots
Folder syntax and the APEL/FLIM/SEMI dependency stack take time to learn
Debian and Ubuntu ship an older snapshot than MELPA and Arch

Use Wanderlust 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.

~/.wl

;; ~/.wl
(setq elmo-imap4-default-server "imap.forwardemail.net"
      elmo-imap4-default-port 993
      elmo-imap4-default-stream-type 'ssl
      elmo-imap4-default-user "you@example.com"
      elmo-imap4-default-authenticate-type 'clear
      wl-default-folder "%inbox"
      wl-fcc "%\"Sent Mail\""
      wl-from "Your Name <you@example.com>"
      wl-local-domain "example.com"
      wl-smtp-posting-server "smtp.forwardemail.net"
      wl-smtp-posting-port 465
      wl-smtp-connection-type 'ssl
      wl-smtp-posting-user "you@example.com"
      wl-smtp-authenticate-type "plain")
;; Wanderlust prompts for the alias' generated password on first connect.

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 Wanderlust work on Windows?

Not natively. It runs in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Native Windows Emacs is not documented upstream; use WSL.

Does Wanderlust support IMAP?

Yes, Wanderlust connects to IMAP servers directly.

Is Wanderlust open source?

Yes, under the GPL 2.0 or later.

How do I use Wanderlust with Forward Email?

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

Sources

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