aerc vs Alpine
aerc: Terminal email client written in Go with IMAP, JMAP, Maildir and notmuch backends and an embedded terminal for editing.
Alpine: Menu-driven terminal email client descended from Pine, with built-in help, setup screens and native Windows builds.
Differences
- Only aerc has built-in JMAP, Maildir and notmuch.
- Only Alpine has built-in POP3.
- On Windows, aerc runs through WSL and Alpine runs natively.
- Alpine has S/MIME; aerc does not.
- aerc has Vim-style keys; Alpine does not.
- aerc is written in Go; Alpine in C.
- Configuration: aerc uses INI-style files: accounts.conf, aerc.conf, binds.conf, and Alpine uses built-in setup screens, stored in .pinerc.
Side by side
| aerc | Alpine | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Full-screen terminal interface |
| Language | Go | C |
| License | MIT | Apache 2.0 |
| Latest version | 0.22.0 | 2.26 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | Native |
| BSD | Native | Native |
| Android | Through Termux | Through Termux |
| IMAP | Yes | Yes |
| POP3 | No | Yes |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | Yes | No |
| Maildir | Yes | No |
| mbox | Yes | Yes |
| notmuch | Yes | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | via plugin |
| S/MIME | No | Yes |
| OAuth2 sign-in | Yes | Yes |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | built-in; server-side for IMAP and JMAP; notmuch queries | built-in search and message selection; server-side for IMAP |
| HTML mail | via filters, w3m by default | built-in HTML-to-text rendering |
| Mouse | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | with mbsync or OfflineIMAP through the Maildir backend; IMAP header cache | No |
| Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Contacts | via address-book-cmd, e.g. khard or the bundled carddav-query | built-in address book; LDAP lookup |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | No |
| Configuration | INI-style files: accounts.conf, aerc.conf, binds.conf | built-in setup screens, stored in .pinerc |
Which to choose
Choose aerc for
- Embedded terminal runs the editor and other commands inside aerc
- Built-in commands for applying and reviewing git patch series
- Supports JMAP and notmuch as well as IMAP and Maildir
Watch out for
- No POP3 or S/MIME support
- mbox files open read-only
- No native Windows build
Choose Alpine for
- Command list on every screen and built-in help for each option
- Official native Windows builds alongside Unix packages
- Built-in XOAUTH2 for Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo, and built-in S/MIME
Watch out for
- PGP needs external display and sending filters
- No Maildir, notmuch or JMAP support
- Last stable release is 2.26; newer work is in alpha builds
Questions
What is the difference between aerc and Alpine?
Only aerc has built-in JMAP, Maildir and notmuch. Only Alpine has built-in POP3. On Windows, aerc runs through WSL and Alpine runs natively.
Which runs on Windows, aerc or Alpine?
On Windows, aerc runs through WSL. On Windows, Alpine runs natively.
See also: aerc alternatives, Alpine alternatives.