aerc vs Forward Email
aerc: Terminal email client written in Go with IMAP, JMAP, Maildir and notmuch backends and an embedded terminal for editing.
Forward Email: Forward Email's webmail in the terminal: mail, calendar, contacts and settings, with mouse support and a key hint bar.
Differences
- Forward Email connects to Forward Email accounts through its API; aerc works with any provider over IMAP, including Forward Email.
- On Windows, aerc runs through WSL and Forward Email runs natively.
- aerc has OAuth2 sign-in; Forward Email does not.
- aerc has Vim-style keys; Forward Email does not.
- aerc is written in Go; Forward Email in TypeScript.
- Configuration: aerc uses INI-style files: accounts.conf, aerc.conf, binds.conf, and Forward Email uses settings screens, keyboard shortcut editor and an optional user.css.
- Forward Email is source-available (Business Source License 1.1); aerc is open source (MIT).
Side by side
| aerc | Forward Email | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Full-screen terminal interface |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| License | MIT | Business Source License 1.1 |
| Latest version | 0.22.0 | 0.14.16 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | Native |
| BSD | Native | Native |
| Android | Through Termux | Through Termux |
| IMAP | Yes | Forward Email API |
| POP3 | No | Forward Email API |
| SMTP | Yes | Forward Email API |
| JMAP | Yes | Forward Email API |
| Maildir | Yes | Forward Email API |
| mbox | Yes | Forward Email API |
| notmuch | Yes | Forward Email API |
| OpenPGP | Yes | Yes |
| S/MIME | No | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | Yes | No |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | built-in; server-side for IMAP and JMAP; notmuch queries | built-in, across messages, contacts and events |
| HTML mail | via filters, w3m by default | shown as formatted text with links; plain text by default |
| Mouse | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | with mbsync or OfflineIMAP through the Maildir backend; IMAP header cache | drafts and changes made offline are sent when the connection returns |
| Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Contacts | via address-book-cmd, e.g. khard or the bundled carddav-query | Yes |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | No |
| Configuration | INI-style files: accounts.conf, aerc.conf, binds.conf | settings screens, keyboard shortcut editor and an optional user.css |
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 Forward Email for
- Calendar, contacts and tasks in the same terminal app as mail
- Mouse clicks, scrolling and text selection work, and the bottom row always shows the keys for the current screen
- One self-updating executable with no setup files to write
Watch out for
- Only works with Forward Email accounts
- Images and video are not drawn; HTML mail is shown as text with links
- Passkey sign-in needs a browser or the desktop app
Questions
What is the difference between aerc and Forward Email?
Forward Email connects to Forward Email accounts through its API; aerc works with any provider over IMAP, including Forward Email. On Windows, aerc runs through WSL and Forward Email runs natively. aerc has OAuth2 sign-in; Forward Email does not.
Which runs on Windows, aerc or Forward Email?
On Windows, aerc runs through WSL. On Windows, Forward Email runs natively.
See also: aerc alternatives, Forward Email alternatives.