aerc vs Gnus
aerc: Terminal email client written in Go with IMAP, JMAP, Maildir and notmuch backends and an embedded terminal for editing.
Gnus: Mail and news reader built into GNU Emacs, with back ends for IMAP, POP3, local mail folders and NNTP.
Differences
- aerc is a full-screen terminal client; Gnus is a mail client that runs inside Emacs.
- Only aerc has built-in JMAP and notmuch.
- Only Gnus has built-in POP3.
- On Windows, aerc runs through WSL and Gnus runs natively.
- Gnus has S/MIME; aerc does not.
- aerc has Vim-style keys; Gnus does not.
- aerc is written in Go; Gnus in Emacs Lisp.
- Configuration: aerc uses INI-style files: accounts.conf, aerc.conf, binds.conf, and Gnus uses Emacs Lisp in init.el or ~/.gnus.el.
Side by side
| aerc | Gnus | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Runs inside Emacs |
| Language | Go | Emacs Lisp |
| License | MIT | GPL 3.0 or later |
| Latest version | 0.22.0 | 5.13 (bundled with Emacs 31.1) |
| 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 | Yes |
| mbox | Yes | Yes |
| notmuch | Yes | Through a separate tool |
| OpenPGP | Yes | Yes |
| S/MIME | No | Yes |
| OAuth2 sign-in | Yes | via plugin |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | built-in; server-side for IMAP and JMAP; notmuch queries | gnus-search: IMAP SEARCH, or notmuch, mu, mairix and other local indexers |
| HTML mail | via filters, w3m by default | built-in, rendered with the Emacs shr library |
| Mouse | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | with mbsync or OfflineIMAP through the Maildir backend; IMAP header cache | via the Gnus agent or local Maildir back ends |
| Calendar | Yes | replies to invitations with gnus-icalendar |
| Contacts | via address-book-cmd, e.g. khard or the bundled carddav-query | via BBDB or EUDC |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | No |
| Configuration | INI-style files: accounts.conf, aerc.conf, binds.conf | Emacs Lisp in init.el or ~/.gnus.el |
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 Gnus for
- Included with every GNU Emacs install, including native Windows builds.
- Reads IMAP directly, plus local Maildir, MH and mbox stores and NNTP newsgroups.
- Scoring, splitting and the Gnus agent allow detailed filtering and offline reading.
Watch out for
- The group, summary and article model takes time to learn.
- IMAP access runs inside Emacs, so large mailboxes can make Emacs wait.
- Configuration is Emacs Lisp spread across many variables.
Questions
What is the difference between aerc and Gnus?
aerc is a full-screen terminal client; Gnus is a mail client that runs inside Emacs. Only aerc has built-in JMAP and notmuch. Only Gnus has built-in POP3.
Which runs on Windows, aerc or Gnus?
On Windows, aerc runs through WSL. On Windows, Gnus runs natively.
See also: aerc alternatives, Gnus alternatives.