# aerc vs nmail

- aerc: Terminal email client written in Go with IMAP, JMAP, Maildir and notmuch backends and an embedded terminal for editing.
- nmail: Terminal email client for Linux and macOS with an Alpine-like interface and built-in IMAP and SMTP.

## Differences

- Only aerc has built-in JMAP, Maildir, mbox and notmuch.
- On Windows, aerc runs through WSL and nmail is not available.
- On BSD, aerc runs natively and nmail is not available.
- On Android, aerc runs through Termux and nmail is not available.
- aerc has mouse support; nmail does not.
- aerc has calendar support; nmail does not.
- aerc has OpenPGP; nmail does not.
- aerc has Vim-style keys; nmail does not.
- aerc has multiple accounts; nmail does not.
- aerc has threaded views; nmail does not.
- aerc is written in Go; nmail in C++.
- Configuration: aerc uses INI-style files: accounts.conf, aerc.conf, binds.conf, and nmail uses ~/.config/nmail/main.conf key=value file.

## Side by side

| | aerc | nmail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Full-screen terminal interface |
| Language | Go | C++ |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | Not supported |
| BSD | Native | Not supported |
| Android | Through Termux | Not supported |
| IMAP | Yes | Yes |
| POP3 | No | No |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | Yes | No |
| Maildir | Yes | No |
| mbox | Yes | No |
| notmuch | Yes | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | No |
| S/MIME | No | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | Yes | Yes |
| Threads | Yes | No |
| Search | built-in; server-side for IMAP and JMAP; notmuch queries | local cache index and server search |
| HTML mail | via filters, w3m by default | converted to text, or opened in an external browser |
| Mouse | Yes | No |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | No |
| Offline use | with mbsync or OfflineIMAP through the Maildir backend; IMAP header cache | local SQLite cache; offline mode and send queue |
| Calendar | Yes | No |
| Contacts | via address-book-cmd, e.g. khard or the bundled carddav-query | address book built from messages |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | No |
| Configuration | INI-style files: accounts.conf, aerc.conf, binds.conf | ~/.config/nmail/main.conf key=value file |

Pages: [aerc](https://terminalemail.com/clients/aerc/index.md), [nmail](https://terminalemail.com/clients/nmail/index.md)