aerc vs Sup
aerc: Terminal email client written in Go with IMAP, JMAP, Maildir and notmuch backends and an embedded terminal for editing.
Sup: Curses email client in Ruby built around threads, labels and fast full-text search over local mail.
Differences
- Only aerc has built-in IMAP, SMTP, JMAP and notmuch.
- On BSD, aerc runs natively and Sup builds from source.
- On Android, aerc runs through Termux and Sup is not available.
- aerc has mouse support; Sup does not.
- aerc has calendar support; Sup does not.
- aerc has OAuth2 sign-in; Sup does not.
- aerc is written in Go; Sup in Ruby.
- Configuration: aerc uses INI-style files: accounts.conf, aerc.conf, binds.conf, and Sup uses ~/.sup/config.yaml and ~/.sup/sources.yaml, plus Ruby hooks.
Side by side
| aerc | Sup | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Full-screen terminal interface |
| Language | Go | Ruby |
| License | MIT | GPL 2.0 or later |
| Latest version | 0.22.0 | 1.4 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | Through WSL |
| BSD | Native | Build from source |
| Android | Through Termux | No |
| IMAP | Yes | No |
| POP3 | No | No |
| SMTP | Yes | Through a separate tool |
| JMAP | Yes | No |
| Maildir | Yes | Yes |
| mbox | Yes | Yes |
| notmuch | Yes | No |
| 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 | Xapian full-text index with a query language |
| HTML mail | via filters, w3m by default | via the mime-decode hook and an external viewer such as w3m |
| Mouse | Yes | No |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | with mbsync or OfflineIMAP through the Maildir backend; IMAP header cache | reads local Maildir or mbox; sync with isync or OfflineIMAP |
| Calendar | Yes | No |
| Contacts | via address-book-cmd, e.g. khard or the bundled carddav-query | tracks recent contacts automatically |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | Yes |
| Configuration | INI-style files: accounts.conf, aerc.conf, binds.conf | ~/.sup/config.yaml and ~/.sup/sources.yaml, plus Ruby hooks |
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 Sup for
- Fast full-text search over large archives
- Gmail-style labels, archiving and muting of threads
- Ruby hooks for custom behavior
Watch out for
- No built-in IMAP or SMTP; needs isync (or similar) and msmtp
- Changes sync back to Maildir only with the optional sync-back setting
- Packaged by Debian and Ubuntu (and the AUR); elsewhere installed as a Ruby gem with native Xapian bindings
Questions
What is the difference between aerc and Sup?
Only aerc has built-in IMAP, SMTP, JMAP and notmuch. On BSD, aerc runs natively and Sup builds from source. On Android, aerc runs through Termux and Sup is not available.
Which runs on Windows, aerc or Sup?
On Windows, aerc runs through WSL. On Windows, Sup runs through WSL.
See also: aerc alternatives, Sup alternatives.