aerc vs Wanderlust
aerc: Terminal email client written in Go with IMAP, JMAP, Maildir and notmuch backends and an embedded terminal for editing.
Wanderlust: Mail and news reader for Emacs, written in Emacs Lisp, with built-in IMAP, POP3, NNTP and SMTP support.
Differences
- aerc is a full-screen terminal client; Wanderlust is a mail client that runs inside Emacs.
- Only aerc has built-in JMAP, mbox and notmuch.
- Only Wanderlust has built-in POP3.
- aerc has calendar support; Wanderlust does not.
- aerc has Vim-style keys; Wanderlust does not.
- aerc is written in Go; Wanderlust in Emacs Lisp.
- Configuration: aerc uses INI-style files: accounts.conf, aerc.conf, binds.conf, and Wanderlust uses Emacs Lisp in ~/.wl, folder list in ~/.folders.
Side by side
| aerc | Wanderlust | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Runs inside Emacs |
| Language | Go | Emacs Lisp |
| License | MIT | GPL 2.0 or later |
| Latest version | 0.22.0 | 2.15.9 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | Through WSL |
| 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 | No |
| notmuch | Yes | Through a separate tool |
| OpenPGP | Yes | Yes |
| S/MIME | No | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | Yes | via oauth2.el |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | built-in; server-side for IMAP and JMAP; notmuch queries | IMAP server-side search; local search via mu, notmuch, grep or namazu |
| HTML mail | via filters, w3m by default | via mime-w3m (emacs-w3m) |
| Mouse | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | with mbsync or OfflineIMAP through the Maildir backend; IMAP header cache | message cache and disconnected operation |
| Calendar | Yes | No |
| Contacts | via address-book-cmd, e.g. khard or the bundled carddav-query | built-in address book |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | No |
| Configuration | INI-style files: accounts.conf, aerc.conf, binds.conf | Emacs Lisp in ~/.wl, folder list in ~/.folders |
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 Wanderlust for
- Built-in IMAP, POP3 and SMTP; no external sync or send tool needed
- Offline cache with disconnected operation
- Packaged in Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, FreeBSD and MELPA
Watch out for
- No formal release in many years; only 2.15.9 snapshots
- Folder syntax and the APEL/FLIM/SEMI dependency stack take time to learn
- Debian and Ubuntu ship an older snapshot than MELPA and Arch
Questions
What is the difference between aerc and Wanderlust?
aerc is a full-screen terminal client; Wanderlust is a mail client that runs inside Emacs. Only aerc has built-in JMAP, mbox and notmuch. Only Wanderlust has built-in POP3.
Which runs on Windows, aerc or Wanderlust?
On Windows, aerc runs through WSL. On Windows, Wanderlust runs through WSL.
See also: aerc alternatives, Wanderlust alternatives.