alot vs Forward Email
alot: Terminal mail reader written in Python that works on a local notmuch database, with tag-based search and threads.
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; alot works with any provider, including Forward Email.
- On Windows, alot runs through WSL and Forward Email runs natively.
- On Android, alot is not available and Forward Email runs through Termux.
- Forward Email has calendar support; alot does not.
- alot has Vim-style keys; Forward Email does not.
- alot is written in Python; Forward Email in TypeScript.
- Configuration: alot uses INI-style config file plus optional Python hooks, and Forward Email uses settings screens, keyboard shortcut editor and an optional user.css.
- Forward Email is source-available (Business Source License 1.1); alot is open source (GPL 3.0 or later).
Side by side
| alot | Forward Email | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Full-screen terminal interface |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| License | GPL 3.0 or later | Business Source License 1.1 |
| Latest version | 0.12 | 0.14.16 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | Native |
| BSD | Native | Native |
| Android | No | Through Termux |
| IMAP | Through a separate tool | Forward Email API |
| POP3 | Through a separate tool | Forward Email API |
| SMTP | Through a separate tool | Forward Email API |
| JMAP | No | Forward Email API |
| Maildir | Yes | Forward Email API |
| mbox | No | Forward Email API |
| notmuch | Yes | Forward Email API |
| OpenPGP | Yes | Yes |
| S/MIME | No | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | No | No |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | notmuch queries | built-in, across messages, contacts and events |
| HTML mail | via mailcap, e.g. w3m -dump | shown as formatted text with links; plain text by default |
| Mouse | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | always; reads a local notmuch database | drafts and changes made offline are sent when the connection returns |
| Calendar | No | Yes |
| Contacts | via an external lookup command such as abook, khard or notmuch address | Yes |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | No |
| Configuration | INI-style config file plus optional Python hooks | settings screens, keyboard shortcut editor and an optional user.css |
Which to choose
Choose alot for
- Tag-based searches through notmuch instead of folders
- Full PGP/MIME signing and encryption
- Python hooks for custom behavior and formatting
Watch out for
- Needs separate tools to fetch mail (mbsync) and send it (msmtp)
- No direct IMAP, POP3 or SMTP support
- No S/MIME support
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 alot and Forward Email?
Forward Email connects to Forward Email accounts through its API; alot works with any provider, including Forward Email. On Windows, alot runs through WSL and Forward Email runs natively. On Android, alot is not available and Forward Email runs through Termux.
Which runs on Windows, alot or Forward Email?
On Windows, alot runs through WSL. On Windows, Forward Email runs natively.
See also: alot alternatives, Forward Email alternatives.