alot vs Himalaya
alot: Terminal mail reader written in Python that works on a local notmuch database, with tag-based search and threads.
Himalaya: Command-line email client written in Rust that lists, reads, sends and moves mail through shell commands with JSON output.
Differences
- alot is a full-screen terminal client; Himalaya is a command-line program.
- Only alot has built-in notmuch.
- Only Himalaya has built-in IMAP, SMTP and JMAP.
- On Windows, alot runs through WSL and Himalaya runs natively.
- On BSD, alot runs natively and Himalaya builds from source.
- alot has mouse support; Himalaya does not.
- alot has OpenPGP; Himalaya does not.
- Himalaya has OAuth2 sign-in; alot does not.
- alot has Vim-style keys; Himalaya does not.
- alot is written in Python; Himalaya in Rust.
- Configuration: alot uses INI-style config file plus optional Python hooks, and Himalaya uses TOML file; interactive setup wizard.
Side by side
| alot | Himalaya | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Command-line tools and prompts |
| Language | Python | Rust |
| License | GPL 3.0 or later | MIT or Apache 2.0 |
| Latest version | 0.12 | 2.1.0 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | Native |
| BSD | Native | Build from source |
| Android | No | No |
| IMAP | Through a separate tool | Yes |
| POP3 | Through a separate tool | No |
| SMTP | Through a separate tool | Yes |
| JMAP | No | Yes |
| Maildir | Yes | Yes |
| mbox | No | No |
| notmuch | Yes | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | No |
| S/MIME | No | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | No | via script |
| Threads | Yes | through the IMAP, JMAP and Gmail subcommands |
| Search | notmuch queries | built-in query syntax across backends; server-side for IMAP and JMAP |
| HTML mail | via mailcap, e.g. w3m -dump | No |
| Mouse | Yes | No |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | always; reads a local notmuch database | with the Maildir backend and a sync tool such as mbsync |
| Calendar | No | No |
| Contacts | via an external lookup command such as abook, khard or notmuch address | No |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | No |
| Configuration | INI-style config file plus optional Python hooks | TOML file; interactive setup wizard |
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 Himalaya for
- Every action is a shell command with optional JSON output, suited to scripts
- Native Windows binary through Scoop and GitHub releases
- Also supports JMAP, the Gmail API and Microsoft Graph
Watch out for
- No interactive interface; himalaya-tui is still pre-release
- Composing rich MIME or PGP messages needs the separate mml tool
- Version 2 dropped the notmuch and sendmail backends
Questions
What is the difference between alot and Himalaya?
alot is a full-screen terminal client; Himalaya is a command-line program. Only alot has built-in notmuch. Only Himalaya has built-in IMAP, SMTP and JMAP.
Which runs on Windows, alot or Himalaya?
On Windows, alot runs through WSL. On Windows, Himalaya runs natively.
See also: alot alternatives, Himalaya alternatives.