Alpine vs nmh
Alpine: Menu-driven terminal email client descended from Pine, with built-in help, setup screens and native Windows builds.
nmh: The MH message handling system: separate shell commands to read, file, search and send mail stored one file per message.
Differences
- Alpine is a full-screen terminal client; nmh is a command-line program.
- Only Alpine has built-in IMAP.
- Only nmh has built-in Maildir.
- On Windows, Alpine runs natively and nmh runs through WSL.
- Alpine has mouse support; nmh does not.
- Alpine has OpenPGP; nmh does not.
- Alpine has S/MIME; nmh does not.
- Alpine has OAuth2 sign-in; nmh does not.
- Alpine has threaded views; nmh does not.
- Configuration: Alpine uses built-in setup screens, stored in .pinerc, and nmh uses ~/.mh_profile and mts.conf text files.
Side by side
| Alpine | nmh | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Command-line tools and prompts |
| Language | C | C |
| License | Apache 2.0 | BSD 3-Clause |
| Latest version | 2.26 | 1.8 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Native | Through WSL |
| BSD | Native | Native |
| Android | Through Termux | Through Termux |
| IMAP | Yes | Through a separate tool |
| POP3 | Yes | Yes |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | No | No |
| Maildir | No | Yes |
| mbox | Yes | Yes |
| notmuch | No | No |
| OpenPGP | via plugin | No |
| S/MIME | Yes | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | Yes | No |
| Threads | Yes | No |
| Search | built-in search and message selection; server-side for IMAP | pick command matches header fields and message text |
| HTML mail | built-in HTML-to-text rendering | via mhshow with an external converter such as w3m |
| Mouse | Yes | No |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | via per-command switches or separate profiles |
| Offline use | No | full; messages are stored as local files |
| Calendar | Yes | replies to invitations with mhical |
| Contacts | built-in address book; LDAP lookup | aliases via MailAliases and the ali command |
| Vim-style keys | No | No |
| Configuration | built-in setup screens, stored in .pinerc | ~/.mh_profile and mts.conf text files |
Which to choose
Choose Alpine for
- Command list on every screen and built-in help for each option
- Official native Windows builds alongside Unix packages
- Built-in XOAUTH2 for Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo, and built-in S/MIME
Watch out for
- PGP needs external display and sending filters
- No Maildir, notmuch or JMAP support
- Last stable release is 2.26; newer work is in alpha builds
Choose nmh for
- Every action is a shell command, so mail handling is easy to script.
- One file per message lets grep, find and other Unix tools work on mail.
- Built-in POP3 and SMTP with TLS and SASL; reads mbox and Maildir drops.
Watch out for
- No IMAP; IMAP mail must be synced to a Maildir first and then incorporated.
- No built-in OpenPGP or S/MIME, and no thread view.
- SMTP authentication needs nmh built with Cyrus SASL and its PLAIN or LOGIN plugin.
Questions
What is the difference between Alpine and nmh?
Alpine is a full-screen terminal client; nmh is a command-line program. Only Alpine has built-in IMAP. Only nmh has built-in Maildir.
Which runs on Windows, Alpine or nmh?
On Windows, Alpine runs natively. On Windows, nmh runs through WSL.
See also: Alpine alternatives, nmh alternatives.