Alpine vs Notmuch Emacs interface
Alpine: Menu-driven terminal email client descended from Pine, with built-in help, setup screens and native Windows builds.
Notmuch Emacs interface: Emacs front end for notmuch that reads, searches, tags and composes mail from a local Maildir.
Differences
- Alpine is a full-screen terminal client; Notmuch Emacs interface is a mail client that runs inside Emacs.
- Only Alpine has built-in IMAP, POP3 and mbox.
- Only Notmuch Emacs interface has built-in Maildir and notmuch.
- On Windows, Alpine runs natively and Notmuch Emacs interface runs through WSL.
- Alpine is written in C; Notmuch Emacs interface in Emacs Lisp.
- Configuration: Alpine uses built-in setup screens, stored in .pinerc, and Notmuch Emacs interface uses Emacs Lisp in init.el plus the notmuch config file.
Side by side
| Alpine | Notmuch Emacs interface | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Runs inside Emacs |
| Language | C | Emacs Lisp |
| License | Apache 2.0 | GPL 3.0 or later |
| Latest version | 2.26 | 0.40 |
| 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 | Through a separate tool |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | No | No |
| Maildir | No | Yes |
| mbox | Yes | No |
| notmuch | No | Yes |
| OpenPGP | via plugin | Yes |
| S/MIME | Yes | Yes |
| OAuth2 sign-in | Yes | via script |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | built-in search and message selection; server-side for IMAP | notmuch Xapian full-text search with tags |
| HTML mail | built-in HTML-to-text rendering | built-in, rendered with the Emacs shr library |
| Mouse | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | No | full; reads a local Maildir synced by mbsync or OfflineIMAP |
| Calendar | Yes | shows text/calendar parts; no invitation replies |
| Contacts | built-in address book; LDAP lookup | address completion from the notmuch index |
| Vim-style keys | No | No |
| Configuration | built-in setup screens, stored in .pinerc | Emacs Lisp in init.el plus the notmuch config file |
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 Notmuch Emacs interface for
- Tag-based organization with fast full-text search over all local mail.
- Shows a whole thread in a single buffer.
- Handles PGP/MIME and S/MIME signatures and decryption through notmuch.
Watch out for
- No built-in IMAP; needs mbsync or a similar sync tool.
- Custom tags stay in the local index; only standard flags such as unread and replied reach the IMAP server.
- Requires Emacs and some Emacs Lisp to configure.
Questions
What is the difference between Alpine and Notmuch Emacs interface?
Alpine is a full-screen terminal client; Notmuch Emacs interface is a mail client that runs inside Emacs. Only Alpine has built-in IMAP, POP3 and mbox. Only Notmuch Emacs interface has built-in Maildir and notmuch.
Which runs on Windows, Alpine or Notmuch Emacs interface?
On Windows, Alpine runs natively. On Windows, Notmuch Emacs interface runs through WSL.
See also: Alpine alternatives, Notmuch Emacs interface alternatives.