Forward Email vs Gnus
Forward Email: Forward Email's webmail in the terminal: mail, calendar, contacts and settings, with mouse support and a key hint bar.
Gnus: Mail and news reader built into GNU Emacs, with back ends for IMAP, POP3, local mail folders and NNTP.
Differences
- Forward Email is a full-screen terminal client; Gnus is a mail client that runs inside Emacs.
- Forward Email connects to Forward Email accounts through its API; Gnus works with any provider over IMAP, including Forward Email.
- Gnus has S/MIME; Forward Email does not.
- Gnus has OAuth2 sign-in; Forward Email does not.
- Forward Email is written in TypeScript; Gnus in Emacs Lisp.
- Configuration: Forward Email uses settings screens, keyboard shortcut editor and an optional user.css, and Gnus uses Emacs Lisp in init.el or ~/.gnus.el.
- Forward Email is source-available (Business Source License 1.1); Gnus is open source (GPL 3.0 or later).
Side by side
| Forward Email | Gnus | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Runs inside Emacs |
| Language | TypeScript | Emacs Lisp |
| License | Business Source License 1.1 | GPL 3.0 or later |
| Latest version | 0.14.16 | 5.13 (bundled with Emacs 31.1) |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Native | Native |
| BSD | Native | Native |
| Android | Through Termux | Through Termux |
| IMAP | Forward Email API | Yes |
| POP3 | Forward Email API | Yes |
| SMTP | Forward Email API | Yes |
| JMAP | Forward Email API | No |
| Maildir | Forward Email API | Yes |
| mbox | Forward Email API | Yes |
| notmuch | Forward Email API | Through a separate tool |
| OpenPGP | Yes | Yes |
| S/MIME | No | Yes |
| OAuth2 sign-in | No | via plugin |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | built-in, across messages, contacts and events | gnus-search: IMAP SEARCH, or notmuch, mu, mairix and other local indexers |
| HTML mail | shown as formatted text with links; plain text by default | built-in, rendered with the Emacs shr library |
| Mouse | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | drafts and changes made offline are sent when the connection returns | via the Gnus agent or local Maildir back ends |
| Calendar | Yes | replies to invitations with gnus-icalendar |
| Contacts | Yes | via BBDB or EUDC |
| Vim-style keys | No | No |
| Configuration | settings screens, keyboard shortcut editor and an optional user.css | Emacs Lisp in init.el or ~/.gnus.el |
Which to choose
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
Choose Gnus for
- Included with every GNU Emacs install, including native Windows builds.
- Reads IMAP directly, plus local Maildir, MH and mbox stores and NNTP newsgroups.
- Scoring, splitting and the Gnus agent allow detailed filtering and offline reading.
Watch out for
- The group, summary and article model takes time to learn.
- IMAP access runs inside Emacs, so large mailboxes can make Emacs wait.
- Configuration is Emacs Lisp spread across many variables.
Questions
What is the difference between Forward Email and Gnus?
Forward Email is a full-screen terminal client; Gnus is a mail client that runs inside Emacs. Forward Email connects to Forward Email accounts through its API; Gnus works with any provider over IMAP, including Forward Email. Gnus has S/MIME; Forward Email does not.
Which runs on Windows, Forward Email or Gnus?
On Windows, Forward Email runs natively. On Windows, Gnus runs natively.
See also: Forward Email alternatives, Gnus alternatives.