# Forward Email vs Matcha

- Forward Email: Forward Email's webmail in the terminal: mail, calendar, contacts and settings, with mouse support and a key hint bar.
- Matcha: Terminal email client written in Go with the Bubble Tea TUI library, with IMAP, JMAP and POP3 support.

## Differences

- Forward Email connects to Forward Email accounts through its API; Matcha works with any provider over IMAP, including Forward Email.
- On BSD, Forward Email runs natively and Matcha builds from source.
- On Android, Forward Email runs through Termux and Matcha is not available.
- Matcha has S/MIME; Forward Email does not.
- Matcha has OAuth2 sign-in; Forward Email does not.
- Matcha has Vim-style keys; Forward Email does not.
- Forward Email is written in TypeScript; Matcha in Go.
- Configuration: Forward Email uses settings screens, keyboard shortcut editor and an optional user.css, and Matcha uses ~/.config/matcha/config.json plus in-app settings.
- Forward Email is source-available (Business Source License 1.1); Matcha is open source (MIT).

## Side by side

| | Forward Email | Matcha |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Full-screen terminal interface |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| License | Business Source License 1.1 | MIT |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Native | Native |
| BSD | Native | Build from source |
| Android | Through Termux | Not supported |
| IMAP | Forward Email API | Yes |
| POP3 | Forward Email API | Yes |
| SMTP | Forward Email API | Yes |
| JMAP | Forward Email API | Yes |
| Maildir | Forward Email API | Yes |
| mbox | Forward Email API | No |
| notmuch | Forward Email API | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | Yes |
| S/MIME | No | Yes |
| OAuth2 sign-in | No | Yes |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | built-in, across messages, contacts and events | built-in search and filter |
| HTML mail | shown as formatted text with links; plain text by default | built-in rendering, with inline images in supported terminals |
| Mouse | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | drafts and changes made offline are sent when the connection returns | local cache of message lists and bodies |
| Calendar | Yes | shows .ics invites and sends RSVP replies |
| Contacts | Yes | address book built from sent and received mail |
| Vim-style keys | No | Yes |
| Configuration | settings screens, keyboard shortcut editor and an optional user.css | ~/.config/matcha/config.json plus in-app settings |

Pages: [Forward Email](https://terminalemail.com/clients/forward-email/index.md), [Matcha](https://terminalemail.com/clients/matcha/index.md)