# Gnus vs Matcha

- Gnus: Mail and news reader built into GNU Emacs, with back ends for IMAP, POP3, local mail folders and NNTP.
- Matcha: Terminal email client written in Go with the Bubble Tea TUI library, with IMAP, JMAP and POP3 support.

## Differences

- Gnus is a mail client that runs inside Emacs; Matcha is a full-screen terminal client.
- Only Gnus has built-in mbox.
- Only Matcha has built-in JMAP.
- On BSD, Gnus runs natively and Matcha builds from source.
- On Android, Gnus runs through Termux and Matcha is not available.
- Matcha has Vim-style keys; Gnus does not.
- Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp; Matcha in Go.
- Configuration: Gnus uses Emacs Lisp in init.el or ~/.gnus.el, and Matcha uses ~/.config/matcha/config.json plus in-app settings.

## Side by side

| | Gnus | Matcha |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Interface | Runs inside Emacs | Full-screen terminal interface |
| Language | Emacs Lisp | Go |
| License | GPL 3.0 or later | MIT |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Native | Native |
| BSD | Native | Build from source |
| Android | Through Termux | Not supported |
| IMAP | Yes | Yes |
| POP3 | Yes | Yes |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | No | Yes |
| Maildir | Yes | Yes |
| mbox | Yes | No |
| notmuch | Through a separate tool | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | Yes |
| S/MIME | Yes | Yes |
| OAuth2 sign-in | via plugin | Yes |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | gnus-search: IMAP SEARCH, or notmuch, mu, mairix and other local indexers | built-in search and filter |
| HTML mail | built-in, rendered with the Emacs shr library | built-in rendering, with inline images in supported terminals |
| Mouse | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | via the Gnus agent or local Maildir back ends | local cache of message lists and bodies |
| Calendar | replies to invitations with gnus-icalendar | shows .ics invites and sends RSVP replies |
| Contacts | via BBDB or EUDC | address book built from sent and received mail |
| Vim-style keys | No | Yes |
| Configuration | Emacs Lisp in init.el or ~/.gnus.el | ~/.config/matcha/config.json plus in-app settings |

Pages: [Gnus](https://terminalemail.com/clients/gnus/index.md), [Matcha](https://terminalemail.com/clients/matcha/index.md)