Gnus vs nmh
Gnus: Mail and news reader built into GNU Emacs, with back ends for IMAP, POP3, local mail folders and NNTP.
nmh: The MH message handling system: separate shell commands to read, file, search and send mail stored one file per message.
Differences
- Gnus is a mail client that runs inside Emacs; nmh is a command-line program.
- Only Gnus has built-in IMAP.
- On Windows, Gnus runs natively and nmh runs through WSL.
- Gnus has mouse support; nmh does not.
- Gnus has OpenPGP; nmh does not.
- Gnus has S/MIME; nmh does not.
- Gnus has OAuth2 sign-in; nmh does not.
- Gnus has threaded views; nmh does not.
- Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp; nmh in C.
- Configuration: Gnus uses Emacs Lisp in init.el or ~/.gnus.el, and nmh uses ~/.mh_profile and mts.conf text files.
Side by side
| Gnus | nmh | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Runs inside Emacs | Command-line tools and prompts |
| Language | Emacs Lisp | C |
| License | GPL 3.0 or later | BSD 3-Clause |
| Latest version | 5.13 (bundled with Emacs 31.1) | 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 | Yes | Yes |
| mbox | Yes | Yes |
| notmuch | Through a separate tool | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | No |
| S/MIME | Yes | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | via plugin | No |
| Threads | Yes | No |
| Search | gnus-search: IMAP SEARCH, or notmuch, mu, mairix and other local indexers | pick command matches header fields and message text |
| HTML mail | built-in, rendered with the Emacs shr library | via mhshow with an external converter such as w3m |
| Mouse | Yes | No |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | via per-command switches or separate profiles |
| Offline use | via the Gnus agent or local Maildir back ends | full; messages are stored as local files |
| Calendar | replies to invitations with gnus-icalendar | replies to invitations with mhical |
| Contacts | via BBDB or EUDC | aliases via MailAliases and the ali command |
| Vim-style keys | No | No |
| Configuration | Emacs Lisp in init.el or ~/.gnus.el | ~/.mh_profile and mts.conf text files |
Which to choose
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.
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 Gnus and nmh?
Gnus is a mail client that runs inside Emacs; nmh is a command-line program. Only Gnus has built-in IMAP. On Windows, Gnus runs natively and nmh runs through WSL.
Which runs on Windows, Gnus or nmh?
On Windows, Gnus runs natively. On Windows, nmh runs through WSL.
See also: Gnus alternatives, nmh alternatives.