Gnus vs S-nail
Gnus: Mail and news reader built into GNU Emacs, with back ends for IMAP, POP3, local mail folders and NNTP.
S-nail: Command-line mail program that implements POSIX mailx, with MIME, IMAP, POP3, SMTP, Maildir and S/MIME support.
Differences
- Gnus is a mail client that runs inside Emacs; S-nail is a command-line program.
- On Windows, Gnus runs natively and S-nail runs through WSL.
- On Android, Gnus runs through Termux and S-nail is not available.
- Gnus has mouse support; S-nail does not.
- Gnus has calendar support; S-nail does not.
- Gnus has OpenPGP; S-nail does not.
- Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp; S-nail in C.
- Configuration: Gnus uses Emacs Lisp in init.el or ~/.gnus.el, and S-nail uses ~/.mailrc command file.
Side by side
| Gnus | S-nail | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Runs inside Emacs | Command-line tools and prompts |
| Language | Emacs Lisp | C |
| License | GPL 3.0 or later | ISC and BSD 2-Clause and BSD 3-Clause and BSD 4-Clause |
| Latest version | 5.13 (bundled with Emacs 31.1) | 14.9.25 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Native | Through WSL |
| BSD | Native | Native |
| Android | Through Termux | No |
| IMAP | Yes | Yes |
| 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 | Yes |
| OAuth2 sign-in | via plugin | via script |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | gnus-search: IMAP SEARCH, or notmuch, mu, mairix and other local indexers | built-in message specifications and the search command; IMAP SEARCH on IMAP folders |
| HTML mail | built-in, rendered with the Emacs shr library | built-in tag-soup filter or external viewer via mailcap |
| Mouse | Yes | No |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | via the Gnus agent or local Maildir back ends | IMAP cache with disconnected mode |
| Calendar | replies to invitations with gnus-icalendar | No |
| Contacts | via BBDB or EUDC | aliases via the alias command |
| Vim-style keys | No | No |
| Configuration | Emacs Lisp in init.el or ~/.gnus.el | ~/.mailrc command file |
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 S-nail for
- Drop-in POSIX mailx, so it works in existing shell scripts and cron jobs.
- Built-in SMTP, POP3 and IMAP with TLS; no separate sync or send tool needed.
- S/MIME signing and encryption are built in.
Watch out for
- Line-oriented prompt instead of a full-screen interface.
- No built-in OpenPGP; upstream documents a gpg pipe workaround only.
- IMAP support is kept at an older code level and upstream advises care.
Questions
What is the difference between Gnus and S-nail?
Gnus is a mail client that runs inside Emacs; S-nail is a command-line program. On Windows, Gnus runs natively and S-nail runs through WSL. On Android, Gnus runs through Termux and S-nail is not available.
Which runs on Windows, Gnus or S-nail?
On Windows, Gnus runs natively. On Windows, S-nail runs through WSL.
See also: Gnus alternatives, S-nail alternatives.