Matcha vs nmail
Matcha: Terminal email client written in Go with the Bubble Tea TUI library, with IMAP, JMAP and POP3 support.
nmail: Terminal email client for Linux and macOS with an Alpine-like interface and built-in IMAP and SMTP.
Differences
- Only Matcha has built-in POP3, JMAP and Maildir.
- On Windows, Matcha runs natively and nmail is not available.
- On BSD, Matcha builds from source and nmail is not available.
- Matcha has mouse support; nmail does not.
- Matcha has calendar support; nmail does not.
- Matcha has OpenPGP; nmail does not.
- Matcha has S/MIME; nmail does not.
- Matcha has Vim-style keys; nmail does not.
- Matcha has multiple accounts; nmail does not.
- Matcha has threaded views; nmail does not.
- Matcha is written in Go; nmail in C++.
- Configuration: Matcha uses ~/.config/matcha/config.json plus in-app settings, and nmail uses ~/.config/nmail/main.conf key=value file.
Side by side
| Matcha | nmail | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Full-screen terminal interface |
| Language | Go | C++ |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Latest version | v1.0.1 | v5.16.4 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Native | No |
| BSD | Build from source | No |
| Android | No | No |
| IMAP | Yes | Yes |
| POP3 | Yes | No |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | Yes | No |
| Maildir | Yes | No |
| mbox | No | No |
| notmuch | No | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | No |
| S/MIME | Yes | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | Yes | Yes |
| Threads | Yes | No |
| Search | built-in search and filter | local cache index and server search |
| HTML mail | built-in rendering, with inline images in supported terminals | converted to text, or opened in an external browser |
| Mouse | Yes | No |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | No |
| Offline use | local cache of message lists and bodies | local SQLite cache; offline mode and send queue |
| Calendar | shows .ics invites and sends RSVP replies | No |
| Contacts | address book built from sent and received mail | address book built from messages |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | No |
| Configuration | ~/.config/matcha/config.json plus in-app settings | ~/.config/nmail/main.conf key=value file |
Which to choose
Choose Matcha for
- Supports IMAP, JMAP, POP3 and Maildir in one client
- PGP (including YubiKey) and S/MIME signing and encryption
- Prebuilt packages for Linux (Snap, Flatpak), macOS (Homebrew tap) and Windows (winget)
Watch out for
- Young project; v1.0 shipped only after a long series of 0.x releases
- JSON config is less readable to hand-edit than muttrc-style files
- Binary name clashes with an unrelated tool also called matcha
Choose nmail for
- Built-in IMAP and SMTP with setup wizards for Gmail, iCloud and Outlook
- Local cache, address book and outgoing queue can be encrypted
- Compose HTML mail using Markdown
Watch out for
- One account per running instance
- No threaded view and no PGP or S/MIME
- Linux and macOS only; no Debian or Fedora package
Questions
What is the difference between Matcha and nmail?
Only Matcha has built-in POP3, JMAP and Maildir. On Windows, Matcha runs natively and nmail is not available. On BSD, Matcha builds from source and nmail is not available.
Which runs on Windows, Matcha or nmail?
On Windows, Matcha runs natively. On Windows, nmail is not available.
See also: Matcha alternatives, nmail alternatives.