Matcha vs S-nail
Matcha: Terminal email client written in Go with the Bubble Tea TUI library, with IMAP, JMAP and POP3 support.
S-nail: Command-line mail program that implements POSIX mailx, with MIME, IMAP, POP3, SMTP, Maildir and S/MIME support.
Differences
- Matcha is a full-screen terminal client; S-nail is a command-line program.
- Only Matcha has built-in JMAP.
- Only S-nail has built-in mbox.
- On Windows, Matcha runs natively and S-nail runs through WSL.
- On BSD, Matcha builds from source and S-nail runs natively.
- Matcha has mouse support; S-nail does not.
- Matcha has calendar support; S-nail does not.
- Matcha has OpenPGP; S-nail does not.
- Matcha has Vim-style keys; S-nail does not.
- Matcha is written in Go; S-nail in C.
- Configuration: Matcha uses ~/.config/matcha/config.json plus in-app settings, and S-nail uses ~/.mailrc command file.
Side by side
| Matcha | S-nail | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Command-line tools and prompts |
| Language | Go | C |
| License | MIT | ISC and BSD 2-Clause and BSD 3-Clause and BSD 4-Clause |
| Latest version | v1.0.1 | 14.9.25 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Native | Through WSL |
| BSD | Build from source | Native |
| Android | No | No |
| IMAP | Yes | Yes |
| POP3 | Yes | Yes |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | Yes | No |
| Maildir | Yes | Yes |
| mbox | No | Yes |
| notmuch | No | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | No |
| S/MIME | Yes | Yes |
| OAuth2 sign-in | Yes | via script |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | built-in search and filter | built-in message specifications and the search command; IMAP SEARCH on IMAP folders |
| HTML mail | built-in rendering, with inline images in supported terminals | built-in tag-soup filter or external viewer via mailcap |
| Mouse | Yes | No |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | local cache of message lists and bodies | IMAP cache with disconnected mode |
| Calendar | shows .ics invites and sends RSVP replies | No |
| Contacts | address book built from sent and received mail | aliases via the alias command |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | No |
| Configuration | ~/.config/matcha/config.json plus in-app settings | ~/.mailrc command 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 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 Matcha and S-nail?
Matcha is a full-screen terminal client; S-nail is a command-line program. Only Matcha has built-in JMAP. Only S-nail has built-in mbox.
Which runs on Windows, Matcha or S-nail?
On Windows, Matcha runs natively. On Windows, S-nail runs through WSL.
See also: Matcha alternatives, S-nail alternatives.