Matcha vs Wanderlust
Matcha: Terminal email client written in Go with the Bubble Tea TUI library, with IMAP, JMAP and POP3 support.
Wanderlust: Mail and news reader for Emacs, written in Emacs Lisp, with built-in IMAP, POP3, NNTP and SMTP support.
Differences
- Matcha is a full-screen terminal client; Wanderlust is a mail client that runs inside Emacs.
- Only Matcha has built-in JMAP.
- On Windows, Matcha runs natively and Wanderlust runs through WSL.
- On BSD, Matcha builds from source and Wanderlust runs natively.
- On Android, Matcha is not available and Wanderlust runs through Termux.
- Matcha has calendar support; Wanderlust does not.
- Matcha has S/MIME; Wanderlust does not.
- Matcha has Vim-style keys; Wanderlust does not.
- Matcha is written in Go; Wanderlust in Emacs Lisp.
- Configuration: Matcha uses ~/.config/matcha/config.json plus in-app settings, and Wanderlust uses Emacs Lisp in ~/.wl, folder list in ~/.folders.
Side by side
| Matcha | Wanderlust | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Runs inside Emacs |
| Language | Go | Emacs Lisp |
| License | MIT | GPL 2.0 or later |
| Latest version | v1.0.1 | 2.15.9 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Native | Through WSL |
| BSD | Build from source | Native |
| Android | No | Through Termux |
| IMAP | Yes | Yes |
| POP3 | Yes | Yes |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | Yes | No |
| Maildir | Yes | Yes |
| mbox | No | No |
| notmuch | No | Through a separate tool |
| OpenPGP | Yes | Yes |
| S/MIME | Yes | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | Yes | via oauth2.el |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | built-in search and filter | IMAP server-side search; local search via mu, notmuch, grep or namazu |
| HTML mail | built-in rendering, with inline images in supported terminals | via mime-w3m (emacs-w3m) |
| Mouse | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | local cache of message lists and bodies | message cache and disconnected operation |
| Calendar | shows .ics invites and sends RSVP replies | No |
| Contacts | address book built from sent and received mail | built-in address book |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | No |
| Configuration | ~/.config/matcha/config.json plus in-app settings | Emacs Lisp in ~/.wl, folder list in ~/.folders |
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 Wanderlust for
- Built-in IMAP, POP3 and SMTP; no external sync or send tool needed
- Offline cache with disconnected operation
- Packaged in Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, FreeBSD and MELPA
Watch out for
- No formal release in many years; only 2.15.9 snapshots
- Folder syntax and the APEL/FLIM/SEMI dependency stack take time to learn
- Debian and Ubuntu ship an older snapshot than MELPA and Arch
Questions
What is the difference between Matcha and Wanderlust?
Matcha is a full-screen terminal client; Wanderlust is a mail client that runs inside Emacs. Only Matcha has built-in JMAP. On Windows, Matcha runs natively and Wanderlust runs through WSL.
Which runs on Windows, Matcha or Wanderlust?
On Windows, Matcha runs natively. On Windows, Wanderlust runs through WSL.
See also: Matcha alternatives, Wanderlust alternatives.