mblaze vs mu4e
mblaze: Set of small Unix utilities for reading, searching, threading and composing mail stored in Maildir folders.
mu4e: Email client that runs inside GNU Emacs, built on the mu Maildir indexer and search tool.
Differences
- mblaze is a command-line program; mu4e is a mail client that runs inside Emacs.
- Only mu4e has built-in SMTP.
- On Android, mblaze is not available and mu4e runs through Termux.
- mu4e has mouse support; mblaze does not.
- mu4e has calendar support; mblaze does not.
- mu4e has S/MIME; mblaze does not.
- mu4e has OAuth2 sign-in; mblaze does not.
- mblaze is written in C; mu4e in Emacs Lisp (mu4e), C++ (mu).
- Configuration: mblaze uses ~/.mblaze/profile (header-style key: value lines), and mu4e uses Emacs Lisp in init.el.
Side by side
| mblaze | mu4e | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Command-line tools and prompts | Runs inside Emacs |
| Language | C | Emacs Lisp (mu4e), C++ (mu) |
| License | CC0 1.0 and MIT | GPL 3.0 or later |
| Latest version | 1.4 | 1.14.3 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | Through WSL |
| BSD | Native | Native |
| Android | No | Through Termux |
| IMAP | Through a separate tool | Through a separate tool |
| POP3 | Through a separate tool | Through a separate tool |
| SMTP | Through a separate tool | Yes |
| JMAP | No | No |
| Maildir | Yes | Yes |
| mbox | No | No |
| notmuch | No | No |
| OpenPGP | via contrib scripts | Yes |
| S/MIME | No | via Emacs MML |
| OAuth2 sign-in | No | via script |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | mpick and magrep filter messages by headers, flags and content | Xapian full-text index with mu query syntax |
| HTML mail | via a filter command in ~/.mblaze/filter used by mshow | built-in, rendered with the Emacs shr library |
| Mouse | No | Yes |
| Multiple accounts | via separate Maildirs and profile settings | via contexts |
| Offline use | full; works only on local Maildir | full; reads a local Maildir synced by mbsync or OfflineIMAP |
| Calendar | No | replies to invitations with mu4e-icalendar |
| Contacts | No | address completion from indexed mail |
| Vim-style keys | No | No |
| Configuration | ~/.mblaze/profile (header-style key: value lines) | Emacs Lisp in init.el |
Which to choose
Choose mblaze for
- Each command does one job, so mail handling is easy to combine in pipes and scripts.
- Works directly on Maildir with no index or database to maintain.
- Small C programs with no external library dependencies.
Watch out for
- No built-in IMAP, POP3 or SMTP; needs mbsync and msmtp or similar tools.
- Command-line only, with no full-screen interface.
- OpenPGP and S/MIME handling relies on unsupported contrib scripts.
Choose mu4e for
- Full-text search over all local mail through mu's Xapian index.
- Works offline, since all mail lives in a local Maildir.
- Uses Emacs message mode, so PGP/MIME, S/MIME and Org mode links are available.
Watch out for
- No built-in IMAP; needs mbsync or a similar sync tool, so setup spans several config files.
- Requires Emacs and some Emacs Lisp to configure.
- No native Windows build, and Arch packages it only in the AUR.
Questions
What is the difference between mblaze and mu4e?
mblaze is a command-line program; mu4e is a mail client that runs inside Emacs. Only mu4e has built-in SMTP. On Android, mblaze is not available and mu4e runs through Termux.
Which runs on Windows, mblaze or mu4e?
On Windows, mblaze runs through WSL. On Windows, mu4e runs through WSL.
See also: mblaze alternatives, mu4e alternatives.