meli vs nmail
meli: Terminal email client written in Rust with IMAP, JMAP, notmuch, Maildir, mbox and NNTP backends and TOML configuration.
nmail: Terminal email client for Linux and macOS with an Alpine-like interface and built-in IMAP and SMTP.
Differences
- Only meli has built-in JMAP, Maildir, mbox and notmuch.
- On BSD, meli runs natively and nmail is not available.
- meli has mouse support; nmail does not.
- meli has OpenPGP; nmail does not.
- meli has Vim-style keys; nmail does not.
- meli has multiple accounts; nmail does not.
- meli has threaded views; nmail does not.
- meli is written in Rust; nmail in C++.
- Configuration: meli uses TOML file (config.toml), and nmail uses ~/.config/nmail/main.conf key=value file.
Side by side
| meli | nmail | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Full-screen terminal interface |
| Language | Rust | C++ |
| License | EUPL 1.2 or GPL 3.0 or later | MIT |
| Latest version | 0.8.13 | v5.16.4 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | No | No |
| BSD | Native | No |
| Android | No | No |
| IMAP | Yes | Yes |
| POP3 | No | No |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | Yes | No |
| Maildir | Yes | No |
| mbox | Yes | No |
| notmuch | Yes | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | No |
| S/MIME | No | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | via script | Yes |
| Threads | Yes | No |
| Search | built-in; sqlite3 index by default; notmuch queries | local cache index and server search |
| HTML mail | via filter command, w3m by default | converted to text, or opened in an external browser |
| Mouse | Yes | No |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | No |
| Offline use | IMAP header cache in sqlite3; full offline use with Maildir and mbsync | local SQLite cache; offline mode and send queue |
| Calendar | No | No |
| Contacts | built-in contact list; reads vCard and mutt alias files | address book built from messages |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | No |
| Configuration | TOML file (config.toml) | ~/.config/nmail/main.conf key=value file |
Which to choose
Choose meli for
- Supports JMAP, notmuch, IMAP, Maildir and NNTP in one client
- Single TOML file with per-account and per-mailbox overrides
- Embedded terminal runs the editor inside the compose view
Watch out for
- No POP3 or S/MIME support
- mbox support is read-only
- No Windows or Termux packages
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 meli and nmail?
Only meli has built-in JMAP, Maildir, mbox and notmuch. On BSD, meli runs natively and nmail is not available. meli has mouse support; nmail does not.
Which runs on Windows, meli or nmail?
On Windows, meli is not available. On Windows, nmail is not available.
See also: meli alternatives, nmail alternatives.