meli vs S-nail
meli: Terminal email client written in Rust with IMAP, JMAP, notmuch, Maildir, mbox and NNTP backends and TOML configuration.
S-nail: Command-line mail program that implements POSIX mailx, with MIME, IMAP, POP3, SMTP, Maildir and S/MIME support.
Differences
- meli is a full-screen terminal client; S-nail is a command-line program.
- Only meli has built-in JMAP and notmuch.
- Only S-nail has built-in POP3.
- On Windows, meli is not available and S-nail runs through WSL.
- meli has mouse support; S-nail does not.
- meli has OpenPGP; S-nail does not.
- S-nail has S/MIME; meli does not.
- meli has Vim-style keys; S-nail does not.
- meli is written in Rust; S-nail in C.
- Configuration: meli uses TOML file (config.toml), and S-nail uses ~/.mailrc command file.
Side by side
| meli | S-nail | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Command-line tools and prompts |
| Language | Rust | C |
| License | EUPL 1.2 or GPL 3.0 or later | ISC and BSD 2-Clause and BSD 3-Clause and BSD 4-Clause |
| Latest version | 0.8.13 | 14.9.25 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | No | Through WSL |
| BSD | Native | Native |
| Android | No | No |
| IMAP | Yes | Yes |
| POP3 | No | Yes |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | Yes | No |
| Maildir | Yes | Yes |
| mbox | Yes | Yes |
| notmuch | Yes | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | No |
| S/MIME | No | Yes |
| OAuth2 sign-in | via script | via script |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | built-in; sqlite3 index by default; notmuch queries | built-in message specifications and the search command; IMAP SEARCH on IMAP folders |
| HTML mail | via filter command, w3m by default | built-in tag-soup filter or external viewer via mailcap |
| Mouse | Yes | No |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | IMAP header cache in sqlite3; full offline use with Maildir and mbsync | IMAP cache with disconnected mode |
| Calendar | No | No |
| Contacts | built-in contact list; reads vCard and mutt alias files | aliases via the alias command |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | No |
| Configuration | TOML file (config.toml) | ~/.mailrc command 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 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 meli and S-nail?
meli is a full-screen terminal client; S-nail is a command-line program. Only meli has built-in JMAP and notmuch. Only S-nail has built-in POP3.
Which runs on Windows, meli or S-nail?
On Windows, meli is not available. On Windows, S-nail runs through WSL.
See also: meli alternatives, S-nail alternatives.