mu4e vs nmail
mu4e: Email client that runs inside GNU Emacs, built on the mu Maildir indexer and search tool.
nmail: Terminal email client for Linux and macOS with an Alpine-like interface and built-in IMAP and SMTP.
Differences
- mu4e is a mail client that runs inside Emacs; nmail is a full-screen terminal client.
- Only mu4e has built-in Maildir.
- Only nmail has built-in IMAP.
- On Windows, mu4e runs through WSL and nmail is not available.
- On BSD, mu4e runs natively and nmail is not available.
- On Android, mu4e runs through Termux and nmail is not available.
- mu4e has mouse support; nmail does not.
- mu4e has calendar support; nmail does not.
- mu4e has OpenPGP; nmail does not.
- mu4e has S/MIME; nmail does not.
- mu4e has multiple accounts; nmail does not.
- mu4e has threaded views; nmail does not.
- mu4e is written in Emacs Lisp (mu4e), C++ (mu); nmail in C++.
- Configuration: mu4e uses Emacs Lisp in init.el, and nmail uses ~/.config/nmail/main.conf key=value file.
Side by side
| mu4e | nmail | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Runs inside Emacs | Full-screen terminal interface |
| Language | Emacs Lisp (mu4e), C++ (mu) | C++ |
| License | GPL 3.0 or later | MIT |
| Latest version | 1.14.3 | v5.16.4 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | No |
| BSD | Native | No |
| Android | Through Termux | No |
| IMAP | Through a separate tool | Yes |
| POP3 | Through a separate tool | No |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | No | No |
| Maildir | Yes | No |
| mbox | No | No |
| notmuch | No | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | No |
| S/MIME | via Emacs MML | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | via script | Yes |
| Threads | Yes | No |
| Search | Xapian full-text index with mu query syntax | local cache index and server search |
| HTML mail | built-in, rendered with the Emacs shr library | converted to text, or opened in an external browser |
| Mouse | Yes | No |
| Multiple accounts | via contexts | No |
| Offline use | full; reads a local Maildir synced by mbsync or OfflineIMAP | local SQLite cache; offline mode and send queue |
| Calendar | replies to invitations with mu4e-icalendar | No |
| Contacts | address completion from indexed mail | address book built from messages |
| Vim-style keys | No | No |
| Configuration | Emacs Lisp in init.el | ~/.config/nmail/main.conf key=value file |
Which to choose
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.
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 mu4e and nmail?
mu4e is a mail client that runs inside Emacs; nmail is a full-screen terminal client. Only mu4e has built-in Maildir. Only nmail has built-in IMAP.
Which runs on Windows, mu4e or nmail?
On Windows, mu4e runs through WSL. On Windows, nmail is not available.
See also: mu4e alternatives, nmail alternatives.