mu4e vs S-nail
mu4e: Email client that runs inside GNU Emacs, built on the mu Maildir indexer and search tool.
S-nail: Command-line mail program that implements POSIX mailx, with MIME, IMAP, POP3, SMTP, Maildir and S/MIME support.
Differences
- mu4e is a mail client that runs inside Emacs; S-nail is a command-line program.
- Only S-nail has built-in IMAP, POP3 and mbox.
- On Android, mu4e runs through Termux and S-nail is not available.
- mu4e has mouse support; S-nail does not.
- mu4e has calendar support; S-nail does not.
- mu4e has OpenPGP; S-nail does not.
- mu4e is written in Emacs Lisp (mu4e), C++ (mu); S-nail in C.
- Configuration: mu4e uses Emacs Lisp in init.el, and S-nail uses ~/.mailrc command file.
Side by side
| mu4e | S-nail | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Runs inside Emacs | Command-line tools and prompts |
| Language | Emacs Lisp (mu4e), C++ (mu) | C |
| License | GPL 3.0 or later | ISC and BSD 2-Clause and BSD 3-Clause and BSD 4-Clause |
| Latest version | 1.14.3 | 14.9.25 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | Through WSL |
| BSD | Native | Native |
| Android | Through Termux | No |
| IMAP | Through a separate tool | Yes |
| POP3 | Through a separate tool | Yes |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | No | No |
| Maildir | Yes | Yes |
| mbox | No | Yes |
| notmuch | No | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | No |
| S/MIME | via Emacs MML | Yes |
| OAuth2 sign-in | via script | via script |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | Xapian full-text index with mu query syntax | built-in message specifications and the search command; IMAP SEARCH on IMAP folders |
| HTML mail | built-in, rendered with the Emacs shr library | built-in tag-soup filter or external viewer via mailcap |
| Mouse | Yes | No |
| Multiple accounts | via contexts | Yes |
| Offline use | full; reads a local Maildir synced by mbsync or OfflineIMAP | IMAP cache with disconnected mode |
| Calendar | replies to invitations with mu4e-icalendar | No |
| Contacts | address completion from indexed mail | aliases via the alias command |
| Vim-style keys | No | No |
| Configuration | Emacs Lisp in init.el | ~/.mailrc command 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 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 mu4e and S-nail?
mu4e is a mail client that runs inside Emacs; S-nail is a command-line program. Only S-nail has built-in IMAP, POP3 and mbox. On Android, mu4e runs through Termux and S-nail is not available.
Which runs on Windows, mu4e or S-nail?
On Windows, mu4e runs through WSL. On Windows, S-nail runs through WSL.
See also: mu4e alternatives, S-nail alternatives.