mu4e vs Wanderlust
mu4e: Email client that runs inside GNU Emacs, built on the mu Maildir indexer and search tool.
Wanderlust: Mail and news reader for Emacs, written in Emacs Lisp, with built-in IMAP, POP3, NNTP and SMTP support.
Differences
- Only Wanderlust has built-in IMAP and POP3.
- mu4e has calendar support; Wanderlust does not.
- mu4e has S/MIME; Wanderlust does not.
- mu4e is written in Emacs Lisp (mu4e), C++ (mu); Wanderlust in Emacs Lisp.
- Configuration: mu4e uses Emacs Lisp in init.el, and Wanderlust uses Emacs Lisp in ~/.wl, folder list in ~/.folders.
Side by side
| mu4e | Wanderlust | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Runs inside Emacs | Runs inside Emacs |
| Language | Emacs Lisp (mu4e), C++ (mu) | Emacs Lisp |
| License | GPL 3.0 or later | GPL 2.0 or later |
| Latest version | 1.14.3 | 2.15.9 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | Through WSL |
| BSD | Native | Native |
| Android | Through Termux | Through Termux |
| IMAP | Through a separate tool | Yes |
| POP3 | Through a separate tool | Yes |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | No | No |
| Maildir | Yes | Yes |
| mbox | No | No |
| notmuch | No | Through a separate tool |
| OpenPGP | Yes | Yes |
| S/MIME | via Emacs MML | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | via script | via oauth2.el |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | Xapian full-text index with mu query syntax | IMAP server-side search; local search via mu, notmuch, grep or namazu |
| HTML mail | built-in, rendered with the Emacs shr library | via mime-w3m (emacs-w3m) |
| Mouse | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple accounts | via contexts | Yes |
| Offline use | full; reads a local Maildir synced by mbsync or OfflineIMAP | message cache and disconnected operation |
| Calendar | replies to invitations with mu4e-icalendar | No |
| Contacts | address completion from indexed mail | built-in address book |
| Vim-style keys | No | No |
| Configuration | Emacs Lisp in init.el | Emacs Lisp in ~/.wl, folder list in ~/.folders |
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 Wanderlust for
- Built-in IMAP, POP3 and SMTP; no external sync or send tool needed
- Offline cache with disconnected operation
- Packaged in Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, FreeBSD and MELPA
Watch out for
- No formal release in many years; only 2.15.9 snapshots
- Folder syntax and the APEL/FLIM/SEMI dependency stack take time to learn
- Debian and Ubuntu ship an older snapshot than MELPA and Arch
Questions
What is the difference between mu4e and Wanderlust?
Only Wanderlust has built-in IMAP and POP3. mu4e has calendar support; Wanderlust does not. mu4e has S/MIME; Wanderlust does not.
Which runs on Windows, mu4e or Wanderlust?
On Windows, mu4e runs through WSL. On Windows, Wanderlust runs through WSL.
See also: mu4e alternatives, Wanderlust alternatives.