Mutt vs Sup
Mutt: Long-running text-mode email client with IMAP, POP3 and SMTP support, configured through a muttrc file.
Sup: Curses email client in Ruby built around threads, labels and fast full-text search over local mail.
Differences
- Only Mutt has built-in IMAP, POP3 and SMTP.
- On BSD, Mutt runs natively and Sup builds from source.
- On Android, Mutt runs through Termux and Sup is not available.
- Mutt has S/MIME; Sup does not.
- Mutt has OAuth2 sign-in; Sup does not.
- Mutt is written in C; Sup in Ruby.
- Configuration: Mutt uses muttrc text file, and Sup uses ~/.sup/config.yaml and ~/.sup/sources.yaml, plus Ruby hooks.
Side by side
| Mutt | Sup | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Full-screen terminal interface |
| Language | C | Ruby |
| License | GPL 2.0 or later | GPL 2.0 or later |
| Latest version | 2.4.2 | 1.4 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | Through WSL |
| BSD | Native | Build from source |
| Android | Through Termux | No |
| IMAP | Yes | No |
| POP3 | Yes | No |
| SMTP | Yes | Through a separate tool |
| JMAP | No | No |
| Maildir | Yes | Yes |
| mbox | Yes | Yes |
| notmuch | No | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | Yes |
| S/MIME | Yes | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | via script | No |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | built-in patterns; server-side IMAP search | Xapian full-text index with a query language |
| HTML mail | via mailcap and an external viewer such as w3m or lynx | via the mime-decode hook and an external viewer such as w3m |
| Mouse | No | No |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | with isync or OfflineIMAP; IMAP header and body cache | reads local Maildir or mbox; sync with isync or OfflineIMAP |
| Calendar | No | No |
| Contacts | via query_command with abook or khard | tracks recent contacts automatically |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | Yes |
| Configuration | muttrc text file | ~/.sup/config.yaml and ~/.sup/sources.yaml, plus Ruby hooks |
Which to choose
Choose Mutt for
- Packaged by major Linux distributions, Homebrew, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and Termux
- Conservative releases that rarely break existing muttrc files
- Built-in PGP/MIME, S/MIME and Autocrypt
Watch out for
- No notmuch, NNTP or scripting support (NeoMutt has these)
- Configuration is a text file with hundreds of options and no setup wizard
- HTML mail needs an external viewer set up in mailcap
Choose Sup for
- Fast full-text search over large archives
- Gmail-style labels, archiving and muting of threads
- Ruby hooks for custom behavior
Watch out for
- No built-in IMAP or SMTP; needs isync (or similar) and msmtp
- Changes sync back to Maildir only with the optional sync-back setting
- Packaged by Debian and Ubuntu (and the AUR); elsewhere installed as a Ruby gem with native Xapian bindings
Questions
What is the difference between Mutt and Sup?
Only Mutt has built-in IMAP, POP3 and SMTP. On BSD, Mutt runs natively and Sup builds from source. On Android, Mutt runs through Termux and Sup is not available.
Which runs on Windows, Mutt or Sup?
On Windows, Mutt runs through WSL. On Windows, Sup runs through WSL.
See also: Mutt alternatives, Sup alternatives.