NeoMutt vs nmail
NeoMutt: Full-screen terminal mail reader forked from Mutt, with notmuch, NNTP, Lua scripting and a sidebar built in.
nmail: Terminal email client for Linux and macOS with an Alpine-like interface and built-in IMAP and SMTP.
Differences
- Only NeoMutt has built-in POP3, Maildir, mbox and notmuch.
- On Windows, NeoMutt runs through WSL and nmail is not available.
- On BSD, NeoMutt runs natively and nmail is not available.
- On Android, NeoMutt runs through Termux and nmail is not available.
- NeoMutt has OpenPGP; nmail does not.
- NeoMutt has S/MIME; nmail does not.
- NeoMutt has Vim-style keys; nmail does not.
- NeoMutt has multiple accounts; nmail does not.
- NeoMutt has threaded views; nmail does not.
- NeoMutt is written in C; nmail in C++.
- Configuration: NeoMutt uses neomuttrc text file, and nmail uses ~/.config/nmail/main.conf key=value file.
Side by side
| NeoMutt | nmail | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Full-screen terminal interface |
| Language | C | C++ |
| License | GPL 2.0 or later | MIT |
| Latest version | 20260616 | v5.16.4 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | No |
| BSD | Native | No |
| Android | Through Termux | No |
| IMAP | Yes | Yes |
| POP3 | Yes | No |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | No | No |
| Maildir | Yes | No |
| mbox | Yes | No |
| notmuch | Yes | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | No |
| S/MIME | Yes | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | via script | Yes |
| Threads | Yes | No |
| Search | built-in patterns; notmuch for full-text | local cache index and server search |
| HTML mail | via mailcap and an external viewer such as w3m or lynx | converted to text, or opened in an external browser |
| Mouse | No | No |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | No |
| Offline use | with isync or OfflineIMAP; IMAP header and body cache | local SQLite cache; offline mode and send queue |
| Calendar | No | No |
| Contacts | via query_command with abook or khard | address book built from messages |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | No |
| Configuration | neomuttrc text file | ~/.config/nmail/main.conf key=value file |
Which to choose
Choose NeoMutt for
- Built-in notmuch support for tag-based virtual mailboxes and full-text search
- Reads Usenet over NNTP and supports Lua scripting
- Reads most existing muttrc files with few or no changes
Watch out for
- Configuration is a text file with hundreds of options and no setup wizard
- HTML mail needs an external viewer set up in mailcap
- OAuth2 needs an external token script such as mutt_oauth2.py
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 NeoMutt and nmail?
Only NeoMutt has built-in POP3, Maildir, mbox and notmuch. On Windows, NeoMutt runs through WSL and nmail is not available. On BSD, NeoMutt runs natively and nmail is not available.
Which runs on Windows, NeoMutt or nmail?
On Windows, NeoMutt runs through WSL. On Windows, nmail is not available.
See also: NeoMutt alternatives, nmail alternatives.