# nmail vs S-nail

- nmail: Terminal email client for Linux and macOS with an Alpine-like interface and built-in IMAP and SMTP.
- S-nail: Command-line mail program that implements POSIX mailx, with MIME, IMAP, POP3, SMTP, Maildir and S/MIME support.

## Differences

- nmail is a full-screen terminal client; S-nail is a command-line program.
- Only S-nail has built-in POP3, Maildir and mbox.
- On Windows, nmail is not available and S-nail runs through WSL.
- On BSD, nmail is not available and S-nail runs natively.
- S-nail has S/MIME; nmail does not.
- S-nail has multiple accounts; nmail does not.
- S-nail has threaded views; nmail does not.
- nmail is written in C++; S-nail in C.
- Configuration: nmail uses ~/.config/nmail/main.conf key=value file, and S-nail uses ~/.mailrc command file.

## Side by side

| | nmail | S-nail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Command-line tools and prompts |
| Language | C++ | C |
| License | MIT | ISC and BSD 2-Clause and BSD 3-Clause and BSD 4-Clause |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Not supported | Through WSL |
| BSD | Not supported | Native |
| Android | Not supported | Not supported |
| IMAP | Yes | Yes |
| POP3 | No | Yes |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | No | No |
| Maildir | No | Yes |
| mbox | No | Yes |
| notmuch | No | No |
| OpenPGP | No | No |
| S/MIME | No | Yes |
| OAuth2 sign-in | Yes | via script |
| Threads | No | Yes |
| Search | local cache index and server search | built-in message specifications and the search command; IMAP SEARCH on IMAP folders |
| HTML mail | converted to text, or opened in an external browser | built-in tag-soup filter or external viewer via mailcap |
| Mouse | No | No |
| Multiple accounts | No | Yes |
| Offline use | local SQLite cache; offline mode and send queue | IMAP cache with disconnected mode |
| Calendar | No | No |
| Contacts | address book built from messages | aliases via the alias command |
| Vim-style keys | No | No |
| Configuration | ~/.config/nmail/main.conf key=value file | ~/.mailrc command file |

Pages: [nmail](https://terminalemail.com/clients/nmail/index.md), [S-nail](https://terminalemail.com/clients/s-nail/index.md)