nmail vs Sup
nmail: Terminal email client for Linux and macOS with an Alpine-like interface and built-in IMAP and SMTP.
Sup: Curses email client in Ruby built around threads, labels and fast full-text search over local mail.
Differences
- Only nmail has built-in IMAP and SMTP.
- Only Sup has built-in Maildir and mbox.
- On Windows, nmail is not available and Sup runs through WSL.
- On BSD, nmail is not available and Sup builds from source.
- Sup has OpenPGP; nmail does not.
- nmail has OAuth2 sign-in; Sup does not.
- Sup has Vim-style keys; nmail does not.
- Sup has multiple accounts; nmail does not.
- Sup has threaded views; nmail does not.
- nmail is written in C++; Sup in Ruby.
- Configuration: nmail uses ~/.config/nmail/main.conf key=value file, and Sup uses ~/.sup/config.yaml and ~/.sup/sources.yaml, plus Ruby hooks.
Side by side
| nmail | Sup | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Full-screen terminal interface |
| Language | C++ | Ruby |
| License | MIT | GPL 2.0 or later |
| Latest version | v5.16.4 | 1.4 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | No | Through WSL |
| BSD | No | Build from source |
| Android | No | No |
| IMAP | Yes | No |
| POP3 | No | No |
| SMTP | Yes | Through a separate tool |
| JMAP | No | No |
| Maildir | No | Yes |
| mbox | No | Yes |
| notmuch | No | No |
| OpenPGP | No | Yes |
| S/MIME | No | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | Yes | No |
| Threads | No | Yes |
| Search | local cache index and server search | Xapian full-text index with a query language |
| HTML mail | converted to text, or opened in an external browser | via the mime-decode hook and an external viewer such as w3m |
| Mouse | No | No |
| Multiple accounts | No | Yes |
| Offline use | local SQLite cache; offline mode and send queue | reads local Maildir or mbox; sync with isync or OfflineIMAP |
| Calendar | No | No |
| Contacts | address book built from messages | tracks recent contacts automatically |
| Vim-style keys | No | Yes |
| Configuration | ~/.config/nmail/main.conf key=value file | ~/.sup/config.yaml and ~/.sup/sources.yaml, plus Ruby hooks |
Which to choose
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
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 nmail and Sup?
Only nmail has built-in IMAP and SMTP. Only Sup has built-in Maildir and mbox. On Windows, nmail is not available and Sup runs through WSL.
Which runs on Windows, nmail or Sup?
On Windows, nmail is not available. On Windows, Sup runs through WSL.
See also: nmail alternatives, Sup alternatives.