# Notmuch Emacs interface vs S-nail

- Notmuch Emacs interface: Emacs front end for notmuch that reads, searches, tags and composes mail from a local Maildir.
- S-nail: Command-line mail program that implements POSIX mailx, with MIME, IMAP, POP3, SMTP, Maildir and S/MIME support.

## Differences

- Notmuch Emacs interface is a mail client that runs inside Emacs; S-nail is a command-line program.
- Only Notmuch Emacs interface has built-in notmuch.
- Only S-nail has built-in IMAP, POP3 and mbox.
- On Android, Notmuch Emacs interface runs through Termux and S-nail is not available.
- Notmuch Emacs interface has mouse support; S-nail does not.
- Notmuch Emacs interface has calendar support; S-nail does not.
- Notmuch Emacs interface has OpenPGP; S-nail does not.
- Notmuch Emacs interface is written in Emacs Lisp; S-nail in C.
- Configuration: Notmuch Emacs interface uses Emacs Lisp in init.el plus the notmuch config file, and S-nail uses ~/.mailrc command file.

## Side by side

| | Notmuch Emacs interface | S-nail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Interface | Runs inside Emacs | Command-line tools and prompts |
| Language | Emacs Lisp | C |
| License | GPL 3.0 or later | ISC and BSD 2-Clause and BSD 3-Clause and BSD 4-Clause |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | Through WSL |
| BSD | Native | Native |
| Android | Through Termux | Not supported |
| IMAP | Through a separate tool | Yes |
| POP3 | Through a separate tool | Yes |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | No | No |
| Maildir | Yes | Yes |
| mbox | No | Yes |
| notmuch | Yes | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | No |
| S/MIME | Yes | Yes |
| OAuth2 sign-in | via script | via script |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | notmuch Xapian full-text search with tags | built-in message specifications and the search command; IMAP SEARCH on IMAP folders |
| HTML mail | built-in, rendered with the Emacs shr library | built-in tag-soup filter or external viewer via mailcap |
| Mouse | Yes | No |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | full; reads a local Maildir synced by mbsync or OfflineIMAP | IMAP cache with disconnected mode |
| Calendar | shows text/calendar parts; no invitation replies | No |
| Contacts | address completion from the notmuch index | aliases via the alias command |
| Vim-style keys | No | No |
| Configuration | Emacs Lisp in init.el plus the notmuch config file | ~/.mailrc command file |

Pages: [Notmuch Emacs interface](https://terminalemail.com/clients/notmuch-emacs/index.md), [S-nail](https://terminalemail.com/clients/s-nail/index.md)