# Notmuch Emacs interface vs Sup

- Notmuch Emacs interface: Emacs front end for notmuch that reads, searches, tags and composes mail from a local Maildir.
- Sup: Curses email client in Ruby built around threads, labels and fast full-text search over local mail.

## Differences

- Notmuch Emacs interface is a mail client that runs inside Emacs; Sup is a full-screen terminal client.
- Only Notmuch Emacs interface has built-in SMTP and notmuch.
- Only Sup has built-in mbox.
- On BSD, Notmuch Emacs interface runs natively and Sup builds from source.
- On Android, Notmuch Emacs interface runs through Termux and Sup is not available.
- Notmuch Emacs interface has mouse support; Sup does not.
- Notmuch Emacs interface has calendar support; Sup does not.
- Notmuch Emacs interface has S/MIME; Sup does not.
- Notmuch Emacs interface has OAuth2 sign-in; Sup does not.
- Sup has Vim-style keys; Notmuch Emacs interface does not.
- Notmuch Emacs interface is written in Emacs Lisp; Sup in Ruby.
- Configuration: Notmuch Emacs interface uses Emacs Lisp in init.el plus the notmuch config file, and Sup uses ~/.sup/config.yaml and ~/.sup/sources.yaml, plus Ruby hooks.

## Side by side

| | Notmuch Emacs interface | Sup |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Interface | Runs inside Emacs | Full-screen terminal interface |
| Language | Emacs Lisp | Ruby |
| License | GPL 3.0 or later | GPL 2.0 or later |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | Through WSL |
| BSD | Native | Build from source |
| Android | Through Termux | Not supported |
| IMAP | Through a separate tool | No |
| POP3 | Through a separate tool | No |
| SMTP | Yes | Through a separate tool |
| JMAP | No | No |
| Maildir | Yes | Yes |
| mbox | No | Yes |
| notmuch | Yes | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | Yes |
| S/MIME | Yes | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | via script | No |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | notmuch Xapian full-text search with tags | Xapian full-text index with a query language |
| HTML mail | built-in, rendered with the Emacs shr library | via the mime-decode hook and an external viewer such as w3m |
| Mouse | Yes | No |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | full; reads a local Maildir synced by mbsync or OfflineIMAP | reads local Maildir or mbox; sync with isync or OfflineIMAP |
| Calendar | shows text/calendar parts; no invitation replies | No |
| Contacts | address completion from the notmuch index | tracks recent contacts automatically |
| Vim-style keys | No | Yes |
| Configuration | Emacs Lisp in init.el plus the notmuch config file | ~/.sup/config.yaml and ~/.sup/sources.yaml, plus Ruby hooks |

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