Sup vs Wanderlust
Sup: Curses email client in Ruby built around threads, labels and fast full-text search over local mail.
Wanderlust: Mail and news reader for Emacs, written in Emacs Lisp, with built-in IMAP, POP3, NNTP and SMTP support.
Differences
- Sup is a full-screen terminal client; Wanderlust is a mail client that runs inside Emacs.
- Only Sup has built-in mbox.
- Only Wanderlust has built-in IMAP, POP3 and SMTP.
- On BSD, Sup builds from source and Wanderlust runs natively.
- On Android, Sup is not available and Wanderlust runs through Termux.
- Wanderlust has mouse support; Sup does not.
- Wanderlust has OAuth2 sign-in; Sup does not.
- Sup has Vim-style keys; Wanderlust does not.
- Sup is written in Ruby; Wanderlust in Emacs Lisp.
- Configuration: Sup uses ~/.sup/config.yaml and ~/.sup/sources.yaml, plus Ruby hooks, and Wanderlust uses Emacs Lisp in ~/.wl, folder list in ~/.folders.
Side by side
| Sup | Wanderlust | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Runs inside Emacs |
| Language | Ruby | Emacs Lisp |
| License | GPL 2.0 or later | GPL 2.0 or later |
| Latest version | 1.4 | 2.15.9 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | Through WSL |
| BSD | Build from source | Native |
| Android | No | Through Termux |
| IMAP | No | Yes |
| POP3 | No | Yes |
| SMTP | Through a separate tool | Yes |
| JMAP | No | No |
| Maildir | Yes | Yes |
| mbox | Yes | No |
| notmuch | No | Through a separate tool |
| OpenPGP | Yes | Yes |
| S/MIME | No | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | No | via oauth2.el |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | Xapian full-text index with a query language | IMAP server-side search; local search via mu, notmuch, grep or namazu |
| HTML mail | via the mime-decode hook and an external viewer such as w3m | via mime-w3m (emacs-w3m) |
| Mouse | No | Yes |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | reads local Maildir or mbox; sync with isync or OfflineIMAP | message cache and disconnected operation |
| Calendar | No | No |
| Contacts | tracks recent contacts automatically | built-in address book |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | No |
| Configuration | ~/.sup/config.yaml and ~/.sup/sources.yaml, plus Ruby hooks | Emacs Lisp in ~/.wl, folder list in ~/.folders |
Which to choose
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
Choose Wanderlust for
- Built-in IMAP, POP3 and SMTP; no external sync or send tool needed
- Offline cache with disconnected operation
- Packaged in Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, FreeBSD and MELPA
Watch out for
- No formal release in many years; only 2.15.9 snapshots
- Folder syntax and the APEL/FLIM/SEMI dependency stack take time to learn
- Debian and Ubuntu ship an older snapshot than MELPA and Arch
Questions
What is the difference between Sup and Wanderlust?
Sup is a full-screen terminal client; Wanderlust is a mail client that runs inside Emacs. Only Sup has built-in mbox. Only Wanderlust has built-in IMAP, POP3 and SMTP.
Which runs on Windows, Sup or Wanderlust?
On Windows, Sup runs through WSL. On Windows, Wanderlust runs through WSL.
See also: Sup alternatives, Wanderlust alternatives.