getmail6

CLIMail tool

Mail retriever that downloads messages over POP3 or IMAP into Maildir, mbox or an external delivery program.

getmail6 is the Python 3 continuation of getmail. It fetches mail one way from POP3 or IMAP servers and delivers it to a Maildir, an mboxrd file or a program such as procmail or maildrop, with optional filtering. Each account has its own rc file. It suits users who want a simple download into local storage rather than a two-way IMAP sync.

Type: Mail tool
Interface: Command-line tools and prompts
Systems: Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL. Not available for Android.
Language: Python
License: GPL 2.0
Latest version: 6.20.01
Background: Python 3 fork of getmail 5 by Charles Cazabon
Maintained: Yes
Website: getmail6.org
Source: github.com/getmail6/getmail6
Documentation: getmail6.org

Install

System	Support	Install
Linux	Native	apt`sudo apt install getmail6` dnf`sudo dnf install getmail6` pip`pip install getmail6`
macOS	Native	Homebrew`brew install getmail6` MacPorts`sudo port install getmail6`
Windows	Through WSL	WSL`sudo apt install getmail6` No native Windows package; use WSL.
BSD	Native	FreeBSD pkg`pkg install py312-getmail6`
Android	Not supported	-

Protocols and features

Protocols
Protocol	getmail6
IMAP	Yes
POP3	Yes
SMTP	No
JMAP	No
Maildir	Yes
mbox	Yes
notmuch	No

Features
Feature	getmail6
OpenPGP	No
S/MIME	No
OAuth2 sign-in	Yes
Threads	No
Search	No
HTML mail	No
Mouse	No
Multiple accounts	Yes
Offline use	downloads mail to a local Maildir or mbox
Calendar	No
Contacts	No
Vim-style keys	No
Configuration	one getmailrc INI file per account in ~/.config/getmail/

Pros and cons

Pros

Supports both POP3 and IMAP, including SSL variants
Delivers to Maildir, mboxrd or an external MDA with filters
password_command reads the password from an external program

Cons

One-way download only; changes are not synced back to the server
Needs one rc file per account
No sending; pair it with an SMTP tool such as msmtp

Use getmail6 with Forward Email

How getmail6 fits with a Forward Email mailbox. Replace you@example.com with your alias and the password command with your own. The same settings work with any provider once the server names change.

~/.config/getmail/getmailrc

# IMAP over SSL into a Maildir (create it first: mkdir -p ~/Mail/forwardemail/INBOX/{cur,new,tmp})
[retriever]
type = SimpleIMAPSSLRetriever
server = imap.forwardemail.net
port = 993
username = you@example.com
password_command = ("pass", "show", "forwardemail/you@example.com")

[destination]
type = Maildir
path = ~/Mail/forwardemail/INBOX/

[options]
read_all = false
delete = false

# For POP3 instead: type = SimplePOP3SSLRetriever, server = pop3.forwardemail.net, port = 995

Protocol	Server	Port	Security
IMAP	`imap.forwardemail.net`	993	SSL/TLS
POP3	`pop3.forwardemail.net`	995	SSL/TLS
SMTP	`smtp.forwardemail.net`	465	SSL/TLS
SMTP	`smtp.forwardemail.net`	587	STARTTLS

Username: your full alias address, such as you@example.com. Password: the one shown by Generate Password next to the alias in your Forward Email account. Folders: INBOX, Drafts, Sent Mail, Trash, Spam and Archive.

Prefer no config at all? Forward Email's terminal app signs in with your account and has mail, calendar and contacts in one program.

Questions

Does getmail6 work on Windows?

Not natively. It runs in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). No native Windows package; use WSL.

Does getmail6 support IMAP?

Yes, getmail6 connects to IMAP servers directly.

Is getmail6 open source?

Yes, under the GPL 2.0.

How do I use getmail6 with Forward Email?

Use the config in the Forward Email section on this page, saved as ~/.config/getmail/getmailrc, and replace the address and password with your own.

Sources

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