msmtp

CLIMail tool

SMTP client with a sendmail-compatible interface that terminal mail clients use to send mail.

msmtp takes a message on standard input and hands it to an SMTP server. Its command line options and exit codes match sendmail, so clients such as NeoMutt, sup, mu4e and git send-email can call it in place of /usr/sbin/sendmail. It supports several accounts, TLS, many authentication methods and reading the password from a command. The bundled msmtpq script queues mail while offline.

Type: Mail tool
Interface: Command-line tools and prompts
Systems: Runs on Linux, macOS, Windows and BSD, on Android through Termux.
Language: C
License: GPL 3.0 or later
Latest version: 1.8.34
Maintained: Yes
Website: marlam.de
Source: git.marlam.de/gitweb/?p=msmtp.git
Documentation: marlam.de

Install

System	Support	Install
Linux	Native	apt`sudo apt install msmtp` dnf`sudo dnf install msmtp` pacman`sudo pacman -S msmtp` apk`sudo apk add msmtp`
macOS	Native	Homebrew`brew install msmtp`
Windows	Native	MSYS2`pacman -S mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-msmtp` Cygwin`setup-x86_64.exe -q -P msmtp` Native builds through MSYS2 and Cygwin.
BSD	Native	FreeBSD pkg`pkg install msmtp` OpenBSD`pkg_add msmtp`
Android	Through Termux	Termux`pkg install msmtp`

Protocols and features

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

Features
Feature	msmtp
OpenPGP	No
S/MIME	No
OAuth2 sign-in	via passwordeval with a token command (oauthbearer, xoauth2)
Threads	No
Search	No
HTML mail	No
Mouse	No
Multiple accounts	Yes
Offline use	queues mail with the bundled msmtpq script
Calendar	No
Contacts	No
Vim-style keys	No
Configuration	~/.msmtprc or ~/.config/msmtp/config text file

Pros and cons

Pros

Drop-in sendmail replacement that most terminal clients can call
passwordeval reads the password from pass, gpg or a keyring
Small, with packages on every major platform including Windows and Termux

Cons

Send only; needs a separate tool or client to read mail
Offline queueing needs the separate msmtpq script
OAuth2 tokens must be fetched and refreshed by an external program

Use msmtp with Forward Email

How msmtp 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.

~/.msmtprc

defaults
auth           on
tls            on
# Debian/Ubuntu path; omit this line to use the system default trust store
tls_trust_file /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt
logfile        ~/.msmtp.log

account        forwardemail
host           smtp.forwardemail.net
port           465
tls_starttls   off
from           you@example.com
user           you@example.com
passwordeval   pass show forwardemail/you@example.com

account default : forwardemail

# Test: printf 'Subject: test\n\nhello\n' | msmtp you@example.com

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 msmtp work on Windows?

Yes, it runs natively on Windows. Native builds through MSYS2 and Cygwin.

Does msmtp support IMAP?

No. msmtp does not use IMAP.

Is msmtp open source?

Yes, under the GPL 3.0 or later.

How do I use msmtp with Forward Email?

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

Sources

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