Terminal email clients for Windows
17 clients and 7 mail tools that run on Windows, with the install command for each.
Forward Email, Alpine, Gnus, Himalaya and Matcha run natively on Windows. 12 other clients run in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). meli and nmail are not available for Windows. WSL runs a real Linux system next to Windows: run wsl --install in an administrator PowerShell, restart, open Ubuntu from the Start menu and install the client with apt. Use Windows Terminal rather than the legacy console, for correct colors and box-drawing characters.
forwardemail on Windows
FeaturedForward Email's webmail in the terminal: mail, calendar, contacts and settings, with mouse support and a key hint bar.
Signed standalone builds for x64 and arm64. Windows Terminal is recommended over the legacy console.
PowerShell
irm https://github.com/forwardemail/mail.forwardemail.net/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 | iexnpm
npm install -g forwardemailClients
| Systems | Name | Install on Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on Linux, macOS, Windows and BSD, on Android through Termux. | Forward EmailFeaturedTUISource-availableForward Email's webmail in the terminal: mail, calendar, contacts and settings, with mouse support and a key hint bar. | irm https://github.com/forwardemail/mail.forwardemail.net/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 | iex |
| Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux. | aercTUITerminal email client written in Go with IMAP, JMAP, Maildir and notmuch backends and an embedded terminal for editing. | sudo apt install aerc |
| Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL. Not available for Android. | alotTUITerminal mail reader written in Python that works on a local notmuch database, with tag-based search and threads. | sudo apt install alot |
| Runs on Linux, macOS, Windows and BSD, on Android through Termux. | AlpineTUIMenu-driven terminal email client descended from Pine, with built-in help, setup screens and native Windows builds. | Download alpine-2.26.zip from https://alpineapp.email/alpine/release/ |
| Runs on BSD, on Windows through WSL, builds from source on Linux. Not available for macOS or Android. | ConeTUIFull-screen console mail client and newsreader from the Courier mail server project. | Through WSL |
| Runs on Linux, macOS, Windows and BSD, on Android through Termux. | GnusEmacsMail and news reader built into GNU Emacs, with back ends for IMAP, POP3, local mail folders and NNTP. | winget install GNU.Emacs |
| Runs on Linux, macOS and Windows, builds from source on BSD. Not available for Android. | HimalayaCLICommand-line email client written in Rust that lists, reads, sends and moves mail through shell commands with JSON output. | scoop install himalaya |
| Runs on Linux, macOS and Windows, builds from source on BSD. Not available for Android. | MatchaTUITerminal email client written in Go with the Bubble Tea TUI library, with IMAP, JMAP and POP3 support. | winget install --id=floatpane.matcha |
| Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL. Not available for Android. | mblazeCLISet of small Unix utilities for reading, searching, threading and composing mail stored in Maildir folders. | sudo apt install mblaze |
| Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux. | mu4eEmacsEmail client that runs inside GNU Emacs, built on the mu Maildir indexer and search tool. | sudo apt install mu4e isync |
| Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux. | MuttTUILong-running text-mode email client with IMAP, POP3 and SMTP support, configured through a muttrc file. | sudo apt install mutt |
| Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux. | NeoMuttTUIFull-screen terminal mail reader forked from Mutt, with notmuch, NNTP, Lua scripting and a sidebar built in. | sudo apt install neomutt |
| Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux. | nmhCLIThe MH message handling system: separate shell commands to read, file, search and send mail stored one file per message. | sudo apt install nmh |
| Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux. | Notmuch Emacs interfaceEmacsEmacs front end for notmuch that reads, searches, tags and composes mail from a local Maildir. | sudo apt install elpa-notmuch isync msmtp |
| Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL. Not available for Android. | S-nailCLICommand-line mail program that implements POSIX mailx, with MIME, IMAP, POP3, SMTP, Maildir and S/MIME support. | sudo apt install s-nail |
| Runs on Linux and macOS, on Windows through WSL, builds from source on BSD. Not available for Android. | SupTUICurses email client in Ruby built around threads, labels and fast full-text search over local mail. | sudo apt install sup-mail |
| Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux. | WanderlustEmacsMail and news reader for Emacs, written in Emacs Lisp, with built-in IMAP, POP3, NNTP and SMTP support. | sudo apt install wl |
| No client matches. | ||
Mail tools
| Systems | Name | Install on Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL. Not available for Android. | getmail6CLIMail retriever that downloads messages over POP3 or IMAP into Maildir, mbox or an external delivery program. | sudo apt install getmail6 |
| Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux. | isyncCLICommand line program (mbsync) that syncs IMAP mailboxes with local Maildir folders in both directions. | sudo apt install isync |
| Runs on Linux, macOS, Windows and BSD, on Android through Termux. | msmtpCLISMTP client with a sendmail-compatible interface that terminal mail clients use to send mail. | pacman -S mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-msmtp |
| Runs on Linux and BSD, on Windows through WSL, builds from source on macOS. Not available for Android. | mutt-wizardCLIShell script that sets up NeoMutt, isync and msmtp for an email account, with passwords stored in pass. | sudo apt install mutt-wizard |
| Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL, on Android through Termux. | notmuchCLICommand-line mail indexer that adds fast full-text search, threading and tags to a local Maildir. | sudo apt install notmuch |
| Runs on Linux, macOS and BSD, on Windows through WSL. Not available for Android. | OfflineIMAPCLIPython program that syncs IMAP mailboxes with local Maildir folders in both directions. | sudo apt install offlineimap3 |
| Runs on Linux, macOS, Windows and BSD. Not available for Android. | PopTUISend-only email tool from Charm with a terminal form for composing and a command-line mode for scripts. | winget install charmbracelet.pop |
| Nothing matches. | ||
Questions
Which terminal email clients run on Windows?
Do I need WSL?
Only for clients without a native build. Forward Email, Alpine, Gnus, Himalaya and Matcha install directly on Windows; the rest need WSL.
Which Windows clients have built-in IMAP?
Does Forward Email work on Windows?
Yes. Its terminal app has a standalone build, and every other client on this page can use a Forward Email mailbox over IMAP and SMTP, directly or through a sync tool.