aerc
A pretty good email client for your terminal
Description
aerc is an efficient, extensible terminal email client written in Go. It supports multiple accounts with IMAP, JMAP, Maildir, Notmuch, and mbox backends, along with SMTP and Sendmail for sending. Features vim-style keybindings, an ex-command system, and asynchronous IMAP/JMAP support that keeps the UI responsive even on flaky networks. Includes built-in support for viewing patches, diffing, and applying them directly from email, making it well-suited for mailing-list-driven development workflows.
Install
brew install aercsudo apt install aercAI Summary
A fast, keyboard-driven terminal email client with async IMAP/JMAP, vim-style keybindings, and built-in patch review for development workflows.
Capabilities
- + Manage multiple email accounts with different backends
- + Asynchronous IMAP and JMAP for responsive UI
- + Vim-style keybindings and ex-command system
- + View and apply patches directly from emails
- + HTML email rendering via w3m or other filters
- + Notmuch integration for full-text email search
- + CardDAV address book queries
- + Maildir, mbox, IMAP, JMAP backend support
Use When
- → You want a fast, modern terminal email client
- → You participate in mailing-list-driven development workflows
- → You prefer vim-style keybindings for email
- → You need async IMAP that won't freeze on slow connections
Avoid When
- x You need a graphical email client with rich HTML rendering
- x You want a mature ecosystem of plugins and extensions like Mutt/NeoMutt
- x You need Windows support
Usage Patterns
Launch aerc
aercOpens aerc with configured accounts from ~/.config/aerc/accounts.conf
Compose a new email
:composeOpens a new compose window within aerc (ex-command)