5 Top Open Source Email Clients for Terminal (2023)

Reviews, comparison, screenshots and more for the 5 top open-source email clients for Terminal.

Forward Email Team
Written by
Forward Email TeamVerified
Published
12/1/23
Time to read
Less than 5 minutes

Email Client Screenshots

⭐ RecommendedRust

Himalaya

⭐ RecommendedRust

Himalaya is an open-source email client for Terminal and is written in the Rust programming language. The official description from its website says, "CLI to manage emails, based on email-lib."

Himalaya is an open-source email client for Terminal and is written in the Rust programming language.
⭐ RecommendedRust

meli

⭐ RecommendedRust

meli is an open-source email client for Terminal and is written in the Rust programming language. The official description from its website says, "meli aims for configurability and extensibility with sane defaults. It seeks to be a mail client for both new and power users of the terminal, but built today."

meli is an open-source email client for Terminal and is written in the Rust programming language.
C

Alpine

C

Alpine is an open-source email client for Terminal and is written in the C programming language. The official description from its website says, "Alpine is a rewrite of the Pine Message System that adds support for Unicode and other features."

Alpine is an open-source email client for Terminal and is written in the C programming language.
C

NeoMutt

C

NeoMutt is an open-source email client for Terminal and is written in the C programming language. The official description from its website says, "NeoMutt is a command line mail reader (or MUA). It’s a fork of Mutt with added features."

NeoMutt is an open-source email client for Terminal and is written in the C programming language.
Go

aerc

Go

aerc is an open-source email client for Terminal and is written in the Go programming language. The official description from its website says, "aerc is an email client that runs in your terminal. It's highly efficient and extensible, perfect for the discerning hacker."

aerc is an open-source email client for Terminal and is written in the Go programming language.

Email Client Comparison

NameDescriptionScreenshotPlatformsLanguageWebsiteWikipedia
Himalaya ⭐ RecommendedCLI to manage emails, based on email-lib. Screenshot
  • Terminal
RustWebsite
meli ⭐ Recommendedmeli aims for configurability and extensibility with sane defaults. It seeks to be a mail client for both new and power users of the terminal, but built today. Screenshot
  • Terminal
RustWebsite
AlpineAlpine is a rewrite of the Pine Message System that adds support for Unicode and other features. Screenshot
  • Terminal
CWebsite Wikipedia
NeoMuttNeoMutt is a command line mail reader (or MUA). It’s a fork of Mutt with added features. Screenshot
  • Terminal
CWebsite
aercaerc is an email client that runs in your terminal. It's highly efficient and extensible, perfect for the discerning hacker. Screenshot
  • Terminal
GoWebsite