7 Best Command-Line Email Clients for Linux
Mutt (Mail User Agent)
Mutt is one of the best command-line email clients for Linux as it is a small, easy to install, and powerful text-based email client. Mutt was written by Michael Elkins in 1995 then released under GNU General Public License. We put this command-line email client on the top of the list because it is rich in features that can efficiently satisfy a user’s requirements. So some of the top features are:
- Message threading and various message tagging options
- It supports different mailbox formats like Maildir, mbox, MMDF, MH, etc.
- Mutt has good color support.
- It has support for PGP/MIME.
- It also supports the POP3 and IMAP protocols.
- Users have full control over the message headings while composing it.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Mutt
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| It is small and efficient. | There are no constant updates. |
| It is terminal-based and highly configurable. | It doesn’t show the HTML format. |
| It supports PGP encryption. | |
| It has a thread email feature. |
Basic Installation Process of Mutt
We are including two command lines for different Linux distributions, and they are:
For Debian or Ubuntu-based system, execute the following command:
For RHEL or CentOS or Fedora-based system, execute the following command:
Alpine (Internet News and Email)
Alpine’s full form is an Alternatively Licensed Program for Internet News and Email that works well for both beginners and professionals. This command-line email client for Linux is an easy to use, user-friendly, fast, and open-sourced terminal-based platform. It also has cross-platform support so that you can use it in both Windows and Linux. There are various features in it, and they are:
- It is well documented.
- It is packaged with the Pico text editor.
- It has support for many protocols like SMT, IMAP, POP, and many more.
- It supports on-screen contextual instructions.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Alpine (Internet News and Email)
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| It offers on-screen contextual instructions. | It doesn’t have an attachment option (requires a graphical application) |
| It is very user friendly. | There are no frequent updates. |
| You can use a built-in- text editor. |
Basic Installation Process of SUP
Execute the following command to install SUP in the system:
Sup
Sup is a good email client who shows a complete list of threads by different tags, and every thread is a hierarchical collection of messages. It is a console-based email client for handling many emails efficiently. It supports automatic contact-list management, high-speed full-text search, custom code insertion through the Ruby hook system, and so on. Sup has various features, so here is the list of those features:
- It handles multiple emails.
- It can manage emails from various sources like Maildir and mbox.
- It supports GPG for privacy functionality.
- It can manage multiple email accounts.
- You can easily search by the complete email store.
Advantages and Disadvantages of SUP
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| You can extend the features by extensions. | There are no frequent updates. |
| It has support for many emails. | You can’t permanently delete unwanted mails. |
Basic Installation Process of SUP
Execute the following command to install SUP in the system:
sup-config
Mu4e
Mu4e is fully search based, which means it consists of only queries, and there are no folders available. It is an emacs-based email client, which helps the users manage emails for performing multiple tasks like searching, moving, deleting, reading, replying, etc. The basic idea behind Mu4e is to configure the offline Imap clients to offer local computer syncing with the remote email servers. Mu4e is rich with features, so here is a list of the best features of this command-line email client:
- It is user friendly and offers high speed with a quick keystroke for any common action
- It has good support for non-English languages
- It has an asynchronous that means any heavy action doesn’t block emacs
- It has support for the encryption and signing
Advantages and Disadvantages of Mu4e
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Mu4e is highly customizable. | Sometimes users face issues in viewing emails |
| It is completely search based. | |
| Users can compose rich-text emails. | |
| Mu4e UI is optimized. |
Basic Installation Process of Mu4e
Execute the following command to install SUP in the system:
Notmuch
Notmuch is a powerful, fast, tag-based, and global-search email system. It is created in C, and its development was based on Sup to deliver fantastic performance and improvement in some features of Sup. It is not an email client, so users can’t receive or send mails but search through a big collection of emails. Notmuch offers various options and features to the user, so here is a list of its features:
- It has excellent support for fast search and tags.
- There is no specific user interface and mail composer.
- It uses Xapian for performing its important task.
- It has appropriate support for vim text editors, command-line utilities, email clients, and Mutt integration script.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Notmuch
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| It is powerful and fast | Sometimes users face issues in viewing emails |
| It is completely search based. | You can’t permanently delete unwanted mails. |
Basic Installation Process of Notmuch
You have to download and install the Notmuch package to use it in the system and execute the following command for the configuration after installation:
notmuch new
Lumail
Lumail is an advanced console-based email client that is developed for Linux. It supports operation on the remote IMAP mail-servers and local Maildir hierarchies. There are various graphical-based email clients for the Linux platform, but Lumail is entirely developed for command-line use and only built-in support for scripting through real language. It doesn’t have many features and options, but some features make Lumail different from others, so those are:
- Lumail is a model- clients that means the user can use Maildir-mode, index-mode, and message-mode
- It supports scripting with different languages.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Lumail
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| It has multiple modes and a simple UI | Updates are not frequent |
| It supports scripting |
Basic Installation Process of Lumail
You have to download and install the Lumail package to use it in the system and execute the below command for installing the dependencies:
Aerc
Aerc is one of the best command-line email clients for Linux because it is a free and open-source tool. This email client is a powerful tool because it prevents emails from hackers and allows you to check the email and create email threads. It has a simple and interactive terminal web browser, and users can browse with the embedded less session. So here is a list of features in Aerc:
- It supports git & email.
- It supports multiple accounts.
- It has support for IMAP, Maildir, SMTP, and sendmail transfer protocols.
- It has a simple UI, and users can navigate to different options easily.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Aerc
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| It is completely free and open-source software. | Sometimes users face issues while composing mails. |
| Interactive and simple interface |
Basic Installation Process of Aerc
Use the following command-line syntax to install Aerc in your Linux system.
Conclusion
Choosing the best command-line email client for Linux can be stressful because there are various text-based email clients available online. So, we tried to cover all of the required information to select the best one according to your needs. We have also discussed the installation process, the advantages and disadvantages of every email client so that you can understand them better.
