NMAIL(1)

📦 version 5.12.6, in alpine 3.24

🌈 NMAIL(1) — the ncurses mail bestie guide 💌

okay so picture this: a terminal email client that's giving full alpine energy but make it modern and honestly kinda iconic. that's nmail, bestie. it speaks IMAP and SMTP, it lives in your terminal, and it's about to become your new main character. this is the nmail page from the User Commands manual, and we're gonna walk through it together, no cap. 🫶

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

nmail [OPTION]

literally just run it with an option (or don't, live your truth 💅).

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

nmail is a terminal-based email client. its user interface is similar to alpine, and it supports IMAP and SMTP. so yeah — old-school terminal vibes, fully functional inbox, no browser tabs required. iconic behavior honestly. ✨

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • -c, --cache-encrypt — prompts you for cache encryption during the oauth2 setup. protect the goods, babe 🔐
  • -d, --confdir <DIR> — use a directory that isn't the default ~/.config/nmail. for when you want your config somewhere else, we respect that.
  • -e, --verbose — enables verbose logging. chatty mode: on 🗣️
  • -ee, --extra-verbose — enables extra verbose logging. chatty mode: somehow even more on 😭
  • -h, --help — displays the help and exits. the classic "wait what do I do" flag, we've all been there 💖
  • -k, --keydump — key code dump mode. press keys, see codes, that's the vibe 🎹
  • -o, --offline — run in offline mode. airplane mode but make it email ✈️
  • -p, --pass — change your password. glow-up for your credentials 💅
  • -ro, --read-only — runs a shadow instance with read-only cache access. look but don't touch, lowkey spooky but useful 👀
  • -s, --setup <SERVICE> — runs the setup wizard for the specified service. supported services are literally: gmail, gmail-oauth2, icloud, outlook, outlook-oauth2. pick your fighter ✨
  • -v, --version — outputs version info and exits. just checking who we are 🪞
  • -x, --export <DIR> — exports the cache to the specified dir in Maildir format. take your mail on a little field trip 📦

🌸 FILES 🌸

  • ~/.config/nmail/auth.conf — configures a custom oauth2 client id and secret. your secret is safe with us 🤫
  • ~/.config/nmail/key.conf — configures your user interface key bindings. make the keys do what you want, main character energy 👑
  • ~/.config/nmail/main.conf — configures your mail account and general settings. for full functionality the following fields shall be configured (yes, all of them, bestie):
    • address (ex: example@example.com)
    • drafts (folder name, ex: Drafts)
    • imap_host (ex: imap.example.com)
    • imap_port (ex: 993)
    • inbox (folder name, ex: Inbox)
    • name (ex: Firstname Lastname)
    • sent (folder name, ex: Sent)
    • smtp_host (ex: smtp.example.com)
    • smtp_port (ex: 465 or 587)
    • trash (folder name, ex: Trash)
    • user (ex: example@example.com or example)
  • ~/.config/nmail/ui.conf — customizes user interface settings. aesthetic choices are valid 💖

⭐ EXAMPLES ⭐

set up nmail for a gmail account:

nmail -s gmail

and then this whole situation — running nmail without the setup wizard will generate default configuration files in the nmail dir if not present already. these can be edited to configure nmail for email service providers that the built-in setup wizard doesn't support (refer to the FILES section above for the details, bestie 🫶). so you're never locked out, you just gotta DIY it a little.

nmail

🧚 AUTHOR 🧚

Written by Kristofer Berggren. thank you for your service, king 🫡

💀 REPORTING BUGS 💀

Report bugs at https://github.com/d99kris/nmail. found a weird little glitch? tell on it, that's how it gets fixed 🐛

Copyright © 2019-2026 Kristofer Berggren

nmail is distributed under the MIT license. slay, legally speaking 💜

okay that's the whole page, every flag and file and field accounted for, fr fr. now go configure your inbox and live your best terminal life ✨

and that's a wrap on nmail 5.12.6 from April 2026 — see you in the terminal, bestie, mwah 💅💖

📦 where this page comes from