aerc

Spec sheet

What it does

aerc is an email client that runs inside a terminal.Read 15 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Product

aerc is an email client that runs in a terminal.Read 12 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Intended users

The maker describes aerc as efficient and extensible and says it is suited to the discerning hacker.Read 12 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Platforms

The project lists binary packages for Alpine, Arch, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, Slackware, and macOS through Homebrew.Read 12 Oct 2026 · github.com

Free plan

YesRead 21 Sep 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Security

It supports PGP signing, encryption, and verification using GnuPG.Read 12 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Support

The project directs users to its discussion mailing list for support and general discussion.Read 12 Oct 2026 · github.com

License

The project repository identifies the software as MIT licensed.Read 12 Oct 2026 · github.com

Founded

2019Read 28 Sep 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Accounts

Multiple accounts can be configured and displayed in separate tabs.Read 15 Oct 2026 · lwn.net

Address books

carddav-query can connect to CardDAV servers such as Nextcloud or Radicale and provide address completion.Read 15 Oct 2026 · aerc-docs.com

App coverage

desktopRead 21 Sep 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Asynchronous networking

IMAP and JMAP operations are asynchronous so a slow network should not lock the interface.Read 15 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Bandwidth use

aerc downloads only the information needed to display its interface.Read 15 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Build requirements

Building from source requires Go 1.25 or newer, scdoc and GNU make; Notmuch support is optional.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com

Calendar invites

The :accept and :decline commands generate replies to meeting invitations but do not update the user's calendar.Read 15 Oct 2026 · lwn.net

Calendar tools

YesRead 21 Sep 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Companion tools

The documented ecosystem includes mbsync, notmuch, msmtp, pass, w3m, carddav-query, GnuPG and pandoc.Read 15 Oct 2026 · aerc-docs.com

Composition

Email composition uses an embedded terminal in a tmux-style interface, allowing users to check incoming mail and reference other threads while composing.Read 12 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Configuration

Configuration files are plain text under .config/aerc by default, including accounts.conf and binds.conf.Read 15 Oct 2026 · lwn.net

Controls

It offers Vim-style keybindings and an ex-command system for automation.Read 12 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Customization

Users can remap keys, run command sequences, reorder folders and style or conditionally color message columns.Read 15 Oct 2026 · lwn.net

Documentation depth

Documentation includes installation, quickstart, provider guides, recipes and man pages for accounts, bindings, configuration, protocols, search, templates and tutorials.Read 15 Oct 2026 · aerc-docs.com

Email backends

It supports multiple accounts and IMAP, Maildir, Notmuch, Mbox, and JMAP backends.Read 12 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Embedded composition

Messages can be composed in an embedded tmux-style terminal while users inspect incoming mail and other threads.Read 15 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Extensibility

Shell commands can be invoked through keybindings, pipes, templates and the embedded terminal.Read 15 Oct 2026 · news.ycombinator.com

Git integration

The project describes first-class support for working with Git and email.Read 15 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Git workflow

The maker describes aerc as having first-class support for working with git and email.Read 12 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

HTML and patches

It can render HTML email with an interactive terminal web browser and highlight patches with diffs.Read 12 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

HTML rendering

HTML mail can be rendered through an interactive terminal web browser, with patch diffs and an embedded less viewer.Read 15 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Installation systems

Binary packages are listed for Alpine, Arch, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, macOS Homebrew and Slackware.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com

Keyboard control

The interface provides Vim-style keybindings and an ex-command system for automation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Licence

The software is distributed under the MIT License.Read 15 Oct 2026 · lwn.net

Limit: default offline behavior

The original author said aerc does not store mail offline by default and requires Maildir plus synchronization tools for that workflow.Read 15 Oct 2026 · news.ycombinator.com

Limit: documentation concerns

Another Hacker News commenter said examples and capabilities were incomplete and that support and issue reporting felt convoluted.Read 15 Oct 2026 · news.ycombinator.com

Limit: learning curve

The same user reported a noticeable learning period while experimenting with configurations and gradually adding companion tools.Read 15 Oct 2026 · wilw.dev

Limit: macOS packaging

A user reported that Homebrew binaries lacked Notmuch support and required compiling aerc from source with Notmuch headers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · wilw.dev

Limit: plaintext credentials

LWN noted that setup can place IMAP, JMAP and SMTP passwords in plaintext configuration unless an external credential command is used.Read 15 Oct 2026 · lwn.net

Limit: reconnect behavior

A Hacker News commenter reported losing mail-server connections and needing to restart aerc to recover.Read 15 Oct 2026 · news.ycombinator.com

Mail backends

Supported mail sources include IMAP, Maildir, Notmuch, mbox and JMAP.Read 15 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Maintainer transition

Development moved in 2022 from Drew DeVault's repository to a fork maintained by Robin Jarry.Read 15 Oct 2026 · lwn.net

Network behavior

The site says asynchronous IMAP and JMAP support keeps the UI from locking up on a flaky network, and that aerc downloads only information needed to present the UI.Read 12 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Offline setup

Offline use is achieved by pairing aerc with tools such as isync or mbsync and a local Maildir; it is not the default storage mode.Read 15 Oct 2026 · news.ycombinator.com

PGP

GnuPG is used for PGP signing, encryption and verification.Read 15 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Praise: daily usability

LWN's reviewer considered aerc stable and feature-complete enough for daily use after testing it with large mail stores.Read 15 Oct 2026 · lwn.net

Praise: developer workflow

Drew DeVault reported processing a 50-email patch queue in about 20 minutes with his aerc-based workflow, versus an hour or more using merge requests.Read 15 Oct 2026 · drewdevault.com

Praise: modularity

A long-term user described the Unix-style combination of aerc with synchronization, contacts and search tools as fast and well suited to personal and professional workflows.Read 15 Oct 2026 · wilw.dev

Praise: performance

An independent LWN review found local-mail sorting, searching and filtering over thousands of messages nearly instantaneous on its system.Read 15 Oct 2026 · lwn.net

Project origin

The first aerc commit was made in January 2018 and the 0.1.0 prerelease was announced in June 2019.Read 15 Oct 2026 · lwn.net

Release news

LWN reported aerc 0.18.0 in July 2024, with 25 contributors and commands including :bounce and :align.Read 15 Oct 2026 · lwn.net

Security reporting

Security vulnerabilities are requested by encrypted email to a dedicated security mailing list using a published GPG key.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com

Security reports

The project says to report security vulnerabilities by encrypted email using the GPG key in its repository.Read 12 Oct 2026 · github.com

Sending protocols

Mail can be sent through SMTP or a sendmail command.Read 15 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Support channels

The project directs users to IRC, discussion and development mailing lists, a bug tracker and a wiki.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com

Terminal tabs

Users can open terminal-emulator tabs with shells inside aerc.Read 15 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Threading

Email threading works with or without server-side IMAP support.Read 15 Oct 2026 · aerc-mail.org

Plans and prices

Every aerc plan and price →

Where Specifiction places it

• Email clients#26 of 1428.5