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InboxSweeper

github.com

Free plan Open source WebWindowsmacOSLinuxSelf-hosted
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Spec score 8.7 #5 of 31 in Email Cleanup Software

What it is

InboxSweeper is a free, open-source tool for clearing old promotional mail and newsletters and unsubscribing from mailing lists. It supports Gmail fully; Yahoo and other IMAP inboxes are experimental. Choose among three sweep modes: Sloth targets mail older than two years, Normal mail older than one year, and MadMax includes recent promotional mail. Their respective run caps are 25, 50, and 100 senders. Before moving messages, sweeps show counts; financial, security, payment, receipt, and government mail is protected. You can unsubscribe, move selected messages to Trash, or report senders as spam. Trash messages are described as recoverable for about 30 days. One-click and mailto unsubscribe options are supported; web-link-only options are flagged for manual handling. The tool runs on your computer and says it does not upload mail, credentials, or tokens. It offers a local browser interface, Windows executable, terminal CLI, and AI-agent instructions. It uses a scoped app password rather than Google OAuth, with credentials stored in macOS Keychain or a locked file.

Spec sheet

What it does
InboxSweeper bulk-cleans promotional and newsletter email, unsubscribes from mailing lists, moves selected mail to Trash, and reports selected senders as spam.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Purpose
InboxSweeper bulk deletes old promotions and newsletters and unsubscribes from mailing lists.Read 29 Sep 2026 · github.com
Intended users
The project recommends the web app for anyone without technical setup, offers a Windows executable for zero-setup use, and provides a terminal path for coders.Read 29 Sep 2026 · github.com
Integrations
Documented integrations include Gmail, Yahoo, generic IMAP providers, Claude Code, Codex, Jules, Cursor, and Gemini CLI workflows.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Privacy
The tool runs on the user's computer and says mail, credentials, and tokens are not uploaded; anonymous usage counters can be disabled with INBOXSWEEPER_NO_TELEMETRY=1.Read 29 Sep 2026 · raw.githubusercontent.com
Support
The project directs users who encounter an unlisted issue to open a GitHub issue with their OS, browser, and the exact wording of the problem.Read 29 Sep 2026 · github.com
API and SDKs
The project documents IMAP connectivity and a local browser UI but does not publish a separate web API or SDK.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Authentication
The product uses a scoped Gmail or Yahoo app password over IMAP rather than OAuth or Google Sign-In.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Build verification
The Windows executable and releases provide GitHub and PyPI provenance attestations that can be checked with GitHub CLI or PyPI metadata.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Cleaning actions
It can unsubscribe, move selected mail to Trash, or report selected senders as spam.Read 29 Sep 2026 · github.com
Cleaning modes
Sloth targets mail older than two years with a 25-sender run cap, Normal targets mail older than one year with a 50-sender cap, and MadMax includes recent promotional mail with a 100-sender cap.Read 29 Sep 2026 · github.com
Company facts
The project identifies Mukundan Govindaraj as its author; no legal company name, headquarters, founding year, employee count, or funding information is stated on the reviewed pages.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Credential storage
Credentials are stored in macOS Keychain or protected local files and can also be supplied through environment variables.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Credentials
It uses a scoped app password rather than Google OAuth, with credentials stored in macOS Keychain or a locked file.Read 29 Sep 2026 · github.com
Developer interface
The documented developer interface is a Python command-line tool with wizard, setup, counts, profile, sweep, spam, unsub-list, unsub-run, serve, and uninstall commands.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Email providers
Gmail is fully supported; Yahoo and other IMAP inboxes are experimental.Read 29 Sep 2026 · github.com
Feature: cleaning modes
Sloth targets mail older than two years, Normal targets mail older than one year, and MadMax includes recent promotional mail.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Feature: dry run
Sweeps preview message counts and support dry-run operation before confirmation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Feature: protected mail
Financial, security, payment, receipt, transactional, and government senders are automatically protected from sweeps.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Feature: recoverable deletion
Delete operations move mail to the provider Trash/Bin folder, described as recoverable for about 30 days, instead of permanently deleting it.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Feature: sender profiling
The profile command ranks bulk senders so users can identify the noisiest sources before acting.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Feature: spam reporting
Reporting spam is a separate deliberate workflow that starts with no senders selected and requires confirmation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Feature: unsubscribe
The tool handles RFC 8058 one-click unsubscribe and mailto unsubscribe through message headers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Gmail support
Gmail is the fully supported provider and the tool uses Gmail server-side search through the X-GM-RAW extension.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Licence
The repository is licensed under the MIT License.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Limit: unsigned downloads
The Windows executable and macOS launcher are unsigned, so browsers and operating systems may show download or unidentified-developer warnings.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Limit: unsubscribe coverage
Web-link-only unsubscribe options are reported for manual handling and are never automatically clicked.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Limit: Yahoo visibility
Yahoo IMAP exposes only about the 10,000 most recent messages per folder, so older backlog may be unreachable.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Local processing
Mail, credentials, and tokens are intended to remain on the user's computer rather than being uploaded to a service.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Platform limits
Yahoo IMAP exposes only about the 10,000 most recent messages per folder, and the project says Gmail is its primary fully supported target.Read 29 Sep 2026 · github.com
Praise: privacy
The maker emphasizes that processing is local and that no mailbox content is uploaded.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Praise: safety controls
The documented preview step, protected sender categories, and recoverable Trash workflow are designed to reduce accidental deletion.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
PyPI distribution
Version 0.1.4 is distributed as a 33.4 kB source archive and a 33.8 kB universal Python wheel.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pypi.org
PyPI maintainer
PyPI lists one maintainer under the name elixir.bash.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pypi.org
PyPI metadata licence
PyPI identifies the package licence expression as MIT.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pypi.org
PyPI package requirement
PyPI metadata requires Python 3.9 or newer and classifies the package as beta software.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pypi.org
PyPI publishing
PyPI marks the 0.1.4 files as uploaded through Trusted Publishing with GitHub Actions provenance.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pypi.org
PyPI release
PyPI lists version 0.1.4 as released on August 21, 2026.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pypi.org
Recoverability
Sweeps move mail to Trash, where it is described as recoverable for about 30 days.Read 29 Sep 2026 · github.com
Safety controls
Financial, security, payment, receipt, and government mail is protected, and sweeps preview counts before moving anything.Read 29 Sep 2026 · github.com
Security release
Release v0.1.2 changed non-macOS credential files to be created with restrictive permissions inside a private directory and pinned GitHub Actions dependencies to commit SHAs.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Self-hosting
The application runs locally, serves its browser interface on 127.0.0.1, and can be installed from source with pip.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
System requirement
The documented prerequisite is Python 3.9 or newer.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Telemetry
Anonymous counters containing an install identifier, operating system, version, and aggregate totals are sent unless INBOXSWEEPER_NO_TELEMETRY=1 is set.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Unsubscribe methods
It supports one-click and mailto unsubscribe methods, while web-link-only unsubscribe options are reported for manual handling.Read 29 Sep 2026 · raw.githubusercontent.com
Ways to use
It offers a local browser interface, a one-file Windows executable, AI-agent instructions, and a terminal CLI.Read 29 Sep 2026 · github.com
Yahoo and IMAP support
Yahoo and other IMAP inboxes are experimental rather than fully supported.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com

Plans and prices

Free Free No subscription or account Gmail fully supported · Yahoo/other IMAP experimental · Sloth 25 senders/run · Normal 50 senders/run · MadMax 100 senders/run Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com

Every InboxSweeper plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free and open source, with no account or subscription.
  • Preview counts before moving mail; sensitive categories are protected.
  • Offers three sweep modes with different age and sender limits.
  • Runs locally and says it does not upload mail or credentials.
  • Supports web, Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Limits

  • Gmail is the only fully supported provider.
  • Yahoo IMAP exposes only about 10,000 recent messages per folder.
  • Web-link-only unsubscribe options require manual handling.
  • No automatic cleanup rules.

Who it suits

The project recommends the web app for people who want to avoid technical setup, and offers a one-file Windows executable for zero-setup use. Coders can use the terminal CLI or AI-agent instructions.

Verdict

InboxSweeper combines local mail cleanup with previews and protected categories. Its main limitation is provider coverage: Gmail is fully supported, while Yahoo and other IMAP inboxes are experimental.

Where Specifiction places it

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