Aerc: A well-crafted TUI for email

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Folder management and sorting

  • Several comments focus on folder ordering.
  • Aerc’s explicit “pin these folders in this order” is praised; some note GUIs like Outlook and Evolution can reorder or favorite folders, but often via separate “Favorites” views, not changing the main folder tree.
  • People like the deterministic, config-file-based ordering Aerc offers.

HTML email rendering and composing

  • Many see HTML rendering as the main blocker for TUI mail.
  • Aerc can pipe HTML through tools like w3m/lynx and even support inline images via sixels, but this is seen as partial and inconsistent compared to full graphical rendering.
  • Other TUIs/flows (mutt + w3m, Emacs + eww or external browser, markdown-to-HTML filters) are discussed; reading HTML is mostly “good enough,” but composing rich HTML replies remains awkward.

Local storage, IMAP, and reliability

  • Aerc is perceived by some as IMAP-first and weaker for local maildirs; others say local mail + notmuch/mbsync is actually the better experience.
  • Multiple users report IMAP disconnects in Aerc and resort to workarounds like restarting in a loop, comparing this unfavorably to mutt’s (imperfect) auto-reconnect.
  • Keeping a local archive is considered important, especially when losing access to employer accounts.

Why use a TUI instead of a GUI?

  • Pro‑TUI arguments:
    • Fast single-key navigation and Vim-like workflows for handling large inboxes.
    • Consistency of keybindings across tools, deep customization, scripting, and composability.
    • Lower resource usage, good on remote servers over SSH, and better long-term stability.
  • Skeptical views:
    • GUI clients like Thunderbird/Betterbird or Gmail are “easier,” integrate OAuth and HTML well, and require far less setup.
    • For some, email is a chore they prefer to keep out of the terminal “focus space.”

Tooling ecosystem: notmuch, syncing, and alternatives

  • Notmuch is widely recommended as a scriptable, tag-based indexer, with various TUIs (aerc, alot, bower, dodo) as frontends.
  • Syncing IMAP to local maildirs is described as complex: mbsync/offlineimap, IDLE-based notifiers, inotify-based reverse sync, and Gmail quirks often require extra tools (e.g., lieer).
  • JMAP is mentioned as a desirable modern replacement for IMAP, but adoption is seen as minimal.

Language, theming, and platforms

  • Aerc is written in Go; some wish it were C, others argue Go is better for this kind of utility.
  • Aerc supports theming via “style sets.”
  • Windows support for TUIs is spotty; some propose using WSL/VMs instead.
  • Aerc already supports OAuth2 for services like Gmail.