I am searching for a method to manage my Gmail account from the terminal without relying on a web browser. Since I primarily operate within the command line, having the ability to check and send emails this way would be extremely helpful.
I’m curious if there are any terminal email clients available that can connect to Gmail. Alternatively, is it feasible to write a custom script that allows Gmail communication via the command line? Has anyone attempted to set this up before?
Most solutions I found seem to focus on web or desktop clients. I would appreciate any recommendations for terminal-based email applications.
I switched to neomutt two years ago and it handles Gmail perfectly through IMAP. Setting up OAuth2 authentication was a pain at first, but now it runs flawlessly. You’ll need to enable IMAP in Gmail and create an app-specific password if you use 2FA. If you want something easier, check out himalaya. It’s a modern CLI email client that works with Gmail right out of the box with almost no setup. Clean interface and way more straightforward than older clients. Both let you read, write, and send emails from the terminal. There’s definitely a learning curve, but you’ll be way more productive once you get used to managing email with just your keyboard.
Aerc’s worth checking out. I’ve used it for 6 months and the config is way simpler than mutt. Threaded view handles Gmail conversations great, and attachments just work. You can use OAuth2 or app passwords for auth. The built-in editor’s okay, but I switched it to vim. Runs fast even with huge mailboxes since it only loads messages when needed. Docs aren’t amazing, but the default config handles Gmail setup pretty well.
mutt is awesome for gmail! been using it for ages, just set up your imap/smtp right and use app passwords with 2fa. if you want something easier, alpine’s nice too, but i stick with mutt for the terminal.