# Keyboard first terminal email client: IMAP/SMTP, Gmail & Outlook; Go + BubbleTea > Source: > Published: 2026-11-11 21:45:11+00:00 **Mail for people who live in a terminal.** TideMail keeps your accounts, message list, and reading pane on one screen. It speaks IMAP and SMTP, stores its cache on your machine, and gives the keyboard the good seat. [Watch the 40-second intro video](https://mylivelab.com/assets/videos/tidemail-intro-web.mp4) Need the full settings and shortcut reference? Open the [setup and usage guide](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/guide.md). For shell scripts and AI agents, see the [CLI reference](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/cli.md). [TideMail's headless commands use your configured accounts and persistent queue to list, search, and read cached mail, draft and send with Markdown or attachments, and process the outbox:](https://camo.githubusercontent.com/bd495caf56c6dcd8d5d426e07671e59f370d7d7541b1c09e09790510f889462b/68747470733a2f2f696d672e736869656c64732e696f2f62616467652f4e45572d4443313433433f7374796c653d666c61742d737175617265) ``` tidemail messages list --unread --json tidemail draft create --to me@example.com --subject "Draft" --body-file message.md tidemail send --to me@example.com --subject "Hello" --body "Hello" --yes tidemail outbox process --json tidemail install-skill codex ``` `install-skill` packages a portable agent skill for Codex, Claude, Pi, or Hermes, so an AI agent can read, draft, and send through TideMail without touching your IMAP/SMTP credentials directly. Agent capabilities and an invocation-approval step separate reading, drafting, and sending, so a script or agent only gets as much access as you grant it. For guided CLI workflows, run `tidemail cli` for the command menu or `tidemail send` for the step-by-step composer and attachment browser, with Ripple key hints, an attachment browser, a review step, and undo. [Interactive CLI help](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/cli.md#interactive-command-menu-and-composer) covers keyboard navigation and script-friendly prompt controls. **Settings → CLI** has switches for quitting after a send, skipping review, and the default signature. `send` saves a draft unless you authorize delivery. `--yes` queues mail with the configured delay. The client or `outbox process` delivers due queued mail. An Android app is in beta; you can [apply to join the beta](https://mylivelab.com/tide/tidemail-android/beta/login.php#apply). It is developed in a separate repository, and desktop releases are built from this one. One inbox, 51 built-in themes in 23 families — Catppuccin, Tokyo Night, Rosé Pine, Gruvbox, Nord, Solarized and more, with their variants ([the list](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/themes.md)). - **NO config file editing, all in the GUI.** - **One view for every account.** Read a unified inbox or open any account, folder, or label from the same three-pane screen. - **Send from the right address.** Pick an account from the compose From row. TideMail switches its SMTP settings, Drafts folder, From address, and signature with it. - **Mail state stays in sync.** Read state, stars, archive, move, and delete use IMAP. Changes made in Gmail or another client return to TideMail on sync. - **A few seconds to change your mind.** Press`Ctrl+Z` to stop a queued send or undo a pending delete, archive, or move. - **An outbox you can trust.** Press`O` to inspect queued, sending, failed, and sent mail. Failed deliveries survive restarts and can be retried or edited. - **Unsubscribe without hunting for a footer.** Press`Ctrl+U` while reading to use the message's unsubscribe header or labeled unsubscribe link. - **Compose your way.** A`Ctrl+F` , then`Ctrl+R` for replacement controls). An advanced regex toggle is available via**Settings → Editor → Advanced regex search** , off by default. You can switch on Vim motions and commands instead. Optional AI tools can summarize mail, proofread a draft, and build local filters from plain English. An optional offline spell check (**Settings → Editor** , off by default, in English or Español) underlines misspelled words and steps through fixes with`F7` , with no AI provider needed.`F6` opens canned replies (six built-ins, plus any`.md` or`.txt` files in`~/.config/tidemail/templates` ) with the recipient's name filled in; see[Templates](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/guide.md#templates) . - **See the pictures, not just the alt text.** On Ghostty, Kitty, and Rio, images in HTML mail render inline in the reading pane, sized to fit and loaded in the background so browsing stays quick. Remote images wait until you press`i` . Receipts keep their columns and newsletter cards stay together. - **Readable by design, in every theme.** Text, selection highlights, and the focused-pane border are all checked against WCAG-style contrast minimums (4.5:1 for text, 3:1+ for large text and UI elements like borders) across every built-in theme, enforced by automated tests. - **Match your desktop.** On[Omarchy](https://omarchy.org) , the`match-omarchy` theme follows your current desktop theme — contrast-corrected to the same bar as the built-ins — and repaints live when you switch it. - **[Experimental plugins](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/plugins.md).** Install trusted plugins such as TideMail Smart (JEV) to classify mail with local annotations, Needs You signals, and optional TypeSafe/Jev analysis. - **PGP, through a plugin.** Install the`pgp` plugin from**Settings → Plugins → `b`** (it uses your own GnuPG) to read encrypted and signed mail (`D` ) and to sign (`Alt+S` ) and encrypt (`Alt+E` ) what you send. Nothing is sent if encryption fails, and every recipient needs a public key in your keyring (`gpg --locate-keys ADDRESS` ). See[PGP encryption and signing](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/guide.md#pgp-encryption-and-signing) . - **Script it, or hand it to an agent.**`tidemail` CLI shares the client's accounts and queue: list, search, and read cached mail, and draft or send with JSON output for scripts, or run`tidemail cli` for a guided compose wizard with attachment browsing, review, and undo. Portable skills for Codex, Claude, Pi, and Hermes let an agent send mail within capabilities and approval you configure. See the[CLI reference](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/cli.md) . - **Prefer the mouse?** Turn on**Settings → Display → Mouse support** (off by default, so your terminal's native text selection keeps working). Then click rows and panes, double-click a message to open it, use the scroll wheel over any pane, and right-click a folder, account, or message for a menu of just its actions. In the reading pane, drag to select text and press**Ctrl+C** to copy it with displayed line breaks. This works with Focus Line enabled or disabled. Drag above or below the reader to autoscroll; release retains the highlight and another click clears it. - **Optional support, kept out of your way.** Open**Settings → Support** to visit or copy Tidemail's GitHub Sponsors link;**About** and**Support** are small animated scenes. No donation prompts appear during normal email use. Linux and macOS builds are available for Intel and ARM machines. Windows builds are experimental; see [Windows](#windows-experimental) below. TideMail is on the AUR as [`tidemail-bin`](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/tidemail-bin), which packages the official release binary along with the TideMail icon and a desktop entry, so TideMail shows up in your app launcher (it opens in your default terminal): ``` yay -S tidemail-bin # or paru -S tidemail-bin ``` Updates come from your AUR helper — `yay -Syu` or `paru -Syu` alongside everything else, or `yay -S tidemail-bin` for just this one. Plain `pacman -Syu` will not do it: pacman skips packages it did not install from a sync repo, so it reports success and leaves TideMail where it was. TideMail notices it was installed this way and points you at the right command instead of trying to replace a root-owned binary itself. If you use [Homebrew](https://brew.sh), install TideMail with the following command: ``` brew install tidemail curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/allisonhere/tidemail/main/install.sh | sh ``` The installer writes to `~/.local/bin` by default, so it should not ask for a system password. Set `INSTALL_DIR=/path/to/bin` on the `sh` command if you want a different writable destination. If an older `tidemail` earlier on `PATH` would still run first, the installer removes it when possible or prints the exact cleanup command. On Linux the installer also adds TideMail to your app launcher (icon and desktop entry under `~/.local/share`); it opens in your default terminal. The installer also puts a manual page in `~/.local/share/man/man1`, so `man tidemail` works. The page is built into the program: if you installed some other way, `tidemail man | man -l -` shows it, and `tidemail man > tidemail.1` saves it for you to install. You can also grab an archive from the [latest release](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/releases/latest). Download `tidemail-windows-x86_64.zip` (or `-aarch64` for ARM) from the [latest release](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/releases/latest), unzip it, and run `tidemail.exe` from Windows Terminal or PowerShell. Things to know: - In-app updates are not available; download each new release by hand. - There is no system keychain support yet, so passwords and tokens are saved in plain text in `%USERPROFILE%\.config\tidemail\config.toml` . - Windows is less tested than Linux and macOS. Please report anything that misbehaves. The left pane holds accounts and folders. The upper-right pane shows the current message list. The reading pane stays below it, so opening a message never hides the rest of your inbox. Use `j` and `k` to move. Press `Tab` to cross panes. Hit `?` whenever you forget a key. TideMail keeps the help screen inside the app and lets you search it. - Folders show as a tree. In the left pane press `n` to create a folder,`r` to rename and`d` to delete the selected one,`H` to hide it locally, and`Shift+K` /`Shift+J` to walk it up or down the tree: reorder it, move it into an open folder, or out of its parent;`>` nests it under the folder above (even an empty one) and`<` moves it back out.`Enter` or`←` /`→` collapse and expand folders that have subfolders. On servers without a folder hierarchy, names stay literal and flat:`n` creates at the account root, and nesting is unavailable. - Rest on a folder to refresh a stale cache silently, press `Enter` or`s` to fetch it immediately, or press`F` to sync every folder. - Mark messages with `Space` , then archive, move, delete, or change read state as a group. - Press `/` to search the local message cache across accounts. - Use `*` for a server-backed star. The next sync picks up star changes from Gmail and other clients. - Open a message and press `r` to reply,`Ctrl+R` to reply all,`f` to forward, or`Ctrl+U` to use its unsubscribe header. Delete, archive, and move wait six seconds before TideMail sends them to the server. `Ctrl+Z` restores the last queued action. The message leaves the list at once and stays hidden through folder switches, searches and reloads; the status bar shows the countdown and then a working pill until the server confirms. If the server refuses, or never answers within 90 seconds, the message comes back with an error. The cursor stays on its message unless that message was removed. Pending read/unread and destructive operations lock conflicting actions on the affected messages. Mailbox/account mark-all-read is blocked during conflicting operations: retry it when TideMail reports a pending operation. A confirmed delete with a local cache error stays hidden while later list reloads retry the cache cleanup. The pending state shows in the status bar as a yellow pill that drains like a fuel gauge over the six-second undo window (plain themes show the seconds left), then reads `deleting ⠋` while the server confirms and fades into a green confirmation pill, or a red one if it failed. Errors show as a red pill and every other status message as a green one. See [alert colors](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/themes.md#alert-colors) for the exact colors. Compose starts in To with one account, ready for typing. With multiple senders, it starts in From, which serves as an account picker. TideMail uses the chosen account for SMTP, drafts, the From address, and its signature. Replies, forwards, and reopened drafts use the same picker. A standalone `⁂` in the compose body marks where the selected account's signature will be added when sending, before quoted text by default. Move it to change the position, or delete it to send unsigned. Drafts preserve it; drafts without a marker, including older drafts, send without an added signature. To, CC, and BCC suggest saved contacts first. TideMail follows with addresses found in mail you have synced. You can manage contacts in the app and move them through vCard files. TideMail saves the draft while you type. A sent message waits five seconds by default, which gives `Ctrl+Z` time to reopen it. Set the delay to `0` if you want mail to leave at once. Failed sends retry up to three total attempts by default; change the limit under Settings → Editor. Set it to `1` to disable retries. Press `Alt+M` in the compose panel to maximize it across the full terminal or restore its compact size. New composers and reopened drafts start compact. The standard compose editor supports Shift-selection, clipboard shortcuts, undo and redo, word movement, and Home/End. Turn Vim mode on in Settings if you prefer commands such as `dw`, `dd`, `:w`, and `:q`. The compose body soft-wraps at word boundaries (with character fallback for long words and URLs) without adding line breaks to messages or saved drafts; turn it off in Settings → Editor → Wrap at word boundaries. Read state, stars, archive, move, and delete sync through IMAP. TideMail keeps a local SQLite cache for speed and search, then reconciles it with the server on sync. By default an account uses IMAP IDLE, so mail lands as the server announces it (`sync_minutes = 0`); interval polling stays available for servers that need it, and `-1` keeps an account manual-only. Drafts live under the selected sender account. Sent messages use that account's SMTP settings and are filed in its server-side Sent folder; Gmail's own SMTP filing is detected so it does not receive a duplicate. TideMail detects common Sent, Archive, and Trash folder names, including Gmail labels. Mark-all-read updates the server, including uncached mail. Incremental sync processes backlogs in bounded pages, and failed filter deletes keep the local message available. Draft saves are serialized; closing or sending waits for pending persistence, and save failures keep the composer open. Drafts reject ordinary message selection, archive, move, and read/star actions. SMTP submission allows up to ten minutes for uploads, with 30-second connection/authentication setup. Global search stays active while you move through results. The content pane can find text inside the open message, walk links, copy a visual selection, and save attachments to a folder you choose. Receipts keep item descriptions, quantities, and amounts in aligned columns, including totals with merged cells. Narrow reading panes show labelled records instead, so prices stay associated with their items. Newsletter cards stay together — each image next to its heading, description, and button — with a thin rule between neighbouring cards. TideMail renders HTML mail as terminal text. On terminals with Kitty graphics support (Ghostty, Kitty, Rio), images embedded in the message — CID parts, inline data URIs, and content-location references — are drawn as real raster images inline in the reading pane, scrolling with the document. They fit the pane and the sender's width and height without being stretched or enlarged, and are laid out again when you change the terminal font size. Images load in the background once you stop on a message, so moving through the list stays quick. Remote images stay blocked for privacy until you press `i`, which loads them for the message you are reading; `[display] images = "off"` forces text placeholders everywhere. On terminals without graphics support every image becomes a labelled text placeholder. Choose **Settings → Display → Reading → Images** (`Auto` or `Off`) and press `Ctrl+S` to save. The change takes effect immediately; remote images still require `i` to load. The setting also shows whether inline images are supported. TideMail picks the graphics mode from your terminal's environment, and recognises Herdr automatically. If that finds nothing (for example inside another terminal multiplexer), it asks the terminal at startup whether it supports Kitty graphics and uses them if it does, so no setup is needed. If images still show as text placeholders in a terminal that supports them, force the choice by launching with `TIDEMAIL_IMAGE_PROTOCOL=kitty` (or `none` to turn graphics off), for example `TIDEMAIL_IMAGE_PROTOCOL=kitty tidemail`. **foot and WezTerm: inline images are currently unsupported.** TideMail uses text placeholders there. foot supports Sixel images, but TideMail's renderer requires Kitty Unicode placeholders; WezTerm does not support those placeholders. Email text and attachment saving still work. Full headers are one `Ctrl+E` away, with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC results called out in color. `Ctrl+O` shows the complete message source, ready to copy. Press `e` to correct a message's classification. The Category choices include Important, Work, Personal, To Do, and Later. Selecting one with `Enter` also saves its Thunderbird-compatible tag to the mail server. Checked choices are already saved; `Space` toggles a tag without removing other assignments. Existing custom tags appear in the same choices after sync. Changes require a connection and server support. AI/JEV does not publish tags automatically. Find tags by keyword or name with `#tag`, including `#"To Do"`. Custom names and colors are local to each client; edit discovered tags in **Settings → Display → Tag names and colors**. Choose **Tag icons** under **Tag style** for colored, Thunderbird-like tag glyphs, with `#` when icons are disabled. Existing appearance settings stay unchanged. Tags also appear below the date and sender in the content pane; use **Show tags in message header** under **Settings → Display → Message tags** to hide that row only. See the [user guide](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/guide.md#thunderbird--imap-mail-tags). Conversation grouping (`g`) now uses expandable message rows: `▸` / `▾` marks the parent, and children have muted tree connectors in the sender and subject columns. `Enter` expands/collapses a parent; on a child or single email it opens the reader. `Right` / `l` or `Tab` opens any selected email, including a parent. Each row previews only its own email. Delete, archive, move, star and `Space` affect only that email; explicit multi-selection remains available. Collapsed conversations show aggregate unread state; `x` marks all members read if any is unread, otherwise all unread. Expanded parents and children show and toggle only their own read state. Marking unread mail read advances to the next visible row; marking it unread does not. Confirmation and reloads retain that next target, while collapsed read actions keep their conversation closed. Explicit selections toggle individually without advancement. Expansion survives same-view refreshes; passive selection follows message identity. Unread Only still hides read history. See [Expandable conversations](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/guide.md#expandable-conversations). With **Focus line** on, Up/Down moves the reading highlight. With it off, Up/Down scrolls one row. At the bottom, another Down selects the first LINKS entry. Arrows then move between entries without wrapping; Up from the first clears selection, and the next Up resumes scrolling. Selected LINKS entries keep their highlight and chevron in both modes. `o` or `Enter` opens a selected LINKS entry or a visible link deliberately focused with the keyboard. New messages start with no link selected. Clicking a LINKS entry selects it without opening it; ordinary body clicks and scrolling never open links. `Ctrl+B` views the whole message in your browser. These actions use **Browser command** from Settings → Display when one is set. View in Browser (`Ctrl+B`) works from the message list or reading pane. It fetches the original message without marking it read and opens its HTML as a private local `.html` file in your browser: the **Browser command** from Settings → Display when one is set, otherwise the system default (`xdg-open` on Linux). Messages without HTML show a status message. Links are preserved. Remote content is blocked so opening a message does not load tracking pixels: remote images, scripts, frames, stylesheets, and web fonts are left out, and the status line reports how many remote images were dropped. Press `Ctrl+B` again right away to reopen the message with remote images loaded; this tells the sender the message was opened, so it only happens when you ask. Embedded CID images are not exported. Exports are written to a private per-user folder in the system temporary directory and deleted automatically after an hour (older ones are also pruned when TideMail starts). Link destinations containing terminal controls or Unicode line/paragraph separators are rejected, and link labels stay on one row. Bare carriage returns are removed from displayed mail while CRLF line breaks are retained. With **Actionable links** enabled, the reader's **LINKS** section uses anchor text or image descriptions. `Ctrl+N` / `Alt+N` and `Alt+P` move the visible selection and scroll it into view. The first Next selects the first entry; the first Previous selects the last. `o` or `Enter` opens the selected destination; `Ctrl+C` on a LINKS row copies its full URL when no text selection is active. Email actions appear as `[mailto: description]` and open TideMail's composer using the source message's account, including in Unified Inbox. Your default sender is the fallback if that account is unavailable. Recipients, subject, and body can be prefilled; your signature is inserted at the `⁂` marker when you send. Nothing is sent until you choose to send. Each entry shows its real destination host in parentheses, and a label that names a different site than the link goes to is marked with `!`, so a label cannot hide where a link leads. HTML resource and metadata URLs are excluded from LINKS, as are links that only wrap a hidden or 1x1 tracking pixel. Connect OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, or a local Ollama server if you want message summaries and a compose proofread. TideMail can also turn a plain-language mail rule into a local filter that runs without an AI call for each message. AI stays off until you configure a provider. TideMail can run external plugins from `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/tidemail/plugins/` (or `~/.config/tidemail/plugins/` when `XDG_CONFIG_HOME` is unset). Plugins receive message metadata, never message bodies, and can add annotations such as `needs_reply=true` or `category=shipping`. TideMail uses those annotations for tags and views such as **Needs You**, while keeping the original plugin output inspectable. Press `e` on a message to correct its classification locally; plugin reruns do not erase your correction. Result cards can offer `u` when TideMail itself finds an unsubscribe option; the plugin never receives the link, and TideMail still shows its normal confirmation before acting. Report plugins (press `enter` on one in **Plugins (experimental)**) can ask TideMail read-only questions, such as message volume or category totals, and show the answer; they never see message bodies or get database access. Administer installed plugins directly in **Settings → Plugins**. Select a plugin and press `s` to edit its settings in the right-hand pane. To install one, open **Settings → Plugins** and press `b` to browse the official [TideMail plugin collection](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail-plugins): `i` installs, `u` updates, `x` removes. TideMail shows the permissions first and checks the download's checksum. You can also copy a plugin's binary and `plugin.toml` into the plugins directory by hand. The full user guide is in [docs/guide.md](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/guide.md#plugins-experimental). If you are writing a plugin, start with the [Plugin API getting-started guide](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/plugins/getting-started.md), then see [the developer tools guide](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/plugins/developer-tools.md) for the `scaffold → build → validate → test` workflow, and see the [protocol](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/plugins/protocol.md), [manifest](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/plugins/manifest.md), and [permissions](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/plugins/permissions.md) references. Reports and read-only queries are covered in [queries](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/plugins/queries.md) and [analytics](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/plugins/analytics.md). Complete local examples are in [examples/plugins/example](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/examples/plugins/example) and [examples/plugins/analytics](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/examples/plugins/analytics). The [PGP plugin](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail-plugins/tree/main/plugins/pgp) shows the `message_raw` and `message_compose` permissions. | Key | Action | |---|---| | `j` /`k` | Move down or up | | `Tab` /`Shift+Tab` | Move between panes or compose fields | | `Up` /`Down` (compose headers) | Move between From, To, Cc, Bcc, and Subject | | `Enter` | Expand/collapse a conversation parent; open a child, single message, draft or picker; immediately sync a folder | | `c` | Compose | | `r` /`f` | Reply or forward from the reading pane | | `Space` | Select a message for a bulk action | | `a` /`m` /`d` | Archive, move, or delete | | `x` | Collapsed: toggle conversation; expanded/single: toggle email. Mark-read advances; explicit selections toggle individually without advancing | | `*` | Toggle the IMAP star | | `/` | Search messages | | `Ctrl+Z` | Cancel a send still in its delay, or undo a queued message action | | `O` | Open the Outbox | | `Ctrl+U` | Unsubscribe while reading; cycle sender while composing | | `Alt+F` /`Ctrl+R` | Attach a file while composing; remove the last attachment | | `Ctrl+D` | Save attachments from the open message | | `Ctrl+E` | Show or hide full headers | | `Ctrl+O` | View the message source ( `c` copies it) | | `Ctrl+B` | View the whole message in your browser (remote content blocked) | | `i` | Load remote images blocked for the open message | | `M` /`S` /`T` | Accounts, settings, or themes | | `Ctrl+L` in the account form | Look up a Custom account's mail servers | | `Space` in Accounts | Mark the highlighted account `★ [default]` — the sender for new messages | | `Shift+J` /`Shift+K` in Accounts | Move the highlighted account down or up the list | | `:` /`Ctrl+P` | Command palette | | `?` | Searchable help | | `q` | Quit | Press `M` to add an account. Enter the address in the first row. For a **Custom** account, moving to the next row looks up server settings from the address's domain. TideMail tries DNS SRV records, known MX providers, and the domain's HTTPS autoconfig file. Check the settings before saving with `Ctrl+S`; the lookup does not connect or save. `Ctrl+L` repeats the lookup and replaces the server settings. Changing or clearing the address removes settings from its previous lookup, while keeping server values you edited yourself. Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and iCloud have server settings built in. Gmail, Yahoo, and iCloud require an app password. Outlook can sign in with OAuth; Gmail OAuth is temporarily unavailable while Google approval is pending (see below). Any other IMAP/SMTP server, including an on-premises Microsoft Exchange server, uses **Custom** with a username and password. TideMail stores passwords, AI keys, and OAuth refresh tokens in libsecret on Linux or Keychain on macOS. If `secret-tool` is missing on Linux, TideMail falls back to `~/.config/tidemail/config.toml`, so protect that file. Google OAuth is temporarily unavailable while TideMail's Google app awaits approval. The account form and installer both call this out. Use a Google App Password instead; existing saved Gmail OAuth accounts are left unchanged. Maintainers and source-build developers: see [Google OAuth registration and release setup](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/blob/main/docs/google-oauth.md) for the approval and release checklist. Provider **Outlook** covers **Outlook.com, Hotmail, and Microsoft 365 / Exchange Online**. Microsoft dropped basic auth for these, so the account signs in with OAuth — but it needs no setup: TideMail uses Thunderbird's shared public client. Add the account, keep the **Auth** row on *OAuth*, press `Ctrl+O`, open the copied URL, approve, and paste the `https://localhost/?code=…` URL the browser lands on into the **Code** field. Set `TIDEMAIL_MS_CLIENT_ID` to your own Azure app to get the device-code flow instead. M365 work/school mailboxes need IMAP enabled by an admin (`Set-CASMailbox -ImapEnabled $true`). A self-hosted Exchange server (2016/2019/SE) is **not** the Outlook provider — it does not use Microsoft's cloud sign-in. Use the **Custom** provider with your server's IMAP/SMTP hostname and your normal username and password; on-prem Exchange still accepts basic auth over TLS. TideMail cannot connect to an on-prem server that has disabled basic auth and requires NTLM or Kerberos (GSSAPI). ``` theme = "lavender-fields-forever" # The account new messages are sent from, and the one focused at startup. # Holds an account id, so renaming or reordering never moves it. Omit it and # TideMail uses the first account below. Set it with Space in Accounts. default_account = "8f43c9e644384bd5a25a27ff0d9c2701" [display] send_delay_seconds = 5 send_max_attempts = 3 # total attempts; 1 disables automatic retries compose_vim = true compose_word_wrap = true # wrap compose text between words (default); false wraps at the edge images = "auto" # "auto" (inline + blocked remote), or "off" (text placeholders) [[account]] id = "8f43c9e644384bd5a25a27ff0d9c2701" # generated by TideMail; do not copy or edit name = "Personal" imap_host = "imap.example.com" imap_port = 993 imap_tls = true smtp_host = "smtp.example.com" smtp_port = 587 smtp_tls = true user = "mira@example.com" from = "Mira Chen " # optional, but a name alone is not an address signature = """ Mira Sent with TideMail""" sync_minutes = 0 # push via IMAP IDLE; N polls every N min, -1 is manual only ``` The signature is a multi-line box in the account form, so `Enter` gives you a new line and there is no escape to remember; editing the file by hand works too, and a TOML multi-line string is easier to read than `\n` escapes. The order of the `[[account]]` blocks is the order accounts appear everywhere: the sidebar, the account list, and the `Ctrl+U` sender picker in compose. Reorder them here, or with `Shift+J` and `Shift+K` in **Accounts**. Config lives at `~/.config/tidemail/config.toml`. TideMail puts its SQLite cache at `~/.local/share/tidemail/mail.db` unless `XDG_DATA_HOME` points elsewhere. Each account's generated `id` is its permanent internal identity, so display names may be changed or shared safely. TideMail adds missing IDs automatically and writes a one-time `.pre-account-ids.bak` copy beside the config first. TideMail refuses to start on a malformed config and prints the exact path to repair, rather than loading defaults that could overwrite the real settings. TideMail requires Go. Clone the repository, build, and run the binary: ``` git clone https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail cd tidemail go build -o tidemail . ./tidemail ``` Run the test suite with: ``` go test ./... ``` TideMail is free and MIT licensed, built and maintained by one person. If it saves you time, you can help keep it going: - **[Sponsor on GitHub](https://github.com/sponsors/allisonhere)** , one-time or monthly. It pays for the test accounts, OAuth app reviews, and the hours that go into fixes and new features. - **Star the repo** and tell a friend who still lives in a terminal. Reach matters as much as money. - **Report bugs and share ideas** in[issues](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/issues) or[discussions](https://github.com/allisonhere/tidemail/discussions) . In the app, **Settings → Support** has the same link. A single, friendly reminder appears after about a week of use; switch it off with **Settings → Display → Support reminder** (`support_reminder = false` in the config). [Bubble Tea](https://github.com/charmbracelet/bubbletea) runs the application loop. [Lipgloss](https://github.com/charmbracelet/lipgloss) handles terminal layout and color. You can reuse two parts as standalone Go libraries: Grammar checks can be canceled with Esc while retaining editable compose text. Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Q during a grammar check cancels it and follows the normal quit flow. Late grammar results are ignored; pending draft persistence remains protected. OAuth refreshes run independently per account. A malformed COPY acknowledgment triggers one fresh-connection source cleanup attempt without repeating COPY; if cleanup fails, TideMail reports the completed copy and unconfirmed removal. Cache deletion and Needs You dismiss/restore writes are atomic. A failed Needs You undo retains its history so you can retry. OAuth requires encrypted IMAP and SMTP connections, including localhost. Enable IMAP TLS and SMTP TLS (STARTTLS), or use SMTP port 465 for implicit TLS.