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Himalaya

lastmod 2024-12-11created 2024-12-111 edits

CLI for managing email (the homepage calls it Pimalaya)

Features

  • Multi-account configuration: interactive setup through a wizard, or manual TOML-based configuration
  • Message composition: compose messages based on $EDITOR
  • Multiple backends supported: IMAP, Maildir, Notmuch, SMTP, Sendmail
  • Secret management through the global system keyring
  • OAuth 2.0 authentication flow support
  • JSON output support
  • PGP encryption: encryption via shell commands, GPG bindings, or a native implementation

Configuration

  • Provides a wizard for basic account setup
  • Supports integration with Proton Mail (Bridge), Gmail, Outlook, and iCloud Mail
  • Recommends a CLI-queryable password manager or the system keyring for managing passwords securely

Other interfaces

  • Vim and Emacs plugins and a Raycast extension available
  • An experimental REPL variant of the Himalaya CLI available

FAQ

  • Difference from aerc, mutt, alpine: Himalaya is a command-line interface that interacts with email through shell commands, without an event loop
  • How to compose a message: use a template made up of headers and a body
  • How to add attachments: MML can be used to attach files and add inline images
  • How to debug: use the --debug and --trace arguments, or set environment variables, to record logs

Hacker News comments

  • Himalaya: CLI to Manage Emails | Hacker News
  • Himalaya makes it easy to write CLI tools and automate email workflows. It pairs well with August and can convert HTML to text. I used it to write a tool that automates git email patches
  • I like the trend of TUIs getting attention and use. I wrote a TUI tool with Textual that interfaces with Outlook, implementing email categorization and archiving/deleting with a Vim-style UX
  • Wondering whether it supports email filters. I'd like to manage Gmail filters programmatically or through a config file
  • I think I've seen this project before, and I'm glad it keeps getting updates. Planning to try it soon
    • Reading the docs, I like the oauth2 and json output features
    • Wondering whether the "himalaya ..." command has to be run periodically, or whether leaving the TUI open refreshes in the background
    • Wondering whether the "From" header can be rewritten when composing, like in Thunderbird
  • Confusing whether it's 'Pimalaya' or 'Himalaya'
  • Wondering if anyone manages email with a local LLM. Seems like it would be useful
  • The HN title says "CLI to...", but I can't find CLI-focused documentation in the GitHub repository
    • There is a himalaya envelope list --account posteo --folder Archives.FOSS --page 2 command and a screenshot that looks like PINE
    • Wondering whether that screenshot is interactive like PINE, or whether himalaya prints output and the process exits
  • I'd been keeping an eye on this project, but hesitated because email setup seemed tedious before 1.0
    • Would like to see a blog or post about the roadmap for this project and organization
  • Wondering whether this tool can be used in a Microsoft Teams enterprise organization. Probably not, but hoping there's a way

See also

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author Zer0 sitemap