Notes 
NeoMutt is a command-line email client for Linux and macOS, forked from Mutt with a large collection of patches and added features. It supports IMAP, POP3, SMTP, OpenPGP, S/MIME, Notmuch search integration, and is highly configurable via a plain-text config file.
Reviewed by Marco Wollank
NeoMutt
neomutt.org 2 ratings so far*
Rate NeoMutt: No account needed
Threat level
Hardened
A hardened pick. Worth the effort once you have chosen to shrink your footprint on purpose. Enough for most people. Threat levels
Our take
NeoMutt is the terminal email client of choice for users who want maximum control with zero GUI overhead: it runs entirely in a terminal, integrates cleanly with GnuPG for OpenPGP, and pairs well with Notmuch for fast full-text search across large archives. The configuration file doubles as a script, so power users can automate nearly anything. The honest catch is a steep initial learning curve, and the plain-text interface is a deliberate trade-off, not a limitation. Skip it if you need a mobile client or drag-and-drop attachments; it is the right pick for developers, sysadmins, and privacy-conscious users who live in the terminal.
GitHub at a glance
neomutt/neomutt GPL-2.0 ccliemailimapmailmaildirmboxmimemuamuttncursesneomuttnntpnotmuchpgppop3smtp
Stars
3,860
+3 this week
Forks
354
55 watching
Last commit
2d ago
healthy
Latest release
20260616
5mo ago, 100+ total
Star history
Issues
89% closed
263
open
2,136
closed
+6 / -6
opened / closed, last 4 weeks
Opened vs closed, last 12 weeks
Commits, last 26 weeks
193 commits, active 19 of 26 weeks
348 contributors since Dec 2015
Languages
- C 96.9%
- Tcl 1.6%
- Shell 0.9%
- Other 0.6%
Updated daily from the GitHub API. Star tracking since Jun 22, 2026.
Website at a glance
neomutt.org
F score 0
Weak website security headers
Graded by Mozilla HTTP Observatory, tested 4d ago
Inspect this site yourself
Measures the security configuration of the tool's own website, not the privacy of the product itself. A strong tool can still score low here.
NeoMutt alternatives
FairEmail FairEmail is a fully featured, open-source email client for Android that uses standard IMAP/SMTP protocols and supports OpenPGP and S/MIME encryption. It blocks remote image tracking, confirms link opens, and stores no data on third-party servers.
Thunderbird Mozilla Thunderbird is a email client, personal information manager, news client, RSS and chat client.
K-9 Mail K-9 Mail is an open source email client focused on making it easy to chew through large volumes of email. Designed for both novice and power users and offers lots of features…
Canary Mail Canary's security suite is second to none with Seamless End-To-End Encryption, Full PGP Support, Biometric App Lock, On-Device Fetch, No Ads, No Data Mining & Open Source Mail…
Apple Mail Apple Mail is the built-in email client on macOS and iOS, supporting IMAP, SMTP, and S/MIME. Mail Privacy Protection hides the user's IP address and loads remote content via Apple proxy servers to block tracking pixels.
Mailvelope Bring email encryption straight into your browser. We recommend using Firefox for this. It can be used to encrypt and sign electronic messages, including attached files,…
NeoMutt license, in plain English
GPL-2.0 Strong copyleft
Free to use and modify, but anything you distribute that is built on it must also be open under the same license.
Permits
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Private use
Requires
- Disclose source
- Same license
- State changes
- License and copyright notice
Does not provide
- Liability cover
- Warranty
Why it matters: Strong copyleft keeps every distributed version open. A vendor cannot fold this into a closed product and ship it without releasing their changes.
Plain-language summary of the project's license, not legal advice. Read the full text for the exact terms.
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