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.
Official website neomutt.org
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
Stars
3,745
+ 1 this week
Last commit
3d ago
healthy
License
GPL-2.0
Latest release
20260616
3d ago
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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.