Sam shared “Emc² — Settings” with you
Figmato work@fastmail.com1h ago
May need you · Personal
Leave a comment before Friday's review. Four are open.
One inbox for every account
Emc² is a free, open-source email client for Windows, macOS and Linux. Gmail, iCloud, Fastmail, Yahoo and any IMAP account in one inbox that sorts itself and stays encrypted on your machine.
Today
Yesterday
Built for the keyboard
Every action has a single key, and ⌘K /Ctrl K finds the rest
Shortcuts are for the desktop app
- Search all mail/One query across every account and folder, Sent, Archive and Snoozed included. It forgives a typo
- ArchiveeDone archives, never deletes. The row leaves your inbox and stays searchable
- Teach sortingmCorrect one sender and preview the rule before it applies. Your rules win over the AI sorter
- Hide personal informationpBefore you share your screen: names, subjects and previews are hidden, and accounts show by number
- Comfortable / CompactdTwo densities. Mail that may need you keeps its taller two-line row
- ComposecPlain-text mail with a signature for each account. Templates add text without replacing your draft
Type anything you remember about a message.
Everything in its place
Six tabs, every account, and the tools to keep it that way
Inbox tabs
Primary, Social, Promotions, Newsletters, Transactions and Updates. Mail that may need you gets a taller row.
Accounts
Add accountUnified accounts
Gmail through Google sign-in, everything else over IMAP. Filter to one account or see them all.
Search
One query across every account and folder. It forgives a typo.
Teach sorting
Correct one sender and preview the rule before it applies. Your rules win over the AI sorter.
Templates & signatures
Plain-text templates and a signature per account, kept in the encrypted store.
Privacy mode
Press p before you share your screen. Names, subjects and previews hide; accounts show by number.
Calendar follow-ups
Date-only deadlines and optional follow-ups in month and agenda views, kept on this machine.
Private by design
Your mail lives in one encrypted database on your disk. There is no Emc² server and no cloud copy.
Encrypt mail on diskMail.db is encrypted; the key never leaves the keychain.
Encrypted on disk
Mail is stored encrypted with a key your system keychain protects. If encryption is unavailable, Emc² stops instead of saving plain text.
imap.fastmail.comTLS · Direct
No server in between
The app talks straight to Gmail or your IMAP server. Nothing is copied to a cloud of ours, because there isn't one.
AI sortingNothing leaves this machine for sorting.
Agent access (MCP)Local agents cannot reach your mail.
AI and agents stay off
AI sorting uses a key you add: OpenAI, or TypeSafe's Jev model through TypeSafe, OpenRouter or Vercel AI Gateway. Local agent access (MCP) is off by default, and sending needs its own opt-in.
Each new message, as Jev receives it:
From: priya@studio-north.com
Subject: Can we move Thursday's review?
Something came up on my side. Does Friday at 10:00 work instead?OpenAI also receives the cached message content and metadata
Why switch
How Emc² compares with three popular desktop clients
| Feature | Emc² | Thunderbird | Mailspring | Spark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Yes | Yes | Yes, Pro is paid | Yes, Premium is paid |
| Open source | MIT | MPL 2.0 | GPLv3 | No |
| Local-only storage | Yes | Yes | Mail is local; Pro features sync metadata | No, servers hold account access for push |
| Encrypted on disk | Yes | No | No | Not stated |
| Unified inbox | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI sorting with your own key | Yes | No | No | No |
| Keyboard-first | Yes | Shortcuts | Shortcut sets | Shortcuts |
| MCP for AI agents | Built in, off by default | Third-party add-ons | Built in, off by default | Through Spark CLI |
Checked October 2026 against each project's documentation: Thunderbird storage, Mailspring ID, Mailspring MCP, Spark accounts, Spark CLI.
Free on every desktop
MIT licensed · Version 0.2.27, released 2 Nov 2026· Every release lists SHA-256 checksums
Windows
Windows installer
Download .exe147 MB · SHA-256 0e2dad6b…6ff5fe
Seeing a warning?
SmartScreen may show “Windows protected your PC”. Select More info, then Run anyway. The installer is not code-signed yet, so compare its SHA-256 first
macOS
Signed locally on first launch
Apple siliconIntelApple silicon · 168 MB SHA-256 3da65f3a…a49bfb
Intel · 175 MB SHA-256 b87f08ab…95d695
Seeing a warning?
Emc² is not notarized by Apple, so macOS may stop the first launch
- macOS 14 or earlier: Control-click (or right-click) Emc² in Applications, choose Open, then Open again
- macOS 15 or later: try to open Emc² once, then go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and choose Open Anyway
Compare the SHA-256 first
Linux
AppImage
Download .AppImage167 MB · SHA-256 de0e89c2…aed060
Seeing a warning?
If the AppImage does not open, make it executable: right-click it, choose Properties → Permissions and allow running it as a program, or run chmod +x on the file
Some distributions also need the libfuse2 package
Source on git.cafe (collection-of-devs), where the core team works, and GitHub (collection-of-things), which mirrors it both ways and hosts releases· 0 stars · 0 downloads
Questions
What does Emc² cost?
Nothing. It is open source under the MIT licence. The installers on the releases page are free, and the source builds the same app.
Where does my mail live?
In one database on your own disk, encrypted with a key your system keychain protects. There is no Emc² server and no cloud copy.
Which accounts can I connect?
Gmail through Google sign-in, and any IMAP server: iCloud, Fastmail, Yahoo or your own host. Replies go out through the same account.
Why does my system warn me on first launch?
The Windows installer is unsigned and the macOS app is signed locally, without a paid certificate. Each release lists SHA-256 checksums, and the source builds the identical app.
Is there a Mac build for Intel?
Yes. Every release has one DMG for Apple silicon and one for Intel, and Linux gets an AppImage. The app updates itself from the same releases.
Can my AI assistant use it?
Only if you allow it. A local MCP server is off by default, grants are per client and per account, and sending needs its own separate opt-in.
How do I report a bug or contribute?
Open an issue or a pull request on git.cafe (collection-of-devs) or GitHub (collection-of-things). They are the same project under two organisation names, synced both ways. Leave personal details and private mail out of anything you post.
Source on git.cafe (collection-of-devs) and GitHub (collection-of-things)