- name
- himalaya
- description
- CLI to manage emails via IMAP/SMTP. Use
himalayato list, read, write, reply, forward, search, and organize emails from the terminal. Supports multiple accounts and message composition with MML (MIME Meta Language). - homepage
- https://github.com/pimalaya/himalaya
- metadata
- {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"📧","requires":{"bins":["himalaya"]},"install":[{"id":"brew","kind":"brew","formula":"himalaya","bins":["himalaya"],"label":"Install Himalaya (brew)"}]}}
Himalaya Email CLI
Himalaya is a CLI email client that lets you manage emails from the terminal using IMAP, SMTP, Notmuch, or Sendmail backends.
References
references/configuration.md(config file setup + IMAP/SMTP authentication)references/message-composition.md(MML syntax for composing emails)
Prerequisites
- Himalaya CLI installed (
himalaya --versionto verify) - A configuration file at
~/.config/himalaya/config.toml - IMAP/SMTP credentials configured (password stored securely)
Configuration Setup
Run the interactive wizard to set up an account:
himalaya account configureOr create ~/.config/himalaya/config.toml manually:
[accounts.personal]
email = "you@example.com"
display-name = "Your Name"
default = true
backend.type = "imap"
backend.host = "imap.example.com"
backend.port = 993
backend.encryption.type = "tls"
backend.login = "you@example.com"
backend.auth.type = "password"
backend.auth.cmd = "pass show email/imap" # or use keyring
message.send.backend.type = "smtp"
message.send.backend.host = "smtp.example.com"
message.send.backend.port = 587
message.send.backend.encryption.type = "start-tls"
message.send.backend.login = "you@example.com"
message.send.backend.auth.type = "password"
message.send.backend.auth.cmd = "pass show email/smtp"Common Operations
List Folders
himalaya folder listList Emails
List emails in INBOX (default):
himalaya envelope listList emails in a specific folder:
himalaya envelope list --folder "Sent"List with pagination:
himalaya envelope list --page 1 --page-size 20Search Emails
himalaya envelope list from john@example.com subject meetingRead an Email
Read email by ID (shows plain text):
himalaya message read 42Export raw MIME:
himalaya message export 42 --fullReply to an Email
Interactive reply (opens $EDITOR):
himalaya message reply 42Reply-all:
himalaya message reply 42 --allForward an Email
himalaya message forward 42Write a New Email
Interactive compose (opens $EDITOR):
himalaya message writeSend directly using template:
cat << 'EOF' | himalaya template send
From: you@example.com
To: recipient@example.com
Subject: Test Message
Hello from Himalaya!
EOFOr with headers flag:
himalaya message write -H "To:recipient@example.com" -H "Subject:Test" "Message body here"Move/Copy Emails
Move to folder:
himalaya message move 42 "Archive"Copy to folder:
himalaya message copy 42 "Important"Delete an Email
himalaya message delete 42Manage Flags
Add flag:
himalaya flag add 42 --flag seenRemove flag:
himalaya flag remove 42 --flag seenMultiple Accounts
List accounts:
himalaya account listUse a specific account:
himalaya --account work envelope listAttachments
Save attachments from a message:
himalaya attachment download 42Save to specific directory:
himalaya attachment download 42 --dir ~/DownloadsOutput Formats
Most commands support --output for structured output:
himalaya envelope list --output json
himalaya envelope list --output plainDebugging
Enable debug logging:
RUST_LOG=debug himalaya envelope listFull trace with backtrace:
RUST_LOG=trace RUST_BACKTRACE=1 himalaya envelope listTips
- Use
himalaya --helporhimalaya <command> --helpfor detailed usage. - Message IDs are relative to the current folder; re-list after folder changes.
- For composing rich emails with attachments, use MML syntax (see
references/message-composition.md). - Store passwords securely using
pass, system keyring, or a command that outputs the password.