git:20260404.579d601 to git:20260511.a1ca7ab

---

name: himalaya

description: "CLI to manage emails via IMAP/SMTP. Use himalaya to list, read, write, reply, forward, search, and organize emails from the terminal. Supports multiple accounts and message composition with MML (MIME Meta Language)."

dependencies:

commands:

- himalaya

platforms:

- macos

- linux

---

# 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)

## Prerequisites

1. **Himalaya CLI** - the `himalaya` binary must already be on `PATH`. Check with `himalaya --version`.

- **Recommended: v1.2.0 or newer.** Older releases can fail against some IMAP servers.

2. A configuration file at `~/.config/himalaya/config.toml`

3. IMAP/SMTP credentials configured (password stored securely)

## Configuration Setup

Run the interactive wizard to set up an account:

```bash

himalaya account configure default

```

Or create `~/.config/himalaya/config.toml` manually:

```toml

[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"

```

If using 163 mail, add `backend.extensions.id.send-after-auth = true`.

## Common Operations

### List Folders

```bash

himalaya folder list

```

### List Emails

```bash

himalaya envelope list # INBOX (default)

himalaya envelope list --folder "Sent" # Specific folder

himalaya envelope list --page 1 --page-size 20 # With pagination

```

### Search Emails

```bash

himalaya envelope list from john@example.com subject meeting

```

### Read an Email

```bash

himalaya message read 42 # Plain text

himalaya message export 42 --full # Raw MIME

```

### Send / Compose Emails

**Recommended:** Use `template write | template send` pipeline:

```bash

export EDITOR=cat

himalaya template write \

-H "To: recipient@example.com" \

-H "Subject: Email Subject" \

"Email body content" | himalaya template send

```

**With CC:**

```bash

export EDITOR=cat

himalaya template write \

-H "To: recipient@example.com" \

-H "Cc: cc@example.com" \

-H "Subject: Email Subject" \

"Email body content" | himalaya template send

```

**With attachments (Python fallback):**

```python

import smtplib

from email.mime.multipart import MIMEMultipart

from email.mime.text import MIMEText

from email.mime.base import MIMEBase

from email import encoders

msg = MIMEMultipart()

msg['From'] = 'sender@example.com'

msg['To'] = 'recipient@example.com'

msg['Subject'] = 'Email with attachment'

msg.attach(MIMEText('Email body', 'plain'))

with open('/path/to/file.pdf', 'rb') as f:

part = MIMEBase('application', 'octet-stream')

part.set_payload(f.read())

encoders.encode_base64(part)

part.add_header('Content-Disposition', 'attachment; filename="file.pdf"')

msg.attach(part)

server = smtplib.SMTP_SSL('smtp.example.com', 465)

server.login('sender@example.com', 'password')

server.send_message(msg)

server.quit()

```

**Known limitations:**

- MML attachment parsing may fail in himalaya v1.1.0 - use Python for attachments

- `message write` hangs in non-interactive mode - use `template write | template send`

- `message send` may fail with header parsing - use `template send`

**Configuration requirement:** Set `message.send.save-to-folder` in config.toml:

```toml

[accounts.default]

message.send.save-to-folder = "Sent"

```

### Move/Copy Emails

```bash

himalaya message move 42 "Archive"

himalaya message copy 42 "Important"

```

### Delete an Email

```bash

himalaya message delete 42

```

### Manage Flags

```bash

himalaya flag add 42 --flag seen

himalaya flag remove 42 --flag seen

```

## Multiple Accounts

```bash

himalaya account list # List accounts

himalaya --account work envelope list # Use specific account

```

## Attachments

```bash

himalaya attachment download 42 # Save attachments

himalaya attachment download 42 --dir ~/dl # Save to directory

```

## Output Formats

```bash

himalaya envelope list --output json

himalaya envelope list --output plain

```

## Debugging

```bash

RUST_LOG=debug himalaya envelope list

RUST_LOG=trace RUST_BACKTRACE=1 himalaya envelope list

```

## Tips

- Message IDs are relative to the current folder; re-list after folder changes.

- Store passwords securely using `pass`, system keyring, or a command.

- **For automation:** Always use `template write | template send` with `export EDITOR=cat`.

- **163 Mail:** Set `backend.extensions.id.send-after-auth = true` and `message.send.save-to-folder = "Sent"`.

- **Folder names:** Use English folder names for better compatibility.