Install alot with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• alot

Project history

The official README defines alot as an alternative to the Emacs mode shipped with notmuch. Its manual is copyright 2012-24 Patrick Totzke, and the repository has a long 0.x release line, making it one of the durable terminal clients in the notmuch ecosystem.

Rather than replacing mail delivery, synchronization, or indexing, alot focuses on the user-agent layer: browsing notmuch-indexed mail, composing replies, managing accounts for sending through sendmail, invoking external editors, and exposing hooks, theming, and key bindings.

Adoption history

alot's adoption has been strongest among users who already chose the notmuch model: mail is synchronized and indexed outside the client, then a specialized frontend provides interaction. The README points users to the manual, a wiki for contributed hooks and hacks, GitHub issues and pull requests, and an IRC channel for developer/community discussion.

Its package-manager spread across Homebrew, Debian, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, and Ubuntu reflects the Unix-mail niche: not huge by desktop-client standards, but visible wherever terminal mail clients and notmuch workflows are packaged.

How it is used

Users run `alot` to open a terminal UI with buffers and modes. Movement works with arrow keys, page keys, `j`, `k`, and Space; `:` opens the command prompt; `?` shows key bindings for the current mode.

Configuration is an INI-style file at `~/.config/alot/config`. The docs say all config is optional, but sending mail requires at least one account entry. Features include configurable keyboard maps, colors and layout themes, contact completion commands, Python hooks, PGP/MIME signing and encryption, and notmuch database write-queue management.

Why package nerds care

alot is significant as a small, composable Unix mail package: it assumes notmuch for indexing and lets other tools handle sync, sendmail, editors, contacts, and crypto. That makes dependency and integration metadata more important than a single monolithic app description.

It is also a good example of a lowercase command/package name that intentionally belongs to a larger toolchain. Package users rarely install `alot` alone; they install it as part of a notmuch-centered terminal mail setup.

Timeline

• 2012-2024: Official manual copyright range for Patrick Totzke.
• 0.x era: Git tags show a long 0.x release series through v0.12.
• Current: README and Read the Docs manual describe alot as a notmuch-based terminal MUA with modular command-prompt UI.

Related projects

• notmuch is the mail indexer that alot builds on.
• urwid is the Python terminal UI toolkit used by alot.
• sendmail-compatible tools, external editors, and PGP/MIME tooling are part of common alot deployments.

Sources

• https://alot.readthedocs.io/en/latest/configuration/index.html
• https://alot.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pazz/alot/master/README.md