brew

Install claws-mail with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, scoop, winget, zypper

User-friendly, lightweight, and fast email client. Version 4.4.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-14.

Install command Security notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install claws-mail

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install claws-mail

MacPorts ports tree · mail/claws-mail/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add claws-mail

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · claws-mail · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install claws-mail

Debian stable package indexes · claws-mail · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install claws-mail

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · claws-mail · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#claws-mail

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/cl/claws-mail/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S claws-mail

Arch Linux sync databases · claws-mail · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%

sudo zypper install claws-mail

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · claws-mail · source: download.opensuse.org

Windows

Scoopverified · 92%

scoop install extras/claws-mail

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/claws-mail.json · source: api.github.com

Windows Package Managerverified · 92%

winget install --id ClawsMail.ClawsMail -e

Windows Package Manager source index · ClawsMail.ClawsMail · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com

overview

Package summary

User-friendly, lightweight, and fast email client

Project links

Commands and aliases

claws-mail

history

Project history and usage

Claws Mail is a GTK-based email and news client known for being lightweight, fast, and extensible. Its official manual traces the project to April 2001, when it began as Sylpheed-Claws, a development test bed for Sylpheed features, before becoming an independent project and taking the Claws Mail name in November 2006.

Project history

The official manual says Sylpheed-Claws was created so new mail-client features could be tested without compromising Sylpheed stability, with developers regularly synchronizing with Hiroyuki Yamamoto's Sylpheed codebase. The projects later diverged: work on GTK2 started in early 2003, the first GTK2-based Sylpheed-Claws release arrived in March 2005, and the project became Claws Mail in 2006.

Claws Mail continued to emphasize a traditional Unix desktop mail-client model: multiple accounts and mailboxes, POP3, IMAP, local mbox, SSL, authentication methods, filtering, searching, import/export, GnuPG, plugins, configurable toolbars, per-folder preferences, and safeguards against data loss.

Adoption history

The package has broad distribution coverage across Unix-like and Windows package ecosystems. The batch metadata lists Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, openSUSE, Alpine, Nix, MacPorts, Scoop, and WinGet package names, which reflects its long life as a cross-platform desktop utility rather than a single-distro niche app.

The official news page for 4.4.0 on 2026-03-09 calls that release the project's 25-year milestone, showing continued upstream maintenance into the mid-2020s.

How it is used

Claws Mail is used as a graphical mail and news reader for users who want a fast, configurable client without a full personal-information-manager stack. Official FAQ entries document MH mail storage, local Unix mailbox handling, POP3, IMAP, SMTP-only accounts, GPG support, filtering, plugins, address completion, and an explicit no-HTML-message-composition stance.

Why package nerds care

For package maintainers, Claws Mail is interesting because it is a mature GTK desktop application with many optional integrations: TLS, libetpan, GPG, spam filtering, HTML rendering plugins, notification plugins, translations, manuals, and platform-specific packaging. It is also a useful example of an old-school GUI mail client that remains packageable across Unix package managers and Windows package catalogs.

Timeline

2001: Sylpheed-Claws begins in April as a Sylpheed feature test bed.
2003: GTK2 work begins for Sylpheed and Sylpheed-Claws.
2005: First GTK2-based Sylpheed-Claws release appears in March.
2006: The project changes its name to Claws Mail in November.
2026: Claws Mail 4.4.0 release notes mark 25 years of the project.

Related projects

Sylpheed is the direct ancestor and early upstream counterpart named in the Claws Mail manual.
The official manual positions Claws Mail beside other mail clients such as Evolution and Outlook by saying it is not a full personal information manager.
Plugins and related tools include GnuPG support, Bogofilter, SpamAssassin, mailMBOX, RSSyl, notification plugins, and HTML display plugins documented by the manual, FAQ, and release notes.

Sources

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for claws-mail. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Installs with 12 runtime dependencies.
Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: ~/.claws-mail/clawsrc~/.claws-mail/accountrc~/.claws-mail/actionsrc~/.claws-mail/customheaderrc~/.claws-mail/dispheaderrc~/.claws-mail/folderitemrc~/.claws-mail/folderlist.xml~/.claws-mail/matcherrc~/.claws-mail/menurc~/.claws-mail/addrbook/addrbook-*.xml

Credential files

Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.

Unix: ~/.claws-mail/passwordstorerc~/.claws-mail/oauth2rc

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`claws-mail`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version4.4.0

manager updated2026-06-14

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://www.claws-mail.org/

infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://www.claws-mail.org/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:claws-mail
Version	4.4.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/claws-mail
Homepage	https://www.claws-mail.org/
Repository	https://git.claws-mail.org/?p=claws.git%3Ba%3Dsummary
Upstream docs	https://www.claws-mail.org/faq/index.php/Installation_and_Configuration
License	GPL-3.0-or-later
Source archive	https://www.claws-mail.org/releases/claws-mail-4.4.0.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-06-14T23:21:49Z
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	at-spi2-core, cairo, gdk-pixbuf, gettext, glib, gnutls, gtk+3, harfbuzz, libetpan, nettle, openssl@3, pango
Build dependencies	pkgconf
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	claws-mail
Version Scheme	0
Revision	3
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Debian apt95%

claws-mail 4.3.1-1

Fast, lightweight and user-friendly GTK based email client