macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install notmuch-muttlocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install notmuch-mutt with Homebrew, apt, dnf, Nix, pacman
Notmuch integration for Mutt. Version 0.40 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install notmuch-muttDebian stable package indexes · notmuch-mutt · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install notmuch-muttFedora Rawhide package metadata · notmuch-mutt · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#notmuch-muttnixpkgs package indexes · notmuch-mutt · source: raw.githubusercontent.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S notmuch-muttArch Linux sync databases · notmuch-mutt · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
overview
Package summary
Notmuch integration for Mutt
Project links
Commands and aliases
- notmuch-mutt
history
Project history and usage
notmuch-mutt is the Mutt integration script shipped with Notmuch. It exists for users who want Notmuch's fast full-text search, thread reconstruction, and tagging while continuing to read mail in Mutt.
The package is not an independent upstream project; its history follows Notmuch. Homebrew splits it as a separate formula, and several Linux distributions package it separately, because Mutt users may want the bridge without installing the Emacs UI pieces.
Project history
The Notmuch wiki frames notmuch-mutt as an old-fashioned mixed setup: Notmuch performs indexing/search, and Mutt remains the mail user agent. The script creates a virtual maildir folder containing search results whenever a search is made.
The Notmuch notmuch-mutt wiki page was created on 2013-01-08 and points to Stefano Zacchiroli's January 2011 how-to for using Notmuch with Mutt, which is a useful marker for the integration's early community usage.
Adoption history
Adoption is niche but durable. Homebrew's formula API reported 276 install-on-request events in its 365-day analytics window, while the main notmuch formula reported 2,580 install-on-request events. That gap is expected because notmuch-mutt serves a subset of Notmuch users who stay with Mutt.
The integration also sits beside a wider Notmuch frontend ecosystem. Notmuch's frontend page lists notmuch-mutt as a shipped frontend, and also lists NeoMutt, notmuchfs, aerc, alot, astroid, and other tools that grew around Notmuch's library and database model.
How it is used
Users configure Mutt macros or scripts so a query runs through notmuch-mutt, which then exposes matching messages as a virtual maildir. The tradeoff is classic and explicit in the docs: global search across folders works, but changes made in the result listing do not automatically carry back to the original folders.
A second style uses Mutt's limit feature with notmuch search --output=messages and message-id filtering. The Notmuch wiki describes this as more natural for people who think in one-folder-at-a-time Mutt workflows, but warns that it scales only for reasonably specific queries.
Why package nerds care
notmuch-mutt is packaging glue, but important glue: it shows why Notmuch became infrastructure rather than just an email client. The separate Homebrew formula lets old-school Mutt users adopt the search/indexing layer without changing their whole mail UI.
Timeline
- 2011-01: Stefano Zacchiroli published a Notmuch-with-Mutt how-to referenced by the Notmuch wiki.
- 2013-01-08: Notmuch wiki page for notmuch-mutt created.
- 2026-01-31: Notmuch 0.40 released; Homebrew packages notmuch-mutt at the matching 0.40 version.
Related projects
- notmuch
- Mutt
- NeoMutt
- notmuchfs
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- Installs with 2 runtime 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
$NOTMUCH_CONFIG$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/notmuch/<profile>/config$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/notmuch/default/config~/.notmuch-config.<profile>~/.notmuch-config
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
notmuch-mutt | 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 version0.40
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://notmuchmail.org/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:notmuch-mutt |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.40 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/notmuch-mutt |
| Homepage | https://notmuchmail.org/ |
| Repository | https://git.notmuchmail.org/git/notmuch |
| Upstream docs | https://notmuchmail.org/notmuch-mutt |
| License | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://notmuchmail.org/releases/notmuch-0.40.tar.xz |
| Dependencies | notmuch, readline |
| Uses from macOS | ncurses, perl |
| 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 | notmuch-mutt |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
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%
notmuch-mutt 0.39-1
thread-based email index, search and tagging (Mutt interface)
sudo apt install notmuch-mutt- Section: mail
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: notmuch
- 5 dependencies
- 2 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Notmuch Mutt
Nix95%
notmuch-mutt
nix profile install nixpkgs#notmuch-mutt- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Notmuch Mutt
Ubuntu apt95%
notmuch-mutt 0.38.3-1ubuntu2
thread-based email index, search and tagging (Mutt interface)
sudo apt install notmuch-mutt- Section: universe/mail
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: notmuch
- 5 dependencies
- 1 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Notmuch Mutt
dnf95%
notmuch-mutt 0.40-3.fc45
Notmuch (of a) helper for Mutt
sudo dnf install notmuch-mutt- License: GPL-3.0-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: notmuch
- 3 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Notmuch Mutt
pacman95%
notmuch-mutt 0.40-2
The mail indexer
sudo pacman -S notmuch-mutt- License: GPL3
- Architecture: x86_64
- 6 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Notmuch Mutt
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- av.db category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment