N1
Version:
N1 is a remarkable email client that stands apart from big players, such as Thunderbird or Evolution. The first peculiarity is that you’re welcome to build it from source but if you want a pre-built package, you’ll have to request an email invitation code and be a bit patient. Later on it’ll become clear that you can’t skip the code request, as once N1 is launched it needs that code to be entered in the only input field of first-time setup wizard. As you’d expect though the process is free.
The second main difference is the way N1 works. Unlike convenient email clients that download your inbox via POP3 or IMAP, N1 connects to its own Nylas Sync Engine server and listens to it. All authentication and data flow is performed on the server side (which is open source too). The client is basically a web page that’s rendered each time it detects changes, and the whole construction is very flexible and extensible. N1 also seems to be the only email application with built-in developer tools for writing new plugins, which are all found in the Developer menu. If you know, or want to learn, Jasmine and Coffee read the docs at https://nylas. com/N1/docs.
For lesser mortals, N1 is a classic desktop applications that supports Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud and Microsoft Exchange services and provides a very friendly wizard to set up your accounts during the first run. Currently, N1 only has a few available plugins, such as compose email translator, templates manager, mail rules, phishing detector and some others. We tested the client using a Gmail account and found N1 to be extremely responsive and very stable. The Nylas project has very good documentation too, which is primarily targeted at developers but it’s still useful for normal users, eg you can learn how to run your own local Nymas Sync Engine in case you need more control over your privacy.
“N1 seems to be the only email application with built-in dev tools.”