A polished, secure, open-source web client for managing multiple IMAP email accounts.
Main inbox with multi-account support and folder tree navigation
Add email account with auto-configuration support
Customizable appearance, email display, and compose settings
- Multi-account IMAP support with tree or dropdown navigation
- Secure credential storage (AES-256-GCM encrypted per-user)
- Real-time updates via WebSocket + IMAP IDLE
- Virtualized email list (handles large mailboxes with 60fps scrolling)
- Keyboard shortcuts (Gmail-like, press
?for help) - Dark mode support
- Rich text compose with TipTap editor
- File attachments with drag & drop
- Reply/Reply All/Forward
- Bulk email actions (mark read/unread, star, archive, delete, move)
- Instant email search
- Email auto-configuration via DNS/domain discovery
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Build all packages
npm run build
# Initialize the database (first time only)
cd packages/server && npm run db:setup && cd ../..
# Development mode (runs both server and client)
npm run devOpen http://localhost:5173 in your browser.
- Click "Add Account" in the sidebar
- Enter your email address - settings will auto-configure for common providers
- For Gmail: Use an App Password (not your regular password)
- For Outlook: Use
outlook.office365.com(port 993) - Click "Test Connection" to verify, then "Add Account"
imap-browser/
├── packages/
│ ├── shared/ # Shared TypeScript types and Zod schemas
│ ├── server/ # Fastify backend
│ │ └── src/
│ │ ├── db/ # Drizzle ORM schema and database
│ │ ├── services/ # Auth, IMAP, SMTP, email operations
│ │ ├── routes/ # REST API endpoints
│ │ └── websocket/# Real-time updates
│ └── client/ # React frontend
│ └── src/
│ ├── components/
│ ├── hooks/ # React Query hooks
│ ├── stores/ # Zustand state
│ └── pages/ # Login, Mail, Settings
├── screenshots/ # Application screenshots
├── Dockerfile
├── docker-compose.yml
└── .env.example
- Fastify - Fast HTTP framework
- Drizzle ORM - Type-safe SQL with SQLite
- ImapFlow - Modern IMAP client with IDLE support
- Nodemailer - SMTP for sending emails
- Argon2 - Password hashing
- AES-256-GCM - Credential encryption
- React 18 with TypeScript
- Vite - Build tool
- TanStack Query - Server state management
- TanStack Virtual - Virtualized lists
- Zustand - Client state
- shadcn/ui + Radix UI - Accessible components
- Tailwind CSS - Styling
- TipTap - Rich text editor
- User passwords are hashed with Argon2id
- Each user has a unique encryption salt
- IMAP/SMTP credentials are encrypted with AES-256-GCM using a key derived from the user's password
- Sessions use HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite=Strict cookies
- Auth cookie expires in 15 minutes (auto-refreshed)
POST /api/auth/register Create account
POST /api/auth/login Login
POST /api/auth/logout Logout
GET /api/auth/me Current user
GET /api/accounts List IMAP accounts
POST /api/accounts Add account
PATCH /api/accounts/:id Update account
DELETE /api/accounts/:id Delete account
GET /api/accounts/:id/folders List folders
POST /api/accounts/:id/sync Sync folders
GET /api/accounts/:id/folders/:fid/emails List emails
GET /api/accounts/:id/emails/:eid Get email
POST /api/accounts/:id/emails/flags Update flags
POST /api/accounts/:id/emails/move Move emails
POST /api/accounts/:id/emails/delete Delete emails
POST /api/send Send email
POST /api/drafts Save draft
GET /api/settings Get settings
PATCH /api/settings Update settings
WS /ws WebSocket for real-time updates
docker-compose up -dOr build manually:
docker build -t imap-browser .
docker run -p 3000:3000 -v imap-data:/app/data imap-browserNODE_ENV=development
PORT=3000
HOST=0.0.0.0
DATABASE_PATH=./data/imap-browser.db
COOKIE_SECRET=change-me-in-production-to-a-random-32-char-string
CORS_ORIGIN=http://localhost:5173bash scripts/test-api.shcd packages/client && npx tsc --noEmit
cd packages/server && npx tsc --noEmitMIT