maillist

ETAF mailing-list client for Emacs. It reads public-inbox archives — the thread list, the conversation and each message — and keeps the reader's own read and starred marks, and the fetched bodies, in a local SQLite file. Replies and new posts open in message-mode and leave through smtpmail.

At a wide frame the list and the open thread share the window; the divider between them is draggable:

Below maillist-narrow-width the two columns become one: the list first, then the open thread with a way back above it.

A short window keeps the header, the rows and the reader without stretching either column past the canvas:

Capabilities

• Thread list with the archive's own date grouping, unread and starred scopes, and one row per discussion.
• Reads the conversation message by message: quotes, patch hunks and the addresses a message mentions are marked up, and a long thread opens with its newest messages and grows on demand.
• Search in the archive's own syntax (from:, subject:, dates) plus local marks; a search the archive cannot answer is served from the cached bodies.
• Read marks: opening a thread marks it read once its body is on screen, M-u puts it back in the queue and A clears a scope.
• Older mail than the archive's first page loads from its date search, one batch per keypress.
• Several archives (emacs-devel, emacs-user, emacs-bugs, list tangents) switch from inside the client, which remembers the last one.
• An open client syncs on a schedule; a thread the archive added is counted in the summary and tinted in the list.
• Reply to the list, reply to the author, or post anew, with In-Reply-To and References filled in.

Requirements

• Emacs 29.1 or newer, built with SQLite.
• For a checkout, the provider repositories on load-path: etaf, etaf-ui, ebox, ecss, etaf-db.

Install

From the ETAF package archive:

(require 'package)
(add-to-list 'package-archives '("etaf" . "https://etaf.top/packages/"))
(package-initialize)
(package-refresh-contents)
(package-install 'etaf-install)

Then M-x etaf-install, pick Maillist, and the installer brings ETAF, ETAF UI and ETAF DB with it. M-x maillist-open starts the client.

From a checkout, add this repository and the provider roots to load-path:

(require 'maillist)
M-x maillist-open

Keys

Key	Action
j / k	next / previous thread
RET or a click	open the thread
1 2 3	all, unread only, starred only
M-u	mark the open thread unread
A	mark every shown row read
n	open the next unread thread
G	jump to the last row
s	star or unstar
e	expand the older messages a long thread holds back
o	load mail older than the list
/	search
M-p / M-n	recall the previous / next search
g	sync again (re-runs the open search when one is active)
C	copy the archive page of the thread
B	open that page in the browser
r / R / C-u r	reply to the list / reply-all / reply to the author
c	post a new message
L	switch archive
u	back from the thread to the list (narrow layout)
drag the divider	resize the list (arrow keys move it once focused)
n / p / wheel	scroll inside the list or the reader

Search syntax

Form	Effect
from: to: subject: body: message:	the matching archive field
after:2026-10-01 before:2026-10-10	date range
is:unread is:starred	local marks, no request

A query with only local conditions filters the list in place; g runs the current search again. The thread being read stays in the list, so j carries on from it.

Sending

Sending goes through smtpmail. Store the account's application password in auth-source once:

(setq maillist-mail-address "you@gmail.com")
;; then M-x maillist-mail-configure and paste the application password

The defaults are smtp.gmail.com:465 with SSL; change maillist-smtp-server, maillist-smtp-service and maillist-smtp-stream-type for another provider. The password is read when the mail is sent, so a reply can be written before the account is configured. GNU lists hold posts from unsubscribed addresses for moderation.

Data and network

• Threads, marks, cached bodies and the last archive live in ~/.emacs.d/maillist/store.sqlite3 (maillist-store-file). The file uses WAL, so a second Emacs can read while the first writes.
• The cache is bounded: maillist-thread-limit threads per archive and maillist-body-limit cached bodies; a prune keeps the newest of each and never drops a mark.
• maillist-network-route picks the leading route: auto tries direct first, proxy tries the proxy first, direct never uses one. A route that cannot connect or stops answering hands the request to the other one (maillist-route-attempt-timeout), so a proxy client that is not running does not take the archive offline, and a blocked direct path still has the proxy. maillist-proxy names the proxy; empty takes it from url-proxy-services or the environment. A failed request names what it could not reach, for example 无法连接代理 127.0.0.1:7890；无法连接档案 yhetil.org:443.
• maillist-auto-refresh (300 seconds by default) syncs an open client. Set it to nil to sync only on demand.

docs/manual.md covers the workflows, every configuration variable, the storage layout and what to do when a sync, a search or a send fails.

Development

make check     # structure, byte compilation, acceptance scenarios, public API
make test      # acceptance scenarios only
make gui       # drive the maintained GUI scenario on a running Emacs server
make clean

The acceptance scenarios read the fixture archive under tests/fixtures/archive over file: URLs, so they need no network. make gui takes SERVER=<name> for a dedicated instance and prints the evidence directory of the run; the frames it saves are what a UI change is reviewed against.