himalaya

Original：🇺🇸 English
Not Translated

CLI to manage emails via IMAP/SMTP. Use `himalaya` to list, read, write, reply, forward, search, and organize emails from the terminal. Supports multiple accounts and message composition with MML (MIME Meta Language).

1installs
Sourceheldinhow/openclaw-swarm
Added on

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add heldinhow/openclaw-swarm himalaya

SKILL.md Content

Himalaya Email CLI

Himalaya is a CLI email client that lets you manage emails from the terminal using IMAP, SMTP, Notmuch, or Sendmail backends.

References

  • references/configuration.md
    (config file setup + IMAP/SMTP authentication)
  • references/message-composition.md
    (MML syntax for composing emails)

Prerequisites

  1. Himalaya CLI installed (
    himalaya --version
    to verify)
  2. A configuration file at 
    ~/.config/himalaya/config.toml
  3. IMAP/SMTP credentials configured (password stored securely)

Configuration Setup

Run the interactive wizard to set up an account:
bash
himalaya account configure
Or create 
~/.config/himalaya/config.toml
manually:
toml
[accounts.personal]
email = "you@example.com"
display-name = "Your Name"
default = true

backend.type = "imap"
backend.host = "imap.example.com"
backend.port = 993
backend.encryption.type = "tls"
backend.login = "you@example.com"
backend.auth.type = "password"
backend.auth.cmd = "pass show email/imap"  # or use keyring

message.send.backend.type = "smtp"
message.send.backend.host = "smtp.example.com"
message.send.backend.port = 587
message.send.backend.encryption.type = "start-tls"
message.send.backend.login = "you@example.com"
message.send.backend.auth.type = "password"
message.send.backend.auth.cmd = "pass show email/smtp"

Common Operations

List Folders

bash
himalaya folder list

List Emails

List emails in INBOX (default):
bash
himalaya envelope list
List emails in a specific folder:
bash
himalaya envelope list --folder "Sent"
List with pagination:
bash
himalaya envelope list --page 1 --page-size 20

Search Emails

bash
himalaya envelope list from john@example.com subject meeting

Read an Email

Read email by ID (shows plain text):
bash
himalaya message read 42
Export raw MIME:
bash
himalaya message export 42 --full

Reply to an Email

Interactive reply (opens $EDITOR):
bash
himalaya message reply 42
Reply-all:
bash
himalaya message reply 42 --all

Forward an Email

bash
himalaya message forward 42

Write a New Email

Interactive compose (opens $EDITOR):
bash
himalaya message write
Send directly using template:
bash
cat << 'EOF' | himalaya template send
From: you@example.com
To: recipient@example.com
Subject: Test Message

Hello from Himalaya!
EOF
Or with headers flag:
bash
himalaya message write -H "To:recipient@example.com" -H "Subject:Test" "Message body here"

Move/Copy Emails

Move to folder:
bash
himalaya message move 42 "Archive"
Copy to folder:
bash
himalaya message copy 42 "Important"

Delete an Email

bash
himalaya message delete 42

Manage Flags

Add flag:
bash
himalaya flag add 42 --flag seen
Remove flag:
bash
himalaya flag remove 42 --flag seen

Multiple Accounts

List accounts:
bash
himalaya account list
Use a specific account:
bash
himalaya --account work envelope list

Attachments

Save attachments from a message:
bash
himalaya attachment download 42
Save to specific directory:
bash
himalaya attachment download 42 --dir ~/Downloads

Output Formats

Most commands support 
--output
for structured output:
bash
himalaya envelope list --output json
himalaya envelope list --output plain

Debugging

Enable debug logging:
bash
RUST_LOG=debug himalaya envelope list
Full trace with backtrace:
bash
RUST_LOG=trace RUST_BACKTRACE=1 himalaya envelope list

Tips

  • Use 
    himalaya --help
    or 
    himalaya <command> --help
    for detailed usage.
  • Message IDs are relative to the current folder; re-list after folder changes.
  • For composing rich emails with attachments, use MML syntax (see 
    references/message-composition.md
    ).
  • Store passwords securely using 
    pass
    , system keyring, or a command that outputs the password.