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Install and activate

1. Download the latest version, open it, and drag Mailwell to Applications. It needs macOS 14 or later. The app is signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens without warnings.
2. Open Mailwell and add your accounts. Everything works free for 7 days, with no card or key needed. The sidebar shows how many days are left.
3. To keep using it, click Buy in the sidebar or go to Settings → License. Your license key appears right after checkout and arrives by email.
4. Paste the key into Settings → License and click Activate.

Once activated, Mailwell opens straight away, even offline.

Add your accounts

Add Account opens on first run. To add more later, use Add Account… in the File menu or in Settings → Accounts. Type your address and Mailwell works out the rest: it finds your provider and shows the steps for it. Passwords stay in the macOS Keychain.

Provider	Connects with	You'll need
Microsoft 365, Outlook.com, Hotmail	Microsoft sign-in	Nothing extra. Your browser opens.
Gmail, Google Workspace	IMAP	An app password
iCloud	IMAP	An app-specific password
Yahoo, AOL	IMAP	An app password
Fastmail	JMAP	An API token
Kagi Mail	JMAP	An app password
Proton Mail	IMAP through Bridge	Proton Mail Bridge
Anything else	IMAP or JMAP	Your password, sometimes server settings

Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com

Click Sign in with Microsoft and finish in your browser. If the browser sign-in can't complete, Mailwell switches to a short code you enter on Microsoft's site instead. Mail, folders, contacts and calendar invites all work, and you can accept or decline invites right in the message.

Gmail and Google Workspace

Google needs an app password: a separate password just for Mailwell. Mailwell shows three steps with buttons that open the right pages:

1. Turn on 2-Step Verification, if it isn't on already.
2. Create an app password at myaccount.google.com/apppasswords. Name it Mailwell.
3. Paste the 16 letters into Mailwell.

The server settings are filled in for you. No App Passwords page? See Troubleshooting.

iCloud, Yahoo and AOL

Same idea as Gmail. For iCloud, sign in at account.apple.com, choose Sign-In and Security → App-Specific Passwords, and make one named Mailwell. For Yahoo and AOL, Mailwell opens your account security page, where you create an app password. Paste it in and you're done.

Fastmail

Fastmail connects over JMAP with an API token, which syncs faster than a password and brings new mail in right away. In Fastmail, open Settings → Privacy & Security, choose Manage API tokens → New API token, and allow Email and Email submission. Paste the token into Mailwell.

Kagi Mail

Kagi Mail connects over JMAP with an app password, so new mail shows up right away. In Kagi Mail settings, open App Specific Passwords, make one named Mailwell, and paste it in. Prefer IMAP? Choose Use IMAP instead at the bottom of the sheet.

Proton Mail

Proton works through Proton Mail Bridge, Proton's app for mail clients, which comes with paid Proton plans. Install Bridge and sign in, then copy the password Bridge shows and paste it into Mailwell. Bridge uses a certificate it made on your Mac, so Mailwell shows its fingerprint and asks you to Trust Certificate once. After that, Mailwell accepts only that certificate.

Other IMAP and JMAP servers

Mailwell looks up the settings for most providers. If it finds them, you only need your password. If not, choose Enter settings yourself:

• IMAP: incoming and outgoing servers, ports, security, username and password. Your provider's help pages have the exact values.
• JMAP: sign in with your password and Mailwell finds the server from your address (enter the server name if it lives elsewhere), or use an API token and session URL.

To change any of this later, open Settings → Accounts, click the account's ⋯ menu, and choose Account Details… to make changes. Mailwell tests new connection settings before saving them.

Sidebar and Favorites

• Favorites sit at the top: your Inbox, Archive, Drafts, Sent, Junk and Trash to start. With more than one account, these are unified, and each opens up to show that folder in every account.
• Right-click any folder and choose Add to Favorites, or drag it onto Favorites. Drag to reorder. ⌘1–⌘9 jump to the first nine.
• Below Favorites, each account lists its folders. Fold an account or the folder list away when you don't need it.
• To keep an account out of the unified Inbox, turn off Unified Inbox for it in Settings → Accounts.
• Prefer each account on its own? Right-click a unified favorite and choose Remove from Favorites, then add each account's folders instead. To bring a unified folder back, right-click anywhere in the sidebar and check it, or choose Customize Favorites… to switch folders on and off and reorder them.

Reading

• Conversations stay compact. Earlier messages fold into one “N earlier messages” row, and the newest one is open. Click the row to see each earlier message as a single line, then click any line to open it.
• Beside the list or full width. View → Reading Pane switches between Beside List and Full Width (⌃⌘R). Full width opens mail in place of the list; esc takes you back.
• Sender panel. The panel beside the reader shows more about who you're reading. Hide it with View → Hide Sender Panel.
• Text size. ⌘+ and ⌘- change it, ⌘0 resets it. ⌘F finds text in a conversation.
• Images. Remote images are blocked until you load them, which also stops read tracking. To load them always, turn on Load images automatically in Settings → General.
• Message list. Choose how many preview lines to show (none to three) and whether to show photos in Settings → General.

Search

Press / and type. Search runs on this Mac, so it's instant and works offline. Words match the start of words, so invo finds “invoice”. You can also narrow it down:

• from:kate finds mail from a sender.
• subject:offsite searches subjects only.
• has:attachment finds mail with attachments.

⌘K opens the command palette for jumping to any folder or running a command, and it can search mail too.

Archive, snooze, undo

• Archive with E, trash with ⌫, flag with S, mark read or unread with U.
• Undo anything with ⌘Z: moves, deletes, sends.
• Snooze with H brings a conversation back tomorrow. Right-click for Later Today, This Weekend or Next Week. Snoozed mail waits in the Snoozed mailbox.
• Unsubscribe from the button in the message header, by right-clicking, or with ⌘⇧U.
• Block Sender (Message menu or right-click) sends that sender's new mail to Trash. It shows up as a rule you can remove in Settings → Rules.
• Mute a noisy conversation from the right-click menu.
• Select several conversations with X, then act on them all at once from the bar above the list: Archive, Trash, Read or Unread, and ⋯ for the rest.

Everything you do is saved on your Mac first, then sent to the server. If you're offline or quit halfway, it picks up where it left off. Anything still waiting shows in Outbox in the sidebar.

Writing

• C or ⌘N starts a new message. ↩ replies right in the conversation; R, ⇧R and F open a reply, reply all or forward in their own window. ⌘↩ sends.
• Drafts save as you type. Open compose windows come back after a restart.
• Undo Send: you have a few seconds after sending to take it back with ⌘Z.
• Send later: the arrow next to Send offers this evening, tomorrow morning or Monday morning. Scheduled mail waits in Outbox.
• Attachments: drag files in or paste them.
• Signatures are set per address in Settings → Compose, including aliases.
• Snippets are saved bits of text, also in Settings → Compose. While you write, ⌘; inserts one. {{first name}} and {{my name}} are filled in for you.
• Choose who you send from with the From menu. Fastmail and Kagi Mail aliases, including other domains, show up there by themselves. For any other address you're allowed to send from, choose Add Alias… in the From menu, or type it under Aliases in the account's details in Settings → Accounts. Pick a default From account in Settings → Compose.
• SimpleLogin and addy.io: add your API key in Settings → Accounts. Mail sent to one of your aliases gets an Alias button by the sender, to copy the alias or turn it off, and ⌘K can create a new alias for a signup.

Notifications and the menu bar

• New mail notifies for your Inbox. Mail your provider files into folders arrives quietly unless you turn on Notify for mail in folders too in Settings → General.
• Notifications have Archive and Trash buttons, so you can deal with mail without opening it.
• Sign-in codes: when an email with a verification code arrives, its notification shows the code with a Copy Code button, and the message has a button that copies it. To have new codes copied for you, turn on Copy sign-in codes automatically in Settings → General.
• Turn notifications off for one account from its ⋯ menu in Settings → Accounts.
• The menu bar icon shows your unread count and a list of unread mail. Mailwell keeps checking for mail with its window closed. Turn the icon off with Show unread count in menu bar.

Inbox tabs and splits

Mailwell sorts your inbox into tabs: Primary, Social, Promos and Updates. Sorting happens on this Mac, so it works the same on every provider. ⌃⇥ moves between tabs. Choose which tabs show, and their order, in Settings → General: drag a tab to move it, or switch it off and its mail shows in Primary instead. Prefer one inbox? Turn off Sort the inbox into tabs.

A split is your own tab for the senders you list, like @acme.com or [email protected]. New splits sit right after Primary. To make one, choose Add Split… in Settings → General, or right-click a conversation and choose Add Sender to Split.

Rules

Rules run on new mail as it arrives. Make them in Settings → Rules, in one of two ways:

• Exact match: if the sender or subject contains some text, then archive, trash, mark as junk, mark as read, or file it in a tab.
• In plain words: describe the mail, like “Receipts”, then pick what happens, including moving to any folder or flagging. Click Try on recent mail to see what it would catch before you add it. These rules need AI turned on.

To use a rule on mail you already have, hover it and choose Run on Inbox… to see how many conversations match. Nothing changes until you apply it, and you can undo the run afterwards.

Rules in plain words only look at the sender, subject and first line, never the whole message.

Mail on this Mac

Each account keeps a year of mail on your Mac to start. To change that, open Settings → Accounts and choose 30 days, 90 days, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years or Everything under the account. Older mail downloads in the background. A shorter range removes older mail from this Mac (never from the server) to free up space; flagged mail and drafts always stay.

Summaries and writing help

AI is off until you turn on Summarize conversations and improve writing in Settings → AI. That adds:

• Summarize in the message toolbar, for long conversations.
• Improve writing in compose.
• Rules in plain words.

On a Mac with Apple Intelligence (macOS 26 and Apple silicon), it all runs on your Mac and nothing is sent anywhere. Otherwise, add your own API key under Advanced: Anthropic, or any OpenAI-compatible service, including a local Ollama server.

AI assistants (MCP)

Mailwell can let assistants like Claude search and read your mail on this Mac. They can only read: they can't send, move or delete anything. To set it up:

1. In Settings → AI, turn on Allow AI assistants to read your mail. This works whether or not the AI features above are on.
2. For Claude Desktop, click Copy Setup for Claude and paste it into Claude's Settings → Developer → Edit Config.
3. For Claude Code, click Copy Claude Code Command and run it in Terminal.

Turn the switch off and assistants stop getting answers right away. Nothing leaves your Mac unless the assistant itself sends it.

Keyboard shortcuts

Single-letter shortcuts work whenever you're not typing. Press ? in the app to see the main ones.

Get around
Next / previous conversation	J K
Move through the list	↑ ↓
Page through a conversation	space ⇧space
Go to Inbox / Sent / Drafts / Archive	G then I T D A
Go to a favorite	⌘1–⌘9
Move between sidebar, list and reader	⇥ ⇧⇥
Next / previous inbox tab	⌃⇥ ⌃⇧⇥
Search	/
Find in conversation	⌘F
Command palette	⌘K
Show shortcuts	?
Triage
Archive	E
Trash	⌫
Read / unread	U
Flag	S
Snooze until tomorrow	H
Junk / not junk	!
Select conversation	X
Unsubscribe	⌘⇧U
Undo	⌘Z
Write
New message	C or ⌘N
Reply in the conversation	↩
Reply / reply all	R ⇧R
Forward	F
Send	⌘↩
Bold / italic / underline	⌘B ⌘I ⌘U
Insert a snippet	⌘;
View
Check for new mail	⌘R
Show / hide sidebar	⌃⌘S
Reading pane: beside or full width	⌃⌘R
Bigger / smaller / actual text size	⌘+ ⌘- ⌘0
Close anything, back to the list	esc
Settings	⌘,

Licensing

• One license covers all your accounts on up to 3 of your Macs.
• Mailwell is free for 7 days from the first time you open it, with no card needed. After that, you'll need a license to keep using it. Your mail and settings stay put either way.
• Settings → License shows your plan, when it renews, and this Mac's name. Manage Subscription opens your Polar account.
• Your key is in your receipt email and in your Polar account.
• Mailwell is made by one person, and subscriptions are what pay for its fixes, new features and support.
• New Mac? Just activate there. Retiring one? Choose Settings → License → Deactivate on This Mac first, or remove it later from your Polar account.
• Manage or cancel your subscription any time from your Polar account. After you cancel, Mailwell keeps working until the end of the period you've paid for.

Updates

Mailwell updates itself. The first time, it asks whether to check for updates automatically; after that, new versions show a short prompt and install in one click. To check yourself, choose Check for Updates… in the Mailwell menu or in Settings → About, where you can also turn automatic checks on or off. Every update is signed and notarized.

Troubleshooting

Google has no App Passwords page

App passwords need 2-Step Verification turned on. Accounts that use only security keys, or Advanced Protection, don't have them. On Google Workspace, your admin may have turned them off and can turn them on for you.

Microsoft sign-in stops working

Open Settings → Accounts, click the account's ⋯ menu and choose Reconnect… to sign in again. Some workplaces need an admin to approve new mail apps first.

A password stopped working

If you changed your password or deleted the app password, make a new app password and enter it in Account Details… for that account.

Proton won't connect

Check that Proton Mail Bridge is running and signed in. Mailwell reaches Proton only through Bridge, so it can't sync while Bridge is closed.

Something is stuck in Outbox

Mailwell sends it as soon as it can reach your server, including after a restart. Check your connection, and that the account isn't paused in Settings → Accounts.

“This key is already on 3 Macs”

Your key is already on 3 Macs. Sign in to your Polar account with your purchase email, remove a Mac you no longer use, then activate again. Stuck? Email [email protected].

Support

Email [email protected] with bug reports, feature requests or licensing questions, or choose Help → Contact Support in the app. Every message gets a reply.

Ideas and bug reports can also go on the public feedback board, where you can vote on what other people have asked for. In the app, choose Help → Send Feedback… to post one without leaving Mailwell.