name: himalaya

description: 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).

version: 1.0.0

author: community

license: MIT

metadata:

hermes:

tags: [Email, IMAP, SMTP, CLI, Communication]

homepage: https://github.com/pimalaya/himalaya

prerequisites:

commands: [himalaya]

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)

Installation

`bash

Pre-built binary (Linux/macOS — recommended)

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pimalaya/himalaya/master/install.sh | PREFIX=~/.local sh

macOS via Homebrew

brew install himalaya

Or via cargo (any platform with Rust)

cargo install himalaya --locked

`

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"

`

Hermes Integration Notes

• - Reading, listing, searching, moving, deleting all work directly through the terminal tool
• - Composing/replying/forwarding — piped input (cat << EOF | himalaya template send) is recommended for reliability. Interactive $EDITOR mode works with pty=true + background + process tool, but requires knowing the editor and its commands
• - Use --output json for structured output that's easier to parse programmatically
• - The himalaya account configure wizard requires interactive input — use PTY mode: terminal(command="himalaya account configure", pty=true)

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

To reply non-interactively from Hermes, read the original message, compose a reply, and pipe it:

`bash

Get the reply template, edit it, and send

himalaya template reply 42 | sed 's/^$/\nYour reply text here\n/' | himalaya template send

`

Or build the reply manually:

`bash

cat << 'EOF' | himalaya template send

From: you@example.com

To: sender@example.com

Subject: Re: Original Subject

In-Reply-To:

Your reply here.

EOF

`

Reply-all (interactive — needs $EDITOR, use template approach above instead):

`bash

himalaya message reply 42 --all

`

Forward an Email

`bash

Get forward template and pipe with modifications

himalaya template forward 42 | sed 's/^To:.*/To: newrecipient@example.com/' | himalaya template send

`

Write a New Email

Non-interactive (use this from Hermes) — pipe the message via stdin:

`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"

`

Note: himalaya message write without piped input opens $EDITOR. This works with pty=true + background mode, but piping is simpler and more reliable.

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 --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.