The unified inbox

Everything lands in one newest-first stream. The left sidebar switches what you're looking at; the middle pane is the message list; the right pane reads the selected conversation.

Views

You can also filter the stream to a single account from the sidebar.

Folders

Beyond the inbox, Mailhopper syncs your other IMAP folders. The Folders section lists the kinds of mail you have (Sent, Drafts, Junk, Archive, and custom folders), and selecting one filters the stream to it across every account.

Search

Press / or click the search bar and start typing. Search runs full-text across all your non-trash mail from every account, newest matches first. Clear the box to return to your current view.

Words you type together match as a phrase. Searching cape may finds mail that says "Cape May", not every message with "cape" in it plus every message with "may". To look for two words that can sit anywhere in a message, press Enter after each one. Each becomes its own chip in the search bar, and a message has to match all of them.

As you type, the search bar also suggests places to jump to (a view, a folder, or an account), so you can move around from the same field. Pick one with the arrow keys and Enter, or press Enter on your text to search for it.

Conversations

Replies are grouped into threaded conversations. The list shows the newest message in each thread with a count. Open one and it shows the latest message in full, with the earlier history folded behind an "N earlier messages" band you can expand. Choose whether threads open to the newest message only, or newest plus anything unread, under Settings → Inbox.

Why a conversation's count can differ from the list

A conversation can open with "4 messages" while its row in the list shows a smaller count, or none at all. Both numbers are right; they count different things.

The count on a list row only counts the thread's messages that sit in the view you're on. All inboxes is INBOX-only, so it counts that thread's INBOX messages and nothing else. The count on the open conversation covers the whole thread across every folder, including your Sent replies and anything you've archived.

So a thread where you sent three replies and received one reads "4 messages" when open but shows no count in All inboxes: three of the four live in Sent, and only one is in the INBOX. Switch to the Sent folder, or open the conversation, to see them all.

Sender logos

Mail from a verified sender shows that sender's real logo next to it, in the list and the reading pane, so you can recognize who wrote at a glance. Everything else keeps a colored letter avatar.

Reading a message

Opening a message marks it read by default. Turn that off under Settings → Inbox if you'd rather mark read only by hand. Web addresses in a message are clickable, whether the sender wrote in HTML or plain text, and open in a new tab.

Attachments

Files attached to a message are listed beneath it; click one to download. Images the sender placed inline appear in the body once you load remote content (see below).

Remote images

To protect your privacy, Mailhopper blocks remote images in HTML mail by default, because an image loaded from a remote server can tell the sender you opened the message. A bar at the top of the message lets you load images for that message. If you trust a sender, press Always load from this sender and their images load automatically from then on; junk mail never loads images automatically. Manage the list under Settings → Inbox → Always load remote images.

Message actions

While reading a message you can:

On a threaded conversation, archive, delete, and mark read apply to the whole thread at once, while reply, forward, and the rest act on the message you're reading. Actions take effect the moment you trigger them: the message leaves the list and the next one opens right away, while the change settles on the server in the background.

What deleting does to your mailbox

Delete is a move on your mail server, not a Mailhopper-only hide. Pressing Delete (or #) takes the message out of its folder and puts it in your account's Trash, so it's gone from your inbox in every mail app you use.

Mailhopper writes to your mailbox first and updates its own copy once the server confirms the change. If a delete can't reach your provider, the message stays put and you get an error, instead of a message that reads as deleted here while it sits in your inbox everywhere else.

Removing an account is the opposite: it deletes Mailhopper's copy of your mail and leaves the mailbox untouched. See Security & privacy.

Reminders

Set a reminder on a message (later today, this evening, tomorrow, next week, or a time you pick), and it leaves your inbox until then. When it's due, it comes back at the top of your inbox with a "Reminded" marker. See everything still pending under the Reminders view, soonest first.

Reminders are Mailhopper's own: nothing changes in your mailbox. A reminded message stays pinned at the top until you act on it. Reply to it, archive it, or delete it, or Dismiss the reminder with the × on the marker, from the reminder menu, or with ShiftH. Opening it to read leaves the reminder in place.

Bulk actions

Tick the checkboxes on several messages in the list (hold Shift for a range) to mark read, archive, or delete them all at once. To grab everything in the current view, use Select all in the selection bar (or press ⌘A).

Appearance

Mailhopper ships a catalog of themes, four light and four dark. Under Settings → Appearance, choose a default light theme and a default dark theme, then switch between them with the Light / Dark / System control (System follows your OS). You can also turn inbox animations off, turn keyboard focus rings on, and collapse the sidebar to an icon strip to give the message list more room.