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Introduction

Aerion is an open source, lightweight email client built for people who want a modern email experience without the bloat.

Why Aerion?​

The Linux desktop has long needed a proper email client. The existing options each have their drawbacks:

  • Thunderbird - Clunky interface with too much legacy baggage
  • Geary - Crippled by its dependency on Gnome Online Accounts, and search is unreliable
  • Mailspring - Built on Electron, which means heavy resource consumption
  • Evolution - Feels like it's still stuck in 1999

Aerion was created to fill this gap: a standalone, lightweight email client with a modern interface that just works.

Design Goals​

Aerion is built around five core principles:

  1. Resource Efficiency - Minimal CPU, RAM, and battery consumption
  2. Modern UX - Clean, intuitive interface with dark mode support
  3. Keyboard & Mouse Friendly - Full keyboard navigation with vim-style shortcuts
  4. Independence - No dependency on Gnome Online Accounts or other system services
  5. Search That Works - Basic search that actually finds your emails

Technology​

Aerion is built with Wails and Svelte, not Electron. This means native performance with a modern web-based UI, without the memory overhead of running a full Chromium instance.

Platform Support​

While Linux is a first-class citizen, Aerion also runs on:

  • Linux - AppImage for easy installation
  • macOS - Native .app bundle
  • Windows - Standard installer

Some system-level features like clickable notifications and auto-sync on wake are currently Linux-only.

Features at a Glance​

  • Multiple email accounts with unified inbox
  • Conversation threads
  • OAuth support for Gmail and Outlook
  • CardDAV, Google, and Microsoft contact sync
  • WYSIWYG composer with detachable window
  • WYSIWYG signature editor
  • Basic tracking element removal
  • Full-text search
  • Comprehensive keyboard shortcuts
  • Light and dark themes

Open Source​

Aerion is licensed under Apache 2.0. You can view the source code, report issues, and contribute at github.com/hkdb/aerion.

Sponsorship​

3DF is sponsoring by way of dedicating the team's time to work on this. There's otherwise currently no sponsorship. If you like this project, please feel free to give us a star on Github or buy us a coffee:

"Buy Me A Coffee"

Get Started​

Ready to try Aerion? Head to the Installation Guide to download and install it on your system.