Using Nmail
Your address
Out of the box you are <npub>@nostr, which works between Nostr Mail users and
nowhere else. Copy it from the drawer or the account menu.
To be reachable from ordinary email, claim a readable address on a NIP-05
domain, for example alice@example.com. That address is what a Gmail user
types, and a bridge turns their message into mail for you.
Reading
The inbox lists what arrived, newest first, with the sender, the subject, a preview of the body as it reads and the attachments. Unread, starred and attachment states show on the row.
Open an email to read it, reply, forward, star it, move it to another folder, or save an attachment. Images and PDFs open in a viewer without leaving the app.
Everything is cached locally, so the mailbox works offline and search is instant. Pull to refresh when you want to go to the relays now.
Writing
Compose, then type a recipient: a Nostr address, an npub, or an ordinary email address. Rich text, attachments and drag and drop all work.
Choosing the transport per recipient
Tap a recipient while writing to decide how they receive the email: over Nostr, or through SMTP. You can also move them between To, Cc and Bcc, or edit the address.
The app picks a sensible default. An address that resolves on Nostr is delivered over Nostr, unless its owner asks for SMTP. A reply goes back the way the message arrived, because an email that came in over SMTP has a sender who will never see a Nostr reply.
Scheduling
Pick a send time and the email is handed to a scheduling service, which publishes it at that moment. Scheduled emails have their own list, showing where each one stands: awaiting confirmation, scheduled, sending, or overdue. Cancel or edit one until it starts sending.
Organising
These are private: each one is a signed label in its own gift wrap, so the relays learn nothing from them. They follow you to your other devices.
Contacts
The address book is shared with any client that speaks the same list, and is private by default.
Settings
- Identities: the From addresses you can send as, and the default one
- Signature: appended to what you write
- Bridges: the SMTP bridges you use
- Relays: where your mail arrives, at least one required
- Notifications: per account
- Theme: light, dark or system
Identities, signature and bridges are stored encrypted to yourself, so they sync between devices without anyone else reading them.
Troubleshooting
No mail arrives. Check the relay list. Mail arrives on the relays it names, so an account whose relays changed may be looking in the wrong place.
An email will not send. Sends are queued and retried, so a failure usually means the recipient could not be resolved. Check the address, and whether it is meant to go over Nostr or SMTP.
A signer keeps asking. A remote signer is asked to decrypt each wrap. Keep the signer reachable, and approve the session rather than each request where your signer allows it.