Slop Mail

A modern, cross-platform email client built with Tauri, SolidJS, and Rust

MVP Features

Core Email Functionality

• Compose, view, reply, forward emails
• Rich text editor with markdown support
• Attachment handling
• Draft management
• Email threading and conversation view

Multi-Account Support

• Multiple email accounts in one client
• IMAP and JMAP protocol support
• SSO integration (Gmail, Outlook, etc)
• Per-account settings and signatures

Offline Mode

• Local email storage and indexing
• Queue outgoing emails when offline
• Background sync when connection restored
• Configurable sync policies per account

Search That Actually Works

• Full-text search across email bodies (not just subjects like Thunderbird)
• Search filters (date range, sender, attachments, etc)
• Search within specific accounts or folders
• Fast indexed search using tantivy or similar

Security

• GPG/PGP encryption and signing support
• Master password for local data encryption
• Secure credential storage
• Age encryption support (optional stretch goal)

UI/UX

• Clean, modern interface using Tailwind CSS
• Responsive design
• Dark/light theme support
• Keyboard shortcuts for power users
• Mobile-friendly (Tauri mobile support is stable)

Contacts & Calendar

• Basic contact management
• Contact import/export (vCard)
• Calendar view integration
• Event creation and reminders

Tech Stack

Frontend

• Framework: SolidJS
• Styling: Tailwind CSS
• Language: TypeScript
• Runtime: Bun (for running and bundling)
• Desktop: Tauri v2 (supports Windows, macOS, Linux including Ubuntu 24.04+)
• Mobile: Tauri Mobile (iOS, Android)

Backend

• Language: Rust
• Email Protocols:
  • IMAP (using async-imap or similar)
  • JMAP (using jmap-client or custom implementation)
• Search: Tantivy for full-text indexing
• Storage: SQLite for metadata, filesystem for email bodies
• Encryption:
  • GPG: sequoia-pgp
  • Local encryption: age or chacha20poly1305

Project Structure

slop-mail/
├── src-tauri/           # Rust backend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── email/       # Email protocol handlers
│   │   ├── search/      # Search indexing
│   │   ├── storage/     # Database and file storage
│   │   ├── crypto/      # Encryption handlers
│   │   └── main.rs
│   └── Cargo.toml
├── src/                 # SolidJS frontend
│   ├── components/
│   ├── stores/
│   ├── utils/
│   └── App.tsx
├── flake.nix           # Nix development environment
├── flake.lock
└── package.json

Development Setup

Prerequisites

• Nix with flakes enabled (recommended)
• Basic understanding of Rust and TypeScript

Getting Started

# Enter development environment
nix develop

# Install frontend dependencies
bun install

# Run in development mode
bun run tauri dev

# Build for production
bun run tauri build

For detailed setup instructions without Nix, see CONTRIBUTING.md.

Testing Strategy

Unit Tests

• Rust backend tests using cargo test
• Frontend component tests using Vitest (run with bun test)
• Mock email server for protocol testing
• Encryption/decryption test vectors

Integration Tests

• End-to-end tests using Tauri's testing utilities
• Multi-account sync scenarios
• Offline/online transition handling
• Search accuracy validation

CI/CD Pipeline

# .github/workflows/ci.yml
- Build on push to main
- Run all tests (unit + integration)
- Check code formatting (rustfmt, prettier)
- Lint (clippy, eslint)
- Build artifacts for all platforms using Bun
- Auto-release on version tags

Nix Configuration

The flake.nix should provide:

• Rust toolchain (stable)
• Bun runtime
• Tauri dependencies (webkit, gtk, etc)
• Cross-compilation tools
• Development tools (rust-analyzer, typescript-language-server)

MVP Scope Limits

What we're NOT doing in MVP:

• Email filters/rules (post-MVP)
• Plugin system (post-MVP)
• Custom themes beyond dark/light (post-MVP)
• S/MIME support (GPG only for MVP)
• Advanced calendar features (just basic view)
• HTML email composition (markdown only)

Target Users

Primary: Junior developers and privacy-conscious users who want:

• Fast, reliable email client
• Good search capabilities
• Encryption without complexity
• Cross-platform support

Assumes user knowledge:

• Basic command line usage
• Understanding of email protocols (IMAP vs JMAP)
• Familiarity with environment variables
• Basic GPG concepts

Success Criteria

MVP is successful when:

• Can handle 3+ email accounts simultaneously
• Search returns results in <100ms for 10k+ emails
• Works offline without degraded UX
• GPG encryption/decryption is seamless
• No data loss during sync
• Passes all automated tests
• Builds successfully on all target platforms via CI

Development Milestones

1. Phase 1: Core backend (IMAP/JMAP, storage, sync)
2. Phase 2: Search indexing and query engine
3. Phase 3: Frontend UI components
4. Phase 4: Encryption integration
5. Phase 5: Multi-account management
6. Phase 6: Contacts and calendar
7. Phase 7: Polish, testing, CI/CD

Don't fail, or else