# bMail

> bMail is a free, open source Mac email app for Gmail and your own domain. Every action is instant and works offline, and everything has a keyboard shortcut.

## Facts

- Platform: macOS 27 and later, a native app written in Swift and SwiftUI
- Latest version: 0.1.0 (6.1 MB), signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple
- Price: free, open source under the MIT license
- Accounts: Gmail, synced straight from the Mac, and addresses on your own domain, sending and receiving through Resend
- Local first: every change is saved in a database on the Mac and synced in the background, so actions are instant and work offline
- Keyboard: every action has a shortcut, and ⌘K opens a command palette that shows them
- Tracking: optional open and click tracking per message that ignores Apple's privacy proxy, link scanners and your own opens
- Hosting: there is no shared bMail server; every user deploys a small api to Vercel with Neon, Resend and Cloudflare R2
- Made by Siebe Baree

## FAQ

### What is bMail?

bMail is a free, open source email app for macOS. It works with Gmail and with addresses on your own domain, saves every change on your Mac first so nothing waits on a server and has a keyboard shortcut for every action.

### Is bMail free?

Yes. The app is free and open source under the MIT license. It signs in to a small api that you host yourself, and the free plans of Vercel, Neon, Resend and Cloudflare R2 are enough to run it.

### Which Macs does bMail run on?

bMail runs on macOS 27 and later. It's a native app written in Swift and SwiftUI, and the download is 6.1 MB.

### Does bMail work with Gmail?

Yes. Sign in with Google and bMail syncs your Gmail straight from your Mac to Google. You can add more than one account and read them together or one at a time.

### Can I use bMail with my own domain?

Yes. Add your domain in Settings and bMail shows the DNS records to create. Every address on it can then send and receive through Resend, right next to your Gmail. A catch-all address can collect mail sent to addresses that don't exist.

### Does bMail work offline?

Yes. Your mail is cached on your Mac and every change is saved there first. You can archive, label, star and write while offline, and bMail sends everything once you're back online.

### Where is my email stored?

On your Mac, in a local database. Gmail stays in your Google account. Mail for your own domain is stored in your own Postgres database on Neon and attachments in your own Cloudflare R2 bucket. There is no shared bMail server.

### Do I need to host a server?

Yes, a small api. bMail signs in to it, and it handles your own domains, labels and open tracking. The setup guide on GitHub walks you through deploying it to Vercel with Neon, Resend and Cloudflare R2.

### Can bMail tell me when an email is opened?

Yes, for the messages you choose. Turn on tracking with ⌘⇧T while writing. bMail counts opens and clicks from people and leaves out automatic opens from Apple's privacy proxy and link scanners. Your own opens never count, and tracking is off by default.

### What keyboard shortcuts does bMail have?

J and K move between conversations, E marks one as done, S stars, R replies, C writes a new message and Z undoes. ⌘K opens a command palette that lists every command with its shortcut, and ? shows all of them.

### Is bMail a good Superhuman alternative?

If you use a Mac and want keyboard-first email without a subscription, yes. bMail is free, open source and native to macOS, and it also handles your own domain without a Google Workspace account.

### Is there a Windows, iPhone or web version?

No. bMail is a Mac app.

## Links

- [Website](https://getbmail.si): features, screenshots and comparison with other mail apps
- [Download for Mac](https://github.com/SiebeBaree/bMail/releases/download/v0.1.0/bMail-0.1.0.dmg): the latest DMG
- [Source code](https://github.com/SiebeBaree/bMail): the app, the api and this website
- [Self-hosting guide](https://github.com/SiebeBaree/bMail#host-your-api): deploy the api and sign in
- [Releases](https://github.com/SiebeBaree/bMail/releases): every version