Vibecode Newton Mail
track this build5 steps, step by step0%KINDA · weekend project
The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Newton Mail, build a cross-platform email client with read receipts, snooze, and send later. The hard boundary is push infrastructure, provider compatibility, mobile apps, sync, and support, plus mail infrastructure, integrations, and client polish.
the project pack4 files · fastest path to a working personal build
You are building a lean indie version of Newton Mail. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== README.md ===== # Newton Mail indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Newton Mail workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast cross-platform inbox with read receipts, snooze, and send later, and send through the account's normal SMTP service. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - push infrastructure, provider compatibility, mobile apps, sync, and support - mail hosting and deliverability - push on every platform - advanced team collaboration - provider-specific AI and search If those capabilities are essential, use mailcow instead of pretending the gap is solved. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs". ===== BUILD_PLAN.md ===== # Build plan ## Original build brief Build a personal replacement for Newton Mail in an empty repository. Use Tauri 2, React, TypeScript, SQLite, IMAP, SMTP, and OAuth where available; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast cross-platform inbox with read receipts, snooze, and send later, and send through the account's normal SMTP service. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Support one IMAP and SMTP account with credentials stored only in the OS keychain. Index headers and message bodies locally with resumable sync and a visible status page. Implement standards-based threading, folders, labels, archive, snooze, drafts, and search. Render HTML email in a locked-down sandbox and block remote images by default. Send multipart messages with attachments and preserve a local copy of every draft. Add export, local cache reset, account reconnect, diagnostics, and safe logging. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Deliberately leave out running a public mail server. Deliberately leave out shared team inboxes and sales workflows. Deliberately leave out mobile push services and provider-scale spam filtering. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Required capabilities - existing IMAP and SMTP mailbox - OAuth client credentials where required - desktop keychain access - local disk space ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden. ===== .env.example ===== # Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
You are building a lean indie version of Newton Mail. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== README.md ===== # Newton Mail indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Newton Mail workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast cross-platform inbox with read receipts, snooze, and send later, and send through the account's normal SMTP service. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - push infrastructure, provider compatibility, mobile apps, sync, and support - mail hosting and deliverability - push on every platform - advanced team collaboration - provider-specific AI and search If those capabilities are essential, use mailcow instead of pretending the gap is solved. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs". ===== BUILD_PLAN.md ===== # Build plan ## Original build brief Build a personal replacement for Newton Mail in an empty repository. Use Tauri 2, React, TypeScript, SQLite, IMAP, SMTP, and OAuth where available; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast cross-platform inbox with read receipts, snooze, and send later, and send through the account's normal SMTP service. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Support one IMAP and SMTP account with credentials stored only in the OS keychain. Index headers and message bodies locally with resumable sync and a visible status page. Implement standards-based threading, folders, labels, archive, snooze, drafts, and search. Render HTML email in a locked-down sandbox and block remote images by default. Send multipart messages with attachments and preserve a local copy of every draft. Add export, local cache reset, account reconnect, diagnostics, and safe logging. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Deliberately leave out running a public mail server. Deliberately leave out shared team inboxes and sales workflows. Deliberately leave out mobile push services and provider-scale spam filtering. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Required capabilities - existing IMAP and SMTP mailbox - OAuth client credentials where required - desktop keychain access - local disk space ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden. ===== .env.example ===== # Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
You are building a production product version of Newton Mail. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== PRODUCT.md ===== # Newton Mail product brief ## Problem The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Newton Mail, build a cross-platform email client with read receipts, snooze, and send later. The hard boundary is push infrastructure, provider compatibility, mobile apps, sync, and support, plus mail infrastructure, integrations, and client polish. ## Product outcome Connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast cross-platform inbox with read receipts, snooze, and send later, and send through the account's normal SMTP service. ## Target user A serious builder who needs a maintainable product foundation rather than a one-off demo. ## Required capabilities - existing IMAP and SMTP mailbox - OAuth client credentials where required - desktop keychain access - local disk space ## Explicit non-goals for v1 - push infrastructure, provider compatibility, mobile apps, sync, and support - mail hosting and deliverability - push on every platform - advanced team collaboration - provider-specific AI and search ## Success criteria - The primary workflow is measurable end to end. - Setup is reproducible in a clean environment. - Failure, recovery, and support paths are documented. - Product claims match what the implementation actually guarantees. ===== ARCHITECTURE.md ===== # Architecture ## Starting brief Build a personal replacement for Newton Mail in an empty repository. Use Tauri 2, React, TypeScript, SQLite, IMAP, SMTP, and OAuth where available; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast cross-platform inbox with read receipts, snooze, and send later, and send through the account's normal SMTP service. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Support one IMAP and SMTP account with credentials stored only in the OS keychain. Index headers and message bodies locally with resumable sync and a visible status page. Implement standards-based threading, folders, labels, archive, snooze, drafts, and search. Render HTML email in a locked-down sandbox and block remote images by default. Send multipart messages with attachments and preserve a local copy of every draft. Add export, local cache reset, account reconnect, diagnostics, and safe logging. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Deliberately leave out running a public mail server. Deliberately leave out shared team inboxes and sales workflows. Deliberately leave out mobile push services and provider-scale spam filtering. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Boundaries Separate the product into replaceable modules for interface, application logic, persistence, external integrations, and operational concerns. Keep domain logic independent from delivery frameworks and vendors. ## Production baseline - Configuration: validated at startup with safe local defaults where possible. - Security: least privilege, input validation, secret redaction, rate limits on abuse-prone paths, and no invented security primitives. - Data: explicit schema and migrations, transactional writes where integrity matters, backup and restore instructions. - Integrations: adapters around third-party providers, idempotent webhook or job processing, bounded retries, and timeouts. - Observability: structured logs with request or operation IDs, an error-tracking hook, and health/readiness checks where a server exists. - Quality: unit tests for domain rules, integration tests at module boundaries, and one end-to-end critical-path test. ## Decision records For each major dependency, document why it was chosen, its failure mode, and how it can be replaced. Do not introduce infrastructure until a requirement justifies it. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Read `PRODUCT.md` and `ARCHITECTURE.md` before changing code. - Implement milestone by milestone; keep each change reviewable and leave the application runnable. - Treat authentication, payments, encryption, imports, webhooks, and destructive actions as high-risk boundaries when present. - Never invent cryptography or silently weaken a requirement to make a test pass. - Use provider interfaces for external services and deterministic fakes in tests. - Add migrations and rollback or recovery notes for persistent data changes. - Log useful operational context without credentials, tokens, passwords, or personal data. - Update documentation and run all checks before completing a milestone. ===== MILESTONES.md ===== # Delivery milestones ## M0 — Decisions and scaffold - Confirm the runtime, persistence model, threat boundaries, and deployment target. - Create a reproducible local environment and continuous checks. ## M1 — Core workflow - Implement the smallest end-to-end product path with validation and tests. - Keep integrations behind interfaces. ## M2 — Trust layer - Add secure failure behavior, recovery paths, audit-relevant events, and data safeguards. - Test abuse cases and destructive operations. ## M3 — Operability - Add structured logs, error reporting hooks, health signals, backup/restore documentation, and deployment configuration. ## M4 — Release gate - Run a clean-install test, critical-path end-to-end test, dependency review, and documented rollback exercise. - Compare the shipped behavior with `PRODUCT.md` and publish remaining limitations. ===== OPERATIONS.md ===== # Operations ## Before release - Validate configuration and secrets at startup. - Define backup, restore, and rollback procedures and test them. - Document logs, error tracking, health signals, and alert ownership. - Set dependency update and vulnerability review expectations. ## Incident checklist 1. Contain the issue without destroying evidence or user data. 2. Record the timeline and affected scope. 3. Rotate exposed secrets and revoke compromised sessions or credentials. 4. Restore from a verified source when needed. 5. Document the root cause, remediation, and regression test. ## Launch constraint Do not market omitted Newton Mail capabilities as implemented. The v1 non-goals in `PRODUCT.md` remain user-visible limitations until they are deliberately delivered.
README.md
# Newton Mail indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Newton Mail workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast cross-platform inbox with read receipts, snooze, and send later, and send through the account's normal SMTP service. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - push infrastructure, provider compatibility, mobile apps, sync, and support - mail hosting and deliverability - push on every platform - advanced team collaboration - provider-specific AI and search If those capabilities are essential, use mailcow instead of pretending the gap is solved.
AGENTS.md
# Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs".
BUILD_PLAN.md
# Build plan ## Original build brief Build a personal replacement for Newton Mail in an empty repository. Use Tauri 2, React, TypeScript, SQLite, IMAP, SMTP, and OAuth where available; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast cross-platform inbox with read receipts, snooze, and send later, and send through the account's normal SMTP service. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Support one IMAP and SMTP account with credentials stored only in the OS keychain. Index headers and message bodies locally with resumable sync and a visible status page. Implement standards-based threading, folders, labels, archive, snooze, drafts, and search. Render HTML email in a locked-down sandbox and block remote images by default. Send multipart messages with attachments and preserve a local copy of every draft. Add export, local cache reset, account reconnect, diagnostics, and safe logging. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Deliberately leave out running a public mail server. Deliberately leave out shared team inboxes and sales workflows. Deliberately leave out mobile push services and provider-scale spam filtering. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Required capabilities - existing IMAP and SMTP mailbox - OAuth client credentials where required - desktop keychain access - local disk space ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden.
.env.example
# Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
PRODUCT.md
# Newton Mail product brief ## Problem The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Newton Mail, build a cross-platform email client with read receipts, snooze, and send later. The hard boundary is push infrastructure, provider compatibility, mobile apps, sync, and support, plus mail infrastructure, integrations, and client polish. ## Product outcome Connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast cross-platform inbox with read receipts, snooze, and send later, and send through the account's normal SMTP service. ## Target user A serious builder who needs a maintainable product foundation rather than a one-off demo. ## Required capabilities - existing IMAP and SMTP mailbox - OAuth client credentials where required - desktop keychain access - local disk space ## Explicit non-goals for v1 - push infrastructure, provider compatibility, mobile apps, sync, and support - mail hosting and deliverability - push on every platform - advanced team collaboration - provider-specific AI and search ## Success criteria - The primary workflow is measurable end to end. - Setup is reproducible in a clean environment. - Failure, recovery, and support paths are documented. - Product claims match what the implementation actually guarantees.
ARCHITECTURE.md
# Architecture ## Starting brief Build a personal replacement for Newton Mail in an empty repository. Use Tauri 2, React, TypeScript, SQLite, IMAP, SMTP, and OAuth where available; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast cross-platform inbox with read receipts, snooze, and send later, and send through the account's normal SMTP service. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Support one IMAP and SMTP account with credentials stored only in the OS keychain. Index headers and message bodies locally with resumable sync and a visible status page. Implement standards-based threading, folders, labels, archive, snooze, drafts, and search. Render HTML email in a locked-down sandbox and block remote images by default. Send multipart messages with attachments and preserve a local copy of every draft. Add export, local cache reset, account reconnect, diagnostics, and safe logging. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Deliberately leave out running a public mail server. Deliberately leave out shared team inboxes and sales workflows. Deliberately leave out mobile push services and provider-scale spam filtering. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Boundaries Separate the product into replaceable modules for interface, application logic, persistence, external integrations, and operational concerns. Keep domain logic independent from delivery frameworks and vendors. ## Production baseline - Configuration: validated at startup with safe local defaults where possible. - Security: least privilege, input validation, secret redaction, rate limits on abuse-prone paths, and no invented security primitives. - Data: explicit schema and migrations, transactional writes where integrity matters, backup and restore instructions. - Integrations: adapters around third-party providers, idempotent webhook or job processing, bounded retries, and timeouts. - Observability: structured logs with request or operation IDs, an error-tracking hook, and health/readiness checks where a server exists. - Quality: unit tests for domain rules, integration tests at module boundaries, and one end-to-end critical-path test. ## Decision records For each major dependency, document why it was chosen, its failure mode, and how it can be replaced. Do not introduce infrastructure until a requirement justifies it.
AGENTS.md
# Agent instructions - Read `PRODUCT.md` and `ARCHITECTURE.md` before changing code. - Implement milestone by milestone; keep each change reviewable and leave the application runnable. - Treat authentication, payments, encryption, imports, webhooks, and destructive actions as high-risk boundaries when present. - Never invent cryptography or silently weaken a requirement to make a test pass. - Use provider interfaces for external services and deterministic fakes in tests. - Add migrations and rollback or recovery notes for persistent data changes. - Log useful operational context without credentials, tokens, passwords, or personal data. - Update documentation and run all checks before completing a milestone.
MILESTONES.md
# Delivery milestones ## M0 — Decisions and scaffold - Confirm the runtime, persistence model, threat boundaries, and deployment target. - Create a reproducible local environment and continuous checks. ## M1 — Core workflow - Implement the smallest end-to-end product path with validation and tests. - Keep integrations behind interfaces. ## M2 — Trust layer - Add secure failure behavior, recovery paths, audit-relevant events, and data safeguards. - Test abuse cases and destructive operations. ## M3 — Operability - Add structured logs, error reporting hooks, health signals, backup/restore documentation, and deployment configuration. ## M4 — Release gate - Run a clean-install test, critical-path end-to-end test, dependency review, and documented rollback exercise. - Compare the shipped behavior with `PRODUCT.md` and publish remaining limitations.
OPERATIONS.md
# Operations ## Before release - Validate configuration and secrets at startup. - Define backup, restore, and rollback procedures and test them. - Document logs, error tracking, health signals, and alert ownership. - Set dependency update and vulnerability review expectations. ## Incident checklist 1. Contain the issue without destroying evidence or user data. 2. Record the timeline and affected scope. 3. Rotate exposed secrets and revoke compromised sessions or credentials. 4. Restore from a verified source when needed. 5. Document the root cause, remediation, and regression test. ## Launch constraint Do not market omitted Newton Mail capabilities as implemented. The v1 non-goals in `PRODUCT.md` remain user-visible limitations until they are deliberately delivered.
$ choose a build depth, inspect the files, then open the complete pack in your agent · this prompt is generated from the build plan · improve it via PR
People still pay for Newton Mail because an email client can be rebuilt; operating a trusted mail service with excellent deliverability cannot. The recurring cost buys IMAP quirks, OAuth, MIME, threading, search, attachments, offline sync, notifications, secure storage, and provider changes, not just the visible interface.
xpush infrastructure, provider compatibility, mobile apps, sync, and support
xmail hosting and deliverability
xpush on every platform
xadvanced team collaboration
xprovider-specific AI and search
share on X ↗"I just replaced Newton Mail ($4.17/mo) with one prompt"
Newton Mail pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| newton | — | $4.17/user | 1 annual subscription; no numeric mailbox or device cap published; the 2026 relaunch initially supports Gmail and Outlook on macOS and Windows. |
free tierno free tier; 14-day free trial, no credit card
billingannual only ($49.99/year); no monthly plan
verified 2026-08-12 · source ↗
Vibecode Newton Mail
Kinda. The core of Newton Mail is buildable in a weekend with the prompt on this page, but there are real gaps: push infrastructure, provider compatibility, mobile apps, sync, and support, mail hosting and deliverability. Read the honest list above before committing.
How much does Newton Mail cost?
Newton Mail costs about $4.17/month (Newton, checked 2026-08-12), which is $50.04 per year.
What do I lose by replacing Newton Mail?
Honestly: push infrastructure, provider compatibility, mobile apps, sync, and support; mail hosting and deliverability; push on every platform; advanced team collaboration; provider-specific AI and search. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Newton Mail?
Yes: mailcow (Popular open-source mail-server suite that demonstrates the operational complexity of hosted mail.). Using prior art is also vibecoding; the prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.