Skim - Free, open-source AI email client for Windows
byβ’
Skim is a free, open-source (MIT) email client for Windows.
βοΈ Minimal on purpose: no calendar, no rules engine, no bloat. Fewer buttons, less cognitive load.
β‘ Native Rust core (Tauri 2): ~5 MB installer, sub-second cold start, instant full-text search.
π Local-first, offline-ready, zero telemetry.
β¦ AI on your terms: bring your own Anthropic or OpenRouter key and Skim drafts replies in your voice and answers questions across your whole mailbox.
Replies
Love the minimal take, especially the Rust core keeping things snappy. One thing that would make it stickier for me: a quick "snooze until later today" or "remind me tomorrow" option right in the inbox. Most of my email backlog isn't urgent, it just needs to come back at the right moment, and that small loop would make Skim feel genuinely complete without adding much weight.
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@sevda9qobΒ Ouch, that's a hard one β a highly debatable topic. As for now, I'm closer to not implementing snooze than to implementing it.
However, there's a "canonical" thread about snooze, where my argumentation against the feature lives:
https://github.com/nikserg/skim/issues/8
But. But! Please do argue.
finally a windows email client that doesn't try to be a whole operating system, love that the rust core keeps it to like 5mb
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@kamilsatlkebkjΒ Me too, man! π€ Enjoy!
The 5MB Rust install is genuinely impressive, and it actually opens faster than Outlook does. Curious to see how the BYOK AI drafting holds up on longer threads.
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@eymenevf2Β comparing to Outlook it opens instantly π
As for drafting - I personally use it all the time, it keeps context well as I can see. But I'm curious to learn your use cases and experience to make things better. Do not hesitate to open a Github issue or text me here.
Love that you kept the scope tight enough to ship a 5MB native Rust client that still feels full-featured. Bringing your own AI key is a smart move, treats the model layer like infrastructure instead of locking people in.
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@satd7ogΒ my thoughts exactly π
Tried it on my old laptop and yeah, the cold start is genuinely instant which is wild for an email client. Love that the AI stuff is opt-in instead of shoved in my face.
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@sinemimirc3hzΒ glad you liked it! Skim is dinosaur-laptop-friendly π¦
Sub-second cold start from a 5 MB installer is genuinely impressive craft, especially with native search baked in. Really respect the discipline of cutting the calendar and rules engine instead of bolting them on.
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@rukiyevatad9daΒ greet Claude that made it possible this way π When code is cheap, discipline becomes expensive.
been using it for a few days and honestly the instant full-text search is kind of wild, way faster than outlook. the minimal vibe is actually refreshing, feels like it respects my time
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@arifpekgila0cjΒ Skim respects what Outlook obviously doesn't π
5mb installer and sub-second cold start on windows is honestly kind of wild, my current client takes forever to open. love that ai is opt-in too.
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@beratmcdecotawΒ hope you're enjoying it! π«Ά
Love how lightweight this feels, especially coming from bloated desktop clients. One thing that would make it a daily driver for me: add support for PGP or at least S/MIME signing and encryption. Local-first is great, but most of the work I get requires signed replies, so I keep having to fall back to Thunderbird for that.
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@sametgnelwoivΒ hey, glad you liked it!
You bring up an interesting topic. Crypto is tough. PGP is probably out of scope, but S/MIME not so out.
I've created an issue with my thoughts on that:
https://github.com/nikserg/skim/issues/9
Would really appreciate your participation in that! π
Love that you kept it under 5 MB while still shipping full-text search and AI drafting. The local-first approach with bring-your-own-key feels rare these days.
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@hmeyrazbakmtsyΒ glad you like it! Enjoy! π«Ά