Skim - Free, open-source AI email client for Windows
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Skim is a free, open-source (MIT) email client for Windows.
✂️ Minimal on purpose: no calendar, no rules engine, no bloat. Fewer buttons, less cognitive load.
⚡ Native Rust core (Tauri 2): ~5 MB installer, sub-second cold start, instant full-text search.
🔒 Local-first, offline-ready, zero telemetry.
✦ 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
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
@kamilsatlkebkj Me too, man! 🤘 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.
@eymenevf2 comparing to Outlook it opens instantly 😄
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.
@satd7og my thoughts exactly 😄
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.
@sinemimirc3hz glad you liked it! Skim is dinosaur-laptop-friendly 🦖
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.
@rukiyevatad9da greet Claude that made it possible this way 😄 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
@arifpekgila0cj Skim respects what Outlook obviously doesn't 😄
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.
@beratmcdecotaw hope you're enjoying it! 🫶
Honestly the 5 MB installer is kind of wild for an email client, opened it up and was reading mail before my coffee was ready. The bring your own AI key approach feels right too, no weird data stuff happening behind the scenes.
@kevserauj4 glad you liked it! 🫶
love that it's local-first and tiny, but honestly a unified inbox view would be a game changer for me. like, one screen where i can see all my accounts side by side instead of toggling between them. would make it feel even more minimal and way faster to triage.
@rem1219681 oh this one I love. You actually nudged me over the line - unified inbox is happening.
The plan: all your mailboxes merged into one view by default (not just the inbox - sent, archive, everything), Each message tagged with a little colored dot + letter so you always know which account it's from. And if you ever want the old one-account-at-a-time mode, it stays a toggle.
Wrote it all up here, design + open questions - would love your take:
https://github.com/nikserg/skim/issues/10
Thanks for the push 🙌
@umberto_abbatantuono if you feel like there's missing something you want, please, do not hesitate to open an issue!