8.6 KiB
Executable File
Great! Let's take your aerc setup to the next level. Here are several enhancements:
1. Color Schemes & Styling
Custom styleset for priority/tags
Create a custom styleset:
mkdir -p ~/.config/aerc/stylesets
nano ~/.config/aerc/stylesets/custom
Paste this (customize colors as you like):
# Basic UI
*.default=true
*.normal=default
*.selected=reverse
border.default=true
# Message list - Priority coloring
msglist_unread.fg=bold
msglist_unread.bg=default
# Priority 1 - RED/URGENT
msglist_marked.fg=red
msglist_marked.bg=default
msglist_marked.selected.fg=black
msglist_marked.selected.bg=red
# Tag-based coloring
msglist_flagged.fg=yellow
msglist_flagged.bg=default
# Read messages - dimmed
msglist_read.fg=242
msglist_read.bg=default
# Deleted
msglist_deleted.fg=darkgray
msglist_deleted.bg=default
# Message viewer
title.fg=cyan
title.bg=default
header.fg=green
header.bg=default
# Composer
tab.fg=white
tab.bg=black
tab.selected.fg=black
tab.selected.bg=cyan
# Status bar
statusline_default.fg=white
statusline_default.bg=black
statusline_error.fg=red
statusline_error.bg=black
statusline_success.fg=green
statusline_success.bg=black
# Sidebar folders
dirlist_default.fg=white
dirlist_default.bg=default
dirlist_unread.fg=cyan
dirlist_unread.bg=default
dirlist_recent.fg=yellow
dirlist_recent.bg=default
# Completion menu
completion_default.fg=white
completion_default.bg=black
completion_selected.fg=black
completion_selected.bg=cyan
# Spinner
spinner.fg=cyan
spinner.bg=default
Enable it in ~/.config/aerc/aerc.conf:
[ui]
styleset-name=custom
Advanced: Color by tag/priority
In ~/.config/aerc/aerc.conf:
[ui]
# Show icons/symbols for tags
icon-unread=✉
icon-replied=↩
icon-attachment=📎
icon-signed=🔒
icon-encrypted=🔐
# Threading
threading-enabled=true
Message list formatting with colors
Edit ~/.config/aerc/aerc.conf:
[ui]
# Custom index format with conditional colors
index-columns = date<20,name<25,flags>4,subject<*
column-date = {{.DateAutoFormat .Date.Local}}
column-name = {{index (.From | names) 0}}
column-flags = {{.Flags | join ""}}
column-subject = {{.ThreadPrefix}}{{.Subject}}
# Timestap format
timestamp-format=2006-01-02 15:04
this-day-time-format=15:04
this-week-time-format=Mon 15:04
this-year-time-format=Jan 02
2. Advanced Tag-Based Coloring
Create a script to colorize by tag:
nano ~/.config/aerc/scripts/colorize-tags.sh
#!/bin/bash
# Color messages based on notmuch tags
MSGID="$1"
TAGS=$(notmuch search --output=tags id:$MSGID)
if echo "$TAGS" | grep -q "priority1"; then
echo -e "\033[1;31m" # Bold red
elif echo "$TAGS" | grep -q "priority2"; then
echo -e "\033[1;33m" # Bold yellow
elif echo "$TAGS" | grep -q "spam"; then
echo -e "\033[0;90m" # Gray
elif echo "$TAGS" | grep -q "newsletter"; then
echo -e "\033[0;36m" # Cyan
else
echo -e "\033[0m" # Default
fi
Make executable:
chmod +x ~/.config/aerc/scripts/colorize-tags.sh
3. Better Message Viewing
Syntax highlighting for code in emails
Install:
sudo pacman -S highlight bat
Edit ~/.config/aerc/aerc.conf:
[viewer]
pager=less -R
# Syntax highlight code blocks
text/plain=bat --style=plain --paging=never --color=always
# Or use highlight
# text/plain=highlight -O ansi --force
Better HTML rendering with custom CSS
Create ~/.config/aerc/html.css:
body {
font-family: sans-serif;
max-width: 800px;
margin: 20px auto;
line-height: 1.6;
color: #e0e0e0;
background: #1a1a1a;
}
a {
color: #58a6ff;
}
code {
background: #2d2d2d;
padding: 2px 6px;
border-radius: 3px;
}
pre {
background: #2d2d2d;
padding: 10px;
overflow-x: auto;
}
Update viewer:
[viewer]
html-filter=pandoc -f html -t plain | bat --style=plain --color=always
4. Fuzzy Finding & Better Search
Install fzf integration
sudo pacman -S fzf
Add to ~/.config/aerc/binds.conf:
[messages]
# Fuzzy find emails
/ = :term fzf-aerc<Enter>
Create the script ~/.local/bin/fzf-aerc:
#!/bin/bash
notmuch search --output=messages '*' | \
fzf --preview 'notmuch show {}' | \
xargs -I {} aerc ":open {}<Enter>"
Make executable:
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/fzf-aerc
5. Email Templates
Create templates directory:
mkdir -p ~/.config/aerc/templates
Quick reply template
~/.config/aerc/templates/quick-reply:
Thanks for reaching out!
{{.OriginalMessage}}
Best regards,
{{.From}}
Meeting confirmation template
~/.config/aerc/templates/meeting-confirm:
Hi {{.To}},
Confirmed! Looking forward to our meeting on {{.Subject}}.
Best,
{{.From}}
Use templates with keybinding
In ~/.config/aerc/binds.conf:
[messages]
,tr = :reply -t quick-reply<Enter>
,tm = :reply -t meeting-confirm<Enter>
6. Contact Management Integration
Better abook integration
sudo pacman -S abook
Import contacts:
# From notmuch
notmuch address --output=sender '*' | sort -u > /tmp/contacts.txt
# Import to abook (manual process, or script it)
Add to ~/.config/aerc/aerc.conf:
[compose]
address-book-cmd=abook --mutt-query '%s'
Or use khard (CardDAV)
yay -S khard
Sync with ProtonMail contacts via vdirsyncer.
7. Notification System
Desktop notifications for new mail
Install:
sudo pacman -S libnotify
Update ~/.local/bin/sync-mail.sh:
#!/bin/bash
# Store count before sync
BEFORE=$(notmuch count tag:unread)
# Sync
mbsync -a
notmuch new
PYTHONWARNINGS="ignore::UserWarning" afew --tag --new
# Count after
AFTER=$(notmuch count tag:unread)
NEW=$((AFTER - BEFORE))
# Notify if new mail
if [ $NEW -gt 0 ]; then
# Check for priority mail
PRIORITY=$(notmuch count tag:priority1 AND tag:unread)
if [ $PRIORITY -gt 0 ]; then
notify-send -u critical "📧 Urgent Mail" "$PRIORITY high priority message(s)"
else
notify-send "📬 New Mail" "$NEW new message(s)"
fi
fi
echo "Mail sync complete at $(date)"
Sound notifications
sudo pacman -S sox
Add to sync script:
if [ $PRIORITY -gt 0 ]; then
play -n synth 0.3 sine 800 vol 0.5
fi
8. Productivity Integrations
Send emails to task manager
Create ~/.config/aerc/scripts/email-to-task.sh:
#!/bin/bash
# Pipe email to task manager
SUBJECT=$(notmuch show --format=json "$1" | jq -r '.[0][0][0].headers.Subject')
FROM=$(notmuch show --format=json "$1" | jq -r '.[0][0][0].headers.From')
# Add to taskwarrior
task add "Email: $SUBJECT from $FROM" +email
Keybinding:
[messages]
,tt = :pipe ~/.config/aerc/scripts/email-to-task.sh<Enter>
Calendar integration
sudo pacman -S khal vdirsyncer
Parse calendar invites automatically in viewer.
9. Advanced Filtering Scripts
Auto-respond to certain senders
Create ~/.config/notmuch/default/hooks/post-new:
#!/bin/bash
# Auto-archive newsletters
notmuch tag +archived -inbox -- tag:newsletter AND tag:new
# Auto-mark as read if from automated systems
notmuch tag -unread -- tag:automated AND tag:new
# Flag urgent keywords
notmuch tag +urgent -- subject:"URGENT" AND tag:new
Make executable:
chmod +x ~/.config/notmuch/default/hooks/post-new
10. Performance Optimizations
In ~/.config/aerc/aerc.conf:
[ui]
# Cache headers for speed
cache-headers=true
# Faster threading
threading-enabled=true
# Limit initial load
dirlist-delay=200ms
# Async loading
sort=reverse-date
[viewer]
# Faster paging
parse-http-links=false
max-mime-height=0
11. Vim-like Navigation Improvements
Enhanced ~/.config/aerc/binds.conf:
[messages]
# Vim-style marks
m = :mark -t<Enter>
M = :mark -T<Enter>
' = :mark -v<Enter>
# Quick archive/delete
<Space>d = :move Trash<Enter>
<Space>a = :move Archive<Enter>
# Macro-like sequences
,aa = :mark -a<Enter>:archive<Enter>
,dd = :mark -a<Enter>:delete<Enter>
# Quick jumps
gg = :select 0<Enter>
G = :select -1<Enter>
<C-u> = :prev 10<Enter>
<C-d> = :next 10<Enter>
# Split view
<C-w>v = :vsplit<Enter>
<C-w>s = :split<Enter>
<C-w>c = :close<Enter>
12. Status Bar Customization
In ~/.config/aerc/aerc.conf:
[statusline]
status-columns = left<*,center>=,right>*
column-left = {{.Account}}:{{.Folder}} [{{.StatusInfo}}]
column-center = {{.StatusDisplay}}
column-right = {{.TrayInfo}} {{.PendingKeys}}
Quick Install Script for All Enhancements
Want me to create a single script that installs and configures all of these at once? Or would you rather add them one by one as you explore?
Which enhancements interest you most? I can dive deeper into any of these!