github.com/avihaymenahem/velo @velo-v0.4.21
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README
Velo
Email at the speed of thought.
A blazing-fast, keyboard-first desktop email client built with Tauri, React, and Rust.
Local-first. Privacy-focused. AI-powered.
Features • Installation • Shortcuts • Architecture • Development • Contributing
Why Velo?
Most email clients are slow, bloated, or send your data to someone else's server. Velo is different:
- Local-first -- Your emails live in a local SQLite database. No middleman servers. Read your mail offline.
- Keyboard-driven -- Superhuman-inspired shortcuts let you fly through your inbox without touching the mouse.
- AI-enhanced -- Summarize threads, generate replies, and search your inbox in natural language -- with your choice of AI provider.
- Native performance -- Rust backend via Tauri v2. Small binary, low memory, instant startup.
- Private by default -- Remote images blocked, HTML sanitized, emails rendered in sandboxed iframes. Your data stays on your machine.
Features
- Multi-account support: Gmail (API) and IMAP/SMTP (Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud, Fastmail, and more) with instant switching
- Threaded conversations with collapsible messages
- Full-text search with Gmail-style operators (
from:,to:,subject:,has:attachment,label:, etc.) - Command palette (
/orCtrl+K) for quick actions - Drag-and-drop labels, multi-select, pin threads, mute threads, context menus
- Split inbox with category tabs (Primary, Updates, Promotions, Social, Newsletters)
- Inline reply, contact sidebar with Gravatar
Composer
- TipTap v3 rich text editor (bold, italic, lists, code, links, images)
- Undo send, schedule send, auto-save drafts
- Multiple signatures, reusable templates with variables
- Send-as email aliases with from-address selector
- Drag-and-drop attachments with inline preview
- Frequency-ranked contact autocomplete
Smart Inbox
- Snooze threads with presets or custom date/time
- Filters to auto-label, archive, trash, star, or mark read
- AI + rule-based auto-categorization (Primary, Updates, Promotions, Social, Newsletters)
- One-click unsubscribe (RFC 8058) and subscription manager
- Newsletter bundling with delivery schedules
- Smart folders / saved searches with dynamic query tokens
- Quick steps -- custom action chains for batch thread processing
- Follow-up reminders when you haven't received a reply
AI
Three providers with selectable models -- choose one or mix and match:
| Provider | Models |
|---|---|
| Anthropic Claude | Haiku 4.5, Sonnet 4, Opus 4 |
| OpenAI | GPT-4o Mini, GPT-4o, GPT-4.1 Nano, GPT-4.1 Mini, GPT-4.1 |
| Google Gemini | 2.5 Flash, 2.5 Pro |
Thread summaries, smart reply suggestions, AI compose & reply, text transform (improve/shorten/formalize), Ask My Inbox (natural language search). Pick which model to use per provider in Settings. All results cached locally.
Calendar
Google Calendar sync with month, week, and day views. Create events without leaving Velo.
UI & Design
- Glassmorphism with animated gradient background
- Dark / light / system theme with 8 accent color presets
- Flexible reading pane (right, bottom, hidden), resizable panels
- Configurable density and font scaling
- Pop-out thread windows, custom titlebar, splash screen
- System tray with taskbar badge count
Privacy & Security
- OAuth PKCE for Gmail -- no client secret, no backend servers
- Encrypted password/app-password storage for IMAP accounts (AES-256-GCM)
- Remote image blocking with per-sender allowlist
- Phishing link detection with 10 heuristic scoring rules
- SPF/DKIM/DMARC authentication display with badges and warnings
- DOMPurify + sandboxed iframe rendering
- AES-256-GCM encrypted token storage
System Integration
mailto:deep links, global compose shortcut- Autostart (hidden in tray), single instance
- Customizable keyboard shortcuts
Installation
Download the latest release for your platform:
Download Velo -- Windows .msi / .exe • macOS .dmg • Linux .deb / .AppImage
No build tools or programming knowledge required -- just download, install, and run.
Account setup
Gmail: Create OAuth credentials in Google Cloud Console (enable Gmail API + Calendar API), then enter your Client ID in Velo's Settings. No client secret needed (PKCE).
IMAP/SMTP: Click "Add IMAP Account" in the account switcher. Enter your email and password -- Velo auto-discovers server settings for popular providers (Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud, Fastmail, etc.). For other providers, enter IMAP/SMTP server details manually. No Google Cloud project needed.
AI (optional): Add an API key for Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google Gemini in Settings. Then select which model to use for each provider.
Building from source
For developers who want to build Velo themselves or contribute:
git clone https://github.com/avihaymenahem/velo.git
cd velo
npm install
npm run tauri dev
Prerequisites: Node.js v18+, Rust, Tauri v2 deps
See Development Guide for all commands, testing, and build instructions.
Tech Stack
| Framework | Tauri v2 (Rust) + React 19 + TypeScript |
| Styling | Tailwind CSS v4 |
| State | Zustand 5 (8 stores) |
| Editor | TipTap v3 |
| Gmail API, IMAP/SMTP (via async-imap + lettre in Rust) | |
| Database | SQLite + FTS5 (33 tables) |
| AI | Claude, GPT, Gemini |
| Testing | Vitest + Testing Library |
See Architecture for detailed design, data flow, and project structure.
Building
npm run tauri build
Windows .msi / .exe • macOS .dmg / .app • Linux .deb / .AppImage
License
Built with Rust and React.
Made by Avihay.