Install

Each GitHub release also has plain binaries for macOS and Linux on x86_64 and aarch64.

To build from source:

git clone https://github.com/pataar/postbode
cd postbode
mise install rust         # the pinned Rust toolchain; rustup works too
cargo install --path .

On Linux the password keyring is the Secret Service (KDE Wallet or GNOME Keyring), reached over D-Bus. On macOS it is the login Keychain; a new, unsigned binary (every upgrade) asks again for Keychain access, so choose “Always Allow”.

macOS app

Postbode also ships as Postbode.app on a DMG, attached to each GitHub release. Homebrew installs it as a cask:

brew install --cask pataar/tap/postbode

The cask puts Postbode.app in /Applications and links the app’s own binary as the postbode command, so the CLI and the MCP server come with it. Opening the app from Finder or the Dock opens the mail window; postbode in a terminal works as usual.

The app is not notarized by Apple yet; it is signed ad hoc. The cask clears the quarantine flag on install, so it opens normally. A DMG downloaded by hand is blocked by Gatekeeper the first time: clear the flag once with xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Postbode.app, or allow it under System Settings → Privacy & Security. Each upgrade has a new signature, so the Keychain asks again for access to the password.

Install either the cask or the formula (brew install pataar/tap/postbode), not both: the window, the CLI and the MCP server share one daemon over one socket, and an older client refuses a newer daemon, so two installs at different versions would get in each other’s way. Homebrew refuses the second one. The formula stays for Linux and headless Macs.

AppImage on Linux

Each release has an AppImage for x86_64 and aarch64. It runs without installing on Linux desktops (KDE Plasma, GNOME and others) that have the system’s graphics libraries and FUSE (fusermount), as most do:

chmod +x postbode-x86_64.AppImage
./postbode-x86_64.AppImage                  # double-clicked or run without a terminal it opens the window
./postbode-x86_64.AppImage account add      # with arguments it is the postbode command
./postbode-x86_64.AppImage mcp install      # MCP hosts and `service install` record this file's path

Keep the file where you run it from: the daemon it starts, service install and mcp install all point at it, so after moving it run those two again. To put it in your app launcher, use an AppImage manager such as Gear Lever or AppImageLauncher.

Desktop entry on Linux

Apart from the macOS app and the AppImage, the channels above install only the binary. To get Postbode into your app launcher with its icon, run this from a checkout:

packaging/linux/install.sh                                # into ~/.local/share, for you
sudo packaging/linux/install.sh --prefix /usr/local/share # for everyone
packaging/linux/install.sh --uninstall                    # add the same --prefix if you used one

The entry runs postbode gui, so postbode must be on your PATH. The window’s Wayland app id, io.github.pataar.postbode, matches the entry, so docks and task switchers show the right name and icon.