Vibecode Fastmail
track this build5 steps, step by step0%A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Fastmail, build a clean client for an existing mailbox without running public mail infrastructure. The hard boundary is mail hosting, spam filtering, domains, calendars, contacts, deliverability, and support, plus mail infrastructure, integrations, and client polish.
You are building a lean indie version of Fastmail. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== README.md ===== # Fastmail indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Fastmail workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast focused inbox, and send through the account's normal SMTP service without running public mail infrastructure. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - mail hosting, spam filtering, domains, calendars, contacts, deliverability, and support - mail hosting and deliverability - push on every platform - advanced team collaboration - provider-specific AI and search If those capabilities are essential, use mailcow instead of pretending the gap is solved. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs". ===== BUILD_PLAN.md ===== # Build plan ## Original build brief Build a closest honest personal substitute for Fastmail in an empty repository. Use Tauri 2, React, TypeScript, SQLite, IMAP, SMTP, and OAuth where available; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast focused inbox, and send through the account's normal SMTP service without running public mail infrastructure. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Support one IMAP and SMTP account with credentials stored only in the OS keychain. Index headers and message bodies locally with resumable sync and a visible status page. Implement standards-based threading, folders, labels, archive, snooze, drafts, and search. Render HTML email in a locked-down sandbox and block remote images by default. Send multipart messages with attachments and preserve a local copy of every draft. Add export, local cache reset, account reconnect, diagnostics, and safe logging. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Do not claim to reproduce proprietary data, network liquidity, regulated access, or frontier infrastructure. Deliberately leave out running a public mail server. Deliberately leave out shared team inboxes and sales workflows. Deliberately leave out mobile push services and provider-scale spam filtering. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Required capabilities - existing IMAP and SMTP mailbox - OAuth client credentials where required - desktop keychain access - local disk space ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden. ===== .env.example ===== # Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
You are building a lean indie version of Fastmail. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== README.md ===== # Fastmail indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Fastmail workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast focused inbox, and send through the account's normal SMTP service without running public mail infrastructure. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - mail hosting, spam filtering, domains, calendars, contacts, deliverability, and support - mail hosting and deliverability - push on every platform - advanced team collaboration - provider-specific AI and search If those capabilities are essential, use mailcow instead of pretending the gap is solved. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs". ===== BUILD_PLAN.md ===== # Build plan ## Original build brief Build a closest honest personal substitute for Fastmail in an empty repository. Use Tauri 2, React, TypeScript, SQLite, IMAP, SMTP, and OAuth where available; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast focused inbox, and send through the account's normal SMTP service without running public mail infrastructure. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Support one IMAP and SMTP account with credentials stored only in the OS keychain. Index headers and message bodies locally with resumable sync and a visible status page. Implement standards-based threading, folders, labels, archive, snooze, drafts, and search. Render HTML email in a locked-down sandbox and block remote images by default. Send multipart messages with attachments and preserve a local copy of every draft. Add export, local cache reset, account reconnect, diagnostics, and safe logging. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Do not claim to reproduce proprietary data, network liquidity, regulated access, or frontier infrastructure. Deliberately leave out running a public mail server. Deliberately leave out shared team inboxes and sales workflows. Deliberately leave out mobile push services and provider-scale spam filtering. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Required capabilities - existing IMAP and SMTP mailbox - OAuth client credentials where required - desktop keychain access - local disk space ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden. ===== .env.example ===== # Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
You are building a production product version of Fastmail. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== PRODUCT.md ===== # Fastmail product brief ## Problem A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Fastmail, build a clean client for an existing mailbox without running public mail infrastructure. The hard boundary is mail hosting, spam filtering, domains, calendars, contacts, deliverability, and support, plus mail infrastructure, integrations, and client polish. ## Product outcome Connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast focused inbox, and send through the account's normal SMTP service without running public mail infrastructure. ## Target user A serious builder who needs a maintainable product foundation rather than a one-off demo. ## Required capabilities - existing IMAP and SMTP mailbox - OAuth client credentials where required - desktop keychain access - local disk space ## Explicit non-goals for v1 - mail hosting, spam filtering, domains, calendars, contacts, deliverability, and support - mail hosting and deliverability - push on every platform - advanced team collaboration - provider-specific AI and search ## Success criteria - The primary workflow is measurable end to end. - Setup is reproducible in a clean environment. - Failure, recovery, and support paths are documented. - Product claims match what the implementation actually guarantees. ===== ARCHITECTURE.md ===== # Architecture ## Starting brief Build a closest honest personal substitute for Fastmail in an empty repository. Use Tauri 2, React, TypeScript, SQLite, IMAP, SMTP, and OAuth where available; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast focused inbox, and send through the account's normal SMTP service without running public mail infrastructure. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Support one IMAP and SMTP account with credentials stored only in the OS keychain. Index headers and message bodies locally with resumable sync and a visible status page. Implement standards-based threading, folders, labels, archive, snooze, drafts, and search. Render HTML email in a locked-down sandbox and block remote images by default. Send multipart messages with attachments and preserve a local copy of every draft. Add export, local cache reset, account reconnect, diagnostics, and safe logging. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Do not claim to reproduce proprietary data, network liquidity, regulated access, or frontier infrastructure. Deliberately leave out running a public mail server. Deliberately leave out shared team inboxes and sales workflows. Deliberately leave out mobile push services and provider-scale spam filtering. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Boundaries Separate the product into replaceable modules for interface, application logic, persistence, external integrations, and operational concerns. Keep domain logic independent from delivery frameworks and vendors. ## Production baseline - Configuration: validated at startup with safe local defaults where possible. - Security: least privilege, input validation, secret redaction, rate limits on abuse-prone paths, and no invented security primitives. - Data: explicit schema and migrations, transactional writes where integrity matters, backup and restore instructions. - Integrations: adapters around third-party providers, idempotent webhook or job processing, bounded retries, and timeouts. - Observability: structured logs with request or operation IDs, an error-tracking hook, and health/readiness checks where a server exists. - Quality: unit tests for domain rules, integration tests at module boundaries, and one end-to-end critical-path test. ## Decision records For each major dependency, document why it was chosen, its failure mode, and how it can be replaced. Do not introduce infrastructure until a requirement justifies it. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Read `PRODUCT.md` and `ARCHITECTURE.md` before changing code. - Implement milestone by milestone; keep each change reviewable and leave the application runnable. - Treat authentication, payments, encryption, imports, webhooks, and destructive actions as high-risk boundaries when present. - Never invent cryptography or silently weaken a requirement to make a test pass. - Use provider interfaces for external services and deterministic fakes in tests. - Add migrations and rollback or recovery notes for persistent data changes. - Log useful operational context without credentials, tokens, passwords, or personal data. - Update documentation and run all checks before completing a milestone. ===== MILESTONES.md ===== # Delivery milestones ## M0 — Decisions and scaffold - Confirm the runtime, persistence model, threat boundaries, and deployment target. - Create a reproducible local environment and continuous checks. ## M1 — Core workflow - Implement the smallest end-to-end product path with validation and tests. - Keep integrations behind interfaces. ## M2 — Trust layer - Add secure failure behavior, recovery paths, audit-relevant events, and data safeguards. - Test abuse cases and destructive operations. ## M3 — Operability - Add structured logs, error reporting hooks, health signals, backup/restore documentation, and deployment configuration. ## M4 — Release gate - Run a clean-install test, critical-path end-to-end test, dependency review, and documented rollback exercise. - Compare the shipped behavior with `PRODUCT.md` and publish remaining limitations. ===== OPERATIONS.md ===== # Operations ## Before release - Validate configuration and secrets at startup. - Define backup, restore, and rollback procedures and test them. - Document logs, error tracking, health signals, and alert ownership. - Set dependency update and vulnerability review expectations. ## Incident checklist 1. Contain the issue without destroying evidence or user data. 2. Record the timeline and affected scope. 3. Rotate exposed secrets and revoke compromised sessions or credentials. 4. Restore from a verified source when needed. 5. Document the root cause, remediation, and regression test. ## Launch constraint Do not market omitted Fastmail capabilities as implemented. The v1 non-goals in `PRODUCT.md` remain user-visible limitations until they are deliberately delivered.
# Fastmail indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Fastmail workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast focused inbox, and send through the account's normal SMTP service without running public mail infrastructure. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - mail hosting, spam filtering, domains, calendars, contacts, deliverability, and support - mail hosting and deliverability - push on every platform - advanced team collaboration - provider-specific AI and search If those capabilities are essential, use mailcow instead of pretending the gap is solved.
# Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs".
# Build plan ## Original build brief Build a closest honest personal substitute for Fastmail in an empty repository. Use Tauri 2, React, TypeScript, SQLite, IMAP, SMTP, and OAuth where available; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast focused inbox, and send through the account's normal SMTP service without running public mail infrastructure. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Support one IMAP and SMTP account with credentials stored only in the OS keychain. Index headers and message bodies locally with resumable sync and a visible status page. Implement standards-based threading, folders, labels, archive, snooze, drafts, and search. Render HTML email in a locked-down sandbox and block remote images by default. Send multipart messages with attachments and preserve a local copy of every draft. Add export, local cache reset, account reconnect, diagnostics, and safe logging. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Do not claim to reproduce proprietary data, network liquidity, regulated access, or frontier infrastructure. Deliberately leave out running a public mail server. Deliberately leave out shared team inboxes and sales workflows. Deliberately leave out mobile push services and provider-scale spam filtering. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Required capabilities - existing IMAP and SMTP mailbox - OAuth client credentials where required - desktop keychain access - local disk space ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden.
# Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
# Fastmail product brief ## Problem A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Fastmail, build a clean client for an existing mailbox without running public mail infrastructure. The hard boundary is mail hosting, spam filtering, domains, calendars, contacts, deliverability, and support, plus mail infrastructure, integrations, and client polish. ## Product outcome Connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast focused inbox, and send through the account's normal SMTP service without running public mail infrastructure. ## Target user A serious builder who needs a maintainable product foundation rather than a one-off demo. ## Required capabilities - existing IMAP and SMTP mailbox - OAuth client credentials where required - desktop keychain access - local disk space ## Explicit non-goals for v1 - mail hosting, spam filtering, domains, calendars, contacts, deliverability, and support - mail hosting and deliverability - push on every platform - advanced team collaboration - provider-specific AI and search ## Success criteria - The primary workflow is measurable end to end. - Setup is reproducible in a clean environment. - Failure, recovery, and support paths are documented. - Product claims match what the implementation actually guarantees.
# Architecture ## Starting brief Build a closest honest personal substitute for Fastmail in an empty repository. Use Tauri 2, React, TypeScript, SQLite, IMAP, SMTP, and OAuth where available; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, provide a fast focused inbox, and send through the account's normal SMTP service without running public mail infrastructure. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Support one IMAP and SMTP account with credentials stored only in the OS keychain. Index headers and message bodies locally with resumable sync and a visible status page. Implement standards-based threading, folders, labels, archive, snooze, drafts, and search. Render HTML email in a locked-down sandbox and block remote images by default. Send multipart messages with attachments and preserve a local copy of every draft. Add export, local cache reset, account reconnect, diagnostics, and safe logging. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Do not claim to reproduce proprietary data, network liquidity, regulated access, or frontier infrastructure. Deliberately leave out running a public mail server. Deliberately leave out shared team inboxes and sales workflows. Deliberately leave out mobile push services and provider-scale spam filtering. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Boundaries Separate the product into replaceable modules for interface, application logic, persistence, external integrations, and operational concerns. Keep domain logic independent from delivery frameworks and vendors. ## Production baseline - Configuration: validated at startup with safe local defaults where possible. - Security: least privilege, input validation, secret redaction, rate limits on abuse-prone paths, and no invented security primitives. - Data: explicit schema and migrations, transactional writes where integrity matters, backup and restore instructions. - Integrations: adapters around third-party providers, idempotent webhook or job processing, bounded retries, and timeouts. - Observability: structured logs with request or operation IDs, an error-tracking hook, and health/readiness checks where a server exists. - Quality: unit tests for domain rules, integration tests at module boundaries, and one end-to-end critical-path test. ## Decision records For each major dependency, document why it was chosen, its failure mode, and how it can be replaced. Do not introduce infrastructure until a requirement justifies it.
# Agent instructions - Read `PRODUCT.md` and `ARCHITECTURE.md` before changing code. - Implement milestone by milestone; keep each change reviewable and leave the application runnable. - Treat authentication, payments, encryption, imports, webhooks, and destructive actions as high-risk boundaries when present. - Never invent cryptography or silently weaken a requirement to make a test pass. - Use provider interfaces for external services and deterministic fakes in tests. - Add migrations and rollback or recovery notes for persistent data changes. - Log useful operational context without credentials, tokens, passwords, or personal data. - Update documentation and run all checks before completing a milestone.
# Delivery milestones ## M0 — Decisions and scaffold - Confirm the runtime, persistence model, threat boundaries, and deployment target. - Create a reproducible local environment and continuous checks. ## M1 — Core workflow - Implement the smallest end-to-end product path with validation and tests. - Keep integrations behind interfaces. ## M2 — Trust layer - Add secure failure behavior, recovery paths, audit-relevant events, and data safeguards. - Test abuse cases and destructive operations. ## M3 — Operability - Add structured logs, error reporting hooks, health signals, backup/restore documentation, and deployment configuration. ## M4 — Release gate - Run a clean-install test, critical-path end-to-end test, dependency review, and documented rollback exercise. - Compare the shipped behavior with `PRODUCT.md` and publish remaining limitations.
# Operations ## Before release - Validate configuration and secrets at startup. - Define backup, restore, and rollback procedures and test them. - Document logs, error tracking, health signals, and alert ownership. - Set dependency update and vulnerability review expectations. ## Incident checklist 1. Contain the issue without destroying evidence or user data. 2. Record the timeline and affected scope. 3. Rotate exposed secrets and revoke compromised sessions or credentials. 4. Restore from a verified source when needed. 5. Document the root cause, remediation, and regression test. ## Launch constraint Do not market omitted Fastmail capabilities as implemented. The v1 non-goals in `PRODUCT.md` remain user-visible limitations until they are deliberately delivered.
$ choose a build depth, inspect the files, then open the complete pack in your agent · this prompt is generated from the build plan · improve it via PR
People still pay for Fastmail because an email client can be rebuilt; operating a trusted mail service with excellent deliverability cannot. The recurring cost buys IMAP quirks, OAuth, MIME, threading, search, attachments, offline sync, notifications, secure storage, and provider changes, not just the visible interface.
xmail hosting, spam filtering, domains, calendars, contacts, deliverability, and support
xmail hosting and deliverability
xpush on every platform
xadvanced team collaboration
xprovider-specific AI and search
Don't feel like building it? These folks already made it free.
MMailspringA fast unified desktop inbox with local search; workflow extras still cost money.open source↗all 6 free alternatives to Fastmail →· no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
Fastmail pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| individual | $6/user | $5/user | 1 user; 60 GB total storage (50 GB mail/calendar/contacts + 10 GB files). |
| duo | $10 | $8 | 2 users; 120 GB total storage (60 GB per person). |
| family | $14 | $11 | Up to 6 users; up to 360 GB total storage (60 GB per person). |
| basic (business) | $4/user | — | 6 GB per user (5 GB mail/calendar/contacts + 1 GB files). |
| standard (business) | $6/user | — | 60 GB per user (50 GB mail/calendar/contacts + 10 GB files). |
| professional (business) | $10/user | — | 150 GB per user (100 GB mail/calendar/contacts + 50 GB files). |
free tierno free tier; up to 30-day free trial
billingmonthly, annual, 24-month and 36-month prepayment; personal annual rates shown above; cancel/change anytime, but unused prepaid time is not refunded
hidden costsTaxes are extra; paid storage upgrades are available up to 300 GB per user but public add-on prices were not shown; registering a custom domain costs extra if you do not already own one.
verified 2026-08-12 · source ↗
Vibecode Fastmail
Not really. Fastmail's value is not the code: Recheck price before merge. See the honest breakdown above.
How much does Fastmail cost?
Fastmail costs about $6/month (Individual, checked 2026-07-31), which is $72 per year.
What do I lose by replacing Fastmail?
Honestly: mail hosting, spam filtering, domains, calendars, contacts, deliverability, and support; mail hosting and deliverability; push on every platform; advanced team collaboration; provider-specific AI and search. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Fastmail?
Yes: Mailspring (A fast unified desktop inbox with local search; workflow extras still cost money.) Thunderbird (A mature client for almost any mailbox; the interface has survived more redesign cycles than most startups.) Apple Mail (A capable existing-mailbox client already installed on Apple devices; Windows and Android remain uninvited.) All 6 curated free alternatives are at vibecodeit.com/fastmail/alternatives. The prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.