Mailpile was founded in 2013 by Bjarni Rúnar Einarsson and Smári McCarthy in Iceland. The project emerged from a desire to create a modern, privacy-focused email client that made encryption accessible to everyday users.
Mailpile gained significant attention through crowdfunding:
- June 2013: Launched Indiegogo campaign with a $100,000 goal
- July 2013: Campaign ended with $336,554 raised from 3,717 backers
- The successful funding allowed the team to work full-time on the project
Key milestones in Mailpile’s development:
- 2014: First alpha releases, focus on PGP encryption integration
- 2015: Version 0.5 beta with improved search and tagging
- 2016: Version 1.0 release candidate, focus on usability
- 2017: Version 1.0 stable release
- 2018-2019: Maintenance releases, Python 2.7 era
Mailpile distinguished itself with:
- Local indexing: Fast search through local mail storage
- Encryption focus: Built-in PGP/GPG support
- Privacy-first: Designed to run locally, not as a hosted service
- Modern interface: Clean, responsive web UI
- License: AGPL-3.0
The project entered a dormant phase:
- 2020: Development slowed significantly
- 2021: Maintainers announced development halt pending Python 3 rewrite
- Current status: Development paused, legacy v1 Docker images available
- GitHub: 8.8k+ stars, but minimal recent activity
As of 2026:
- Status: ⚠️ Development halted pending Python 3 rewrite
- Latest stable: Version 1.x (Python 2.7 based)
- Maintainers: Seeking community forks
- Recommendation: Use legacy Docker images or consider alternatives like Roundcube
| Version |
Year |
Key Features |
| Alpha |
2014 |
Basic webmail, PGP encryption |
| 0.5 Beta |
2015 |
Search, tagging, multiple accounts |
| 1.0 RC |
2016 |
Improved UI, stability |
| 1.0 Stable |
2017 |
Full release, plugin support |