Accounts

Each account is one [[accounts]] block in ~/.config/tern/config.toml. You can write the blocks yourself or manage them from inside tern.

From settings

Open Settings → Accounts with , then 2.

Key
a	add an account: pick a provider, then fill in the form
⏎ e	edit the selected account
d	remove it (asks first)

The provider presets fill in the servers, including calendar and contacts, so one form sets up all three:

Preset	IMAP	SMTP	Calendar / contacts	Sign-in
Fastmail	imap.fastmail.com:993	smtp.fastmail.com:465	caldav.fastmail.com/dav/, carddav.fastmail.com/dav/	app password
Google (Gmail)	imap.gmail.com:993	smtp.gmail.com:465	Google CalDAV v2, Google CardDAV	OAuth
iCloud	imap.mail.me.com:993	smtp.mail.me.com:587	caldav.icloud.com, contacts.icloud.com	app-specific password
Microsoft 365 / Outlook	outlook.office365.com:993	smtp.office365.com:587	none (needs Graph, not supported yet)	OAuth
Other (IMAP / SMTP)	you fill in	you fill in	optional	password command

The form’s fields are Name, Email, Your name, Password cmd, IMAP, SMTP, Calendar, Contacts, OAuth client and OAuth secret. The signature goes in the body. Server fields take host:port. The port decides the encryption: 993 and 465 mean TLS, 143 and 587 mean STARTTLS. To override that, add a scheme:

• imap://host:3143 or smtp://host:2525: no encryption, only for local bridges such as Proton Bridge
• starttls://host:2525: force STARTTLS
• imaps:// or smtps://: force TLS

Saving writes config.toml in place and keeps your comments and layout. The account connects right away. A calendar or contacts URL becomes a [[dav]] block named <account> · Calendar or <account> · Contacts, which signs in through the account (account = "<name>"). Removing an account also removes the [[dav]] blocks that sign in through it.

Provider notes:

• Fastmail: make an app password under Settings → Privacy & Security → Manage app passwords. Give it mail, contacts and calendars access, or CalDAV will refuse it.
• iCloud: make an app-specific password at account.apple.com → Sign-In and Security.
• Gmail: save_sent is turned off, because Gmail files sent mail itself.

In config.toml

[[accounts]]
name = "Work"                     # shown in the sidebar; must be unique
email = "you@company.com"
display_name = "Your Name"        # optional; From becomes "Your Name <you@company.com>"
save_sent = true                  # copy sent mail to Sent (false for Gmail)
signature = "-- \nYour Name · Company"

[accounts.imap]
host = "imap.company.com"
port = 993                        # default 993
tls = "implicit"                  # implicit (default) | starttls | none
username = "you@company.com"
password_cmd = "pass show mail/work"
page_size = 300                   # newest messages loaded per folder (default 300)
poll_secs = 60                    # check interval when the server has no IDLE (default 60)

[accounts.smtp]
host = "smtp.company.com"
port = 465                        # default 465
tls = "implicit"                  # 587 → "starttls"
username = "you@company.com"
password_cmd = "pass show mail/work"

Passwords

Each server takes either:

• password_cmd: a shell command run with sh -c. tern uses the first line it prints. It must exit 0. This is the recommended form.
• password: the password itself, in plain text. tern doctor warns about this.

TLS

tls	Meaning	Usual ports
implicit	TLS from the first byte (default)	IMAP 993, SMTP 465
starttls	plain connection upgraded with STARTTLS	IMAP 143, SMTP 587
none	no encryption: local bridges only	anything

Folders

tern finds Sent, Drafts, Archive, Trash, Junk and Flagged from the server’s SPECIAL-USE flags. Without those flags, it falls back to common names such as “Sent Items”, “Deleted Messages”, “Spam” and “All Mail”. If it still guesses wrong, name the folders yourself:

[accounts.folders]
sent = "Sent Items"
drafts = "Drafts"
archive = "Archive"
trash = "Deleted Items"
junk = "Junk E-mail"

When an account has no archive folder, e uses the “All Mail” folder if there is one. Otherwise tern tells you to set archive.

Signatures

signature is added below your text in new messages, replies and forwards. Start it with -- (dash, dash, space) on its own line, as usual. When you switch the sending account with ^f, the signature switches too.

Several accounts in the sidebar

With more than one account, each account is a fold in the sidebar. To open or close one, press ⏎, space or za on its heading, or click it. h on a folder closes that account. A closed account shows its inbox’s unread count. Folds are remembered between runs.

With more than one account you also get All inboxes, every inbox in one list. See All inboxes.