In development · for macOS
Brief
Brief Mail is a calm, keyboard-first mail app for the Mac. It sorts, searches and drafts, and your mail stays on your Mac.
- brief noun & adjective
- 1German, Dutch: a letter.
- 2English: short and to the point.
What it does
A native Mac app that helps you get through your mail, then gets out of the way.
- Smart inbox
- One unified inbox across your accounts, split into category tabs. Every message can tell you
why is this here
, so the sorting never feels like a black box. - Smart Folders
- Real folders defined by rules, not saved searches that go stale. Brief keeps them up to date as mail arrives.
- Ask anything
- Ask a question about your mail in plain language. Each answer cites the messages it came from, so you can check it.
- Drafts in your voice
- Replies drafted in the way you actually write, for you to edit and send. Nothing goes out without you.
- Safe for agents
- A local MCP server lets AI agents you trust work with your mail. Permissions are set per account, and every send needs your confirmation.
- Keyboard-first
- Every action is a keystroke away. The mouse stays optional.
Where your mail lives
On your Mac. That's the whole design.
- Stays on your MacMail, search index and AI history are stored locally. Passwords and tokens live in the macOS Keychain.
- No Brief serversBrief talks to your mail provider directly. There's no account with us and nothing for us to see.
- No telemetryNo analytics, no tracking, no usage data sent anywhere.
- No subscriptionBrief doesn't need a server to pay for, so it doesn't need a monthly fee.
- On-device AI firstAI features use Apple's on-device models where they can. If you want more, bring your own key for a provider you choose, or run a model locally.
The details, including how Brief handles Google account data, are in the privacy policy.
Status
Brief is in development and in personal use for now. There's no download, no pricing and no waitlist yet.
When that changes, this page will say so.