Dogbox Accounting
Small business accounting & invoicing
Dogbox Investments
Investment portfolio CGT tracking
Dogbox Mailman
AI email client for small business
IMAP email with AI triage, smart rules, and full-text search — running on your machine, not a server. Connect Gmail, Outlook, or any IMAP account. No subscription. Your emails stay yours.
Windows, Mac & Linux • Free forever • AI features optional
Features
Everything a busy tradie, retailer, or consultant needs — none of the subscription overhead.
Connect Gmail, Outlook, and any IMAP server. OAuth2 for Google built-in — no app passwords needed. Full-folder sync with real-time IDLE push so new mail arrives instantly.
Claude AI scores every incoming message by priority (urgent / normal / low) and category (invoice, support, personal, newsletter). Summarise threads and draft replies with one click. Requires your own Anthropic API key — basic rules-based triage works without one.
Instant search across subjects, senders, and full email bodies using a local FTS5 index. Type a partial word and results appear immediately — no server round-trip, no 30-second wait.
Auto-move, auto-archive, whitelist trusted senders, and blacklist spam domains. Create a rule from any message in one click. Rules run on arrival or on-demand across your existing inbox.
See full email history for any contact right in Dogbox Accounting. Shared contact book syncs automatically. Unread count badge appears in the Dogbox sidebar so you never miss a message.
Reply, reply-all, forward, CC/BCC, file attachments, per-account signatures, draft saving, and read receipts. AI-powered draft generation from a one-line intent prompt.
j/k to move up and down. r to reply. n to compose. / to search. e to delete. Undo trash with a 5-second toast. Power-user ready, mouse-friendly for everyone else.
All mail stored locally in a single .pbox file — a standard SQLite database. Back it up anywhere. Open it on any machine. No cloud service has access to your emails.
Conversations grouped into collapsible thread cards. Expand any message in the thread, reply from any point, or let AI summarise the whole chain with a single click.
Full folder sync — Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Trash, Junk, and every custom folder you've created. Move messages between folders with a searchable folder picker.
Send multi-file attachments directly from the compose window. Download received attachments with one click. Attachment metadata indexed for has:attachment search.
No licence key. No server. No expiry. Download once and use it forever — for as many email accounts and mailboxes as you need. AI features require your own Anthropic API key.
Getting Started
Add an account and your inbox starts syncing immediately.
Download the installer, double-click to run. Dogbox Mailman opens in your browser — no separate app window, no electron, just a clean local web interface.
Add Gmail with one-click OAuth2, Outlook with your Microsoft credentials, or any IMAP server with a host and password. Multiple accounts all sync in the same window.
Whitelist important senders, blacklist spam domains, and create auto-move rules for newsletters or supplier invoices. Rules run on new mail and can be applied to existing messages.
Paste your API key in Settings to unlock AI triage, thread summarisation, and one-click draft generation. The app works fully without it — AI is an enhancement, not a requirement.
Pricing
The app is free. AI features use your own API key — you pay Anthropic directly at their standard rates.
.pbox file — yours to keepFAQ
Straight answers — no marketing fluff.
Yes. The app itself has no licence key, subscription, or expiry. AI features (triage, summarise, draft) require your own Anthropic API key — you pay Anthropic directly at their standard rates, typically $5–10 per month for a busy inbox. The app works fully without an API key using built-in rule-based triage.
Any IMAP provider works. Gmail and Outlook have built-in OAuth2 flows — no app passwords or less-secure-app settings needed. Apple Mail, Fastmail, Proton Mail (via bridge), and self-hosted mail servers all work via standard IMAP/SMTP credentials.
No. The app triage, search, rules, and compose all work without one. The API key unlocks Claude-powered features: priority scoring with reasoning, thread summarisation, action extraction, and AI-drafted replies. You can add a key later in Settings at any time.
Mailman caches all synced mail locally in the .pbox file, so you can read previously synced messages without an internet connection. Sending, fetching new mail, and AI features require a connection. Full offline compose is on the roadmap.
Your entire mailbox — all accounts, messages, rules, contacts, and settings — stored in a single .pbox file on your computer. It is a standard SQLite database, readable independently of the app. Back it up by copying the file; move to a new machine by copying it there.
When both apps are running, Dogbox Accounting shows an unread badge in the sidebar and a full email history tab on any contact record — so you can see the invoice trail, quote threads, and supplier conversations without leaving your accounts. No configuration needed; the integration activates automatically on the same machine.
No. All mail is fetched directly from your IMAP server to your local machine and stored in the .pbox file. The only external services contacted are your mail provider (IMAP/SMTP), and optionally Anthropic's API if you have a key configured. Dogbox Software never receives or stores your emails.
No sign-up. No subscription. Your email stays on your machine.
Linux — paste into your terminal:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/davidrobertinnes/dbox-releases/main/install_mailman_stub.sh | bash