Bichon
A lightweight, high-performance Rust email archiver with WebUI
Bichon is an open-source email archiving system that synchronizes emails from IMAP servers, indexes them for full-text search, and provides a REST API for programmatic access. Unlike email clients, Bichon is designed for archiving and searching rather than sending/receiving emails. It runs as a standalone server application that continuously synchronizes configured email accounts and maintains a searchable local archive. Built in Rust, it requires no external dependencies and provides fast, efficient email archiving, management, and search through a built-in WebUI. Its name is inspired by the puppy my daughter adopted last month.
Key Differences from Email Clients
Core Comparison
Feature Email Clients Bichon Primary Purpose Send/receive emails, real-time communication Archive, search, manage historical emails Sending Capability ✅ Supports sending emails ❌ No email sending support Runtime Mode Desktop/mobile applications Server-side application Data Storage Local cache + server Local archive store Search Capability Basic search Full-text indexing, advanced search API Interface Typically not provided Complete REST API Multi-account Management Limited Supports unified search across accounts
🚀 Features
Lightweight & Standalone — Pure Rust, no external database, with built-in WebUI
— Pure Rust, no external database, with built-in WebUI Multi-Account Sync — Download and manage emails from multiple accounts
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