SMF·SUPERHUMAN
Can a prompt replace Superhuman?
Email — email clients and hosted mail
Exhibit tracking slip
Verdict
A fast, keyboard-driven IMAP client with local search and a snappy inbox is a real weekend build — the shortcuts, the split-second search, even a decent snooze are all reachable. What isn't: Superhuman's actual product, which is less the client and more the trained habit of AI-drafted replies, read-receipt tracking, and above all a white-glove onboarding experience the price is largely paying for.
Exhibit A — The prompt
Received on31.07.2026Build a lightweight desktop email client focused on keyboard speed, connected to a mailbox you already own — this does not include hosting mail. Use Tauri or Electron with a local SQLite index. Connect via IMAP and SMTP with a username/password or app-specific password — no OAuth app registration needed. On first run, do a full header sync, then keep syncing incrementally with IMAP IDLE or short polling. Build a keyboard-first UI: j/k to move between messages, e to archive, r to reply, a global command palette (Cmd+K) for search and actions, and a snooze feature that re-surfaces a message at a chosen time by moving it to a local 'snoozed' state, not a server-side one. Index headers and bodies locally with SQLite full-text search so search works instantly and offline. Render HTML email in a locked-down sandbox and block remote images by default. Send multipart messages with attachments and keep a local copy of every draft. Do not build AI-drafted replies, read-receipt tracking, or multi-account support — those are out of scope; this is a single-account, keyboard-first client, nothing more. No external API key needed; only the mailbox credentials you already have.Opening prefills the prompt — press enter to run it.
Exhibit B — What you lose
- B.1 AI-drafted replies tuned to your writing
- B.2 read-receipt tracking
- B.3 onboarding calls and white-glove support
- B.4 instant cross-device sync
Prior art
Exhibit C — Why people still pay: mail infrastructure, integrations, and client polish
People aren't really paying for keyboard shortcuts — those are copyable in a weekend. They're paying for someone else to have already solved IMAP's endless provider quirks, and for a support team that gets on a call when something breaks.
Questions
Can this replace Gmail or Outlook entirely, or just the client?
Just the client — it connects to whatever mailbox you already have via IMAP/SMTP. You still need somewhere your mail actually lives.
Will I get AI-drafted replies like Superhuman's?
Not out of the box — that's explicitly out of scope here. You could wire in an LLM API for draft suggestions yourself, but the core build doesn't include it.
Does search work offline?
Yes, once the initial sync finishes — everything is indexed locally in SQLite, so search doesn't depend on your connection.
What's the real cost difference?
Superhuman's $40 a seat a month buys the AI features and white-glove onboarding on top of a mailbox you're likely already paying for elsewhere. This build costs nothing beyond that existing mailbox.
Related tools
Receipt