Kestrel Mail Getting started
Kestrel Mail uses a three-column layout: your mailboxes in the sidebar, conversations in the middle, and the selected message or thread on the right.
- Add accounts from Settings > Accounts.
- Use All Inboxes when you want one inbox across all your accounts.
- Open Compose to start a new message, then choose the sending account from the From picker when needed.
Adding an account
To add an email account:
- Open Settings (⌘,) and go to Accounts.
- Click Add account… and choose your provider: Continue with Google, Continue with Microsoft 365, Continue with iCloud Mail, or Set up with IMAP / SMTP.
- Google and Microsoft 365 sign in through your browser. iCloud asks for an app-specific password, with Apple's server settings filled in for you. For other providers, Kestrel detects server settings from your email address where it can and asks for them when it can't.
- Once you sign in, your folders and messages start syncing right away.
You can add as many accounts as you need. Each one gets its own set of folders in the sidebar, and All Inboxes combines them all into one view.
Reading and organizing mail
Click a conversation to read it. If a conversation has multiple messages, they're threaded together and you can expand or collapse individual messages.
- Move to a folder: drag a conversation from the list onto any folder in the sidebar.
- Archive: press e or use the toolbar.
- Trash: press Delete or #.
- Star: press s to star or unstar. Starred messages appear in the Starred mailbox.
- Mark as junk: press ! to move a message to Junk (or back to Inbox if it's already there).
- Mark read / unread: press ⇧I to mark read or ⇧U to mark unread.
Summaries
Kestrel can summarize individual messages and entire conversation threads. Summaries are bullet lists. A message summary covers its main points. A thread summary uses one bullet per message, in order.
Summaries run on your Mac through Apple Intelligence. The app sends nothing to a server. The optional enhanced model pack is most useful on long threads. Download it from Settings > AI Summaries.
Swipe actions
Swipe left or right on a conversation row to archive, trash, star, mark as read, or mark as junk. Each side has a full-swipe action and a partial-swipe action: a full swipe acts immediately, while a partial swipe shows a button first. Configure all four in Settings > Viewing.
Unsubscribe
When Kestrel detects that a message includes an unsubscribe option, it shows an Unsubscribe button in the message view, so you do not have to hunt for a link at the bottom of the email. For senders that support one-click unsubscribe, Kestrel sends the request itself; for the rest, it opens the sender's unsubscribe page or a pre-addressed email.
Rules
Rules let you automatically act on incoming messages. Set them up in Settings > Rules.
- Match messages by sender, recipient, subject, or folder.
- Actions: move to a folder, mark as read, star, or mark as spam.
- Rules run automatically when new messages arrive.
Everyday shortcuts
Kestrel uses single-key shortcuts for common actions and standard Mac shortcuts for everything else.
Search and navigation
Search supports plain keywords as well as operators: from:, to:, cc:, bcc:, subject:, filename:, in:, before:, after:, has:attachment, and is:read / is:unread / is:starred. You can also type natural-language queries like "emails from Sarah last week" and Kestrel converts the phrase into search filters.
Compose
Every message you compose gets its own window, and you can keep as many open as you like while moving around the app. Switch the sending account with the From picker, reveal Cc and Bcc when you need them, and drag recipients between fields.
Adding recipients with @ mentions
While writing a new message, reply, or forward, type @ followed by part of a person's name or email address. Kestrel searches your recent correspondents and any Contacts already available to the app, without requesting Contacts access while you type.
- Type @ at the start of a paragraph or after a space, then begin a name or email address.
- Use ↑ and ↓ to highlight a result, then press Return or Tab. You can also click a result.
- Kestrel inserts a linked @name in the message and adds the address to To when it is not already in To or Cc.
A recipient already in Cc stays there. A match already in Bcc is shown as unavailable so a hidden recipient cannot be exposed. Press Esc to dismiss suggestions without changing your text, or ⇧Tab to return to the Subject field. If the mention added a new To recipient, ⌘Z undoes the body mention and recipient change together.
Attachments and message viewing
Select an attachment and press Space to open Quick Look. Kestrel caches attachments you have viewed, so they stay available offline.
Use the attachment context menu to Open, Open With, Share, or save. You can also save directly to Downloads or choose a location with a save panel.
Settings and account management
Open Settings with ⌘, to manage accounts, preferences, mail rules, and advanced options. Adding new accounts and changing server settings are both in the Accounts tab.