Premail

System Requirements

Last updated

Premail is a small desktop app that runs alongside the email client you already use. It ships for Mac, Windows, and Linux, and the requirements below are what each build is tested against. Older versions may still launch, but they are not supported.

What does Premail need on macOS?

  • macOS 11 Big Sur or later.
  • Intel or Apple Silicon. The download is a universal build, so one .dmg covers both.
  • Apple Intelligence is separate. Using the on-device Apple Intelligence model needs macOS 26 or later on an Apple Silicon Mac with Apple Intelligence turned on in System Settings. Every other part of Premail works without it - see Apple Intelligence (On-Device AI).

What does Premail need on Windows?

  • Windows 10 (64-bit, version 1809 or later) or Windows 11.
  • Intel or AMD 64-bit only. There is no Windows on Arm build yet.
  • Microsoft Edge WebView2 runtime. Windows 11 already has it. On Windows 10 the installer fetches it for you if it is missing, which needs a working internet connection during install.

What does Premail need on Linux?

  • A 64-bit x86_64 distribution from roughly Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, or Fedora 36 onward. There is no Arm build yet.
  • WebKitGTK 4.1 and a tray/app-indicator library. The .deb and .rpm declare these as dependencies (libwebkit2gtk-4.1-0 and libayatana-appindicator3-1, or their Fedora equivalents), so your package manager pulls them in.
  • AppImage: chmod +x the file, then run it. On Ubuntu 22.04 and later, install libfuse2t64 first.
  • A desktop environment with a system tray. Premail lives in the tray; on GNOME that needs the AppIndicator extension.
  • Updates: the AppImage updates itself in place. .deb and .rpm installs cannot, so Premail sends you to the download page instead.

What does Premail need on every platform?

  • An internet connection. Premail talks to your mail provider over the network no matter which AI model you pick.
  • A supported mail account: Gmail, Outlook, or iCloud. See Adding Email Accounts.
  • An AI provider: an Anthropic or OpenAI API key, a local Ollama install, or Apple Intelligence on a compatible Mac. See Choosing Your AI Model.
  • About 100 MB of free disk space for the app itself. Rules, settings, and the activity log stay small.
Running the model locally asks more of your hardware than Premail does. Ollama wants several gigabytes of free memory for a small model, and classification speed tracks your CPU or GPU. Apple Intelligence and the cloud providers have no such overhead on your machine.

What does Premail not need?

  • No Premail account. There is no sign-up and no Premail server holding your mail.
  • No plugin or extension in Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, or anywhere else.
  • No always-on machine. Premail acts while it is running; mail that arrives while your computer is asleep is handled when it wakes - see What Happens When Your Computer Sleeps.
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