What is Inbox Zero used for?

Inbox Zero is an open-source AI email assistant that sorts your inbox, pre-drafts replies, blocks cold email and bulk-unsubscribes from unwanted senders. It is a good fit for clearing a crowded Gmail inbox and preparing for meetings with email context.

Is Inbox Zero open source?

Yes. Inbox Zero is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at elie222/inbox-zero and is written mainly in TypeScript.

Yes. Inbox Zero is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence. A managed cloud version is also available, with paid plans from $20 per seat per month.

Can I self-host Inbox Zero?

Yes. Inbox Zero can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Inbox Zero an alternative to?

Inbox Zero is an open-source alternative to Superhuman, Shortwave, Spark Mail and HEY. Other open-source alternatives to Superhuman include Mailspring and Mail0.

Is Inbox Zero actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Inbox Zero was on 2 October 2026. The project has 12k stars on GitHub.

Inbox Zero: open-source alternative to Superhuman, Shortwave

About Inbox Zero

Inbox Zero is an AI assistant for email, built to cut the time people spend in their inbox. It organizes messages, pre-drafts replies in the user's tone and style, manages the calendar and files attachments. It can also be chatted with from Slack or Telegram, and it is positioned as an open-source alternative to Fyxer that is more customizable and secure.

Its feature set includes AI rules written in plain English, Reply Zero to track emails awaiting a response, a bulk unsubscriber and bulk archiver, a cold email blocker, email analytics and meeting briefs that pull context from email and calendar. Smart filing saves attachments to Google Drive or OneDrive, and the project topics point to Gmail integration.

The app is built with Next.js, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, Prisma and PostgreSQL in a Turborepo monorepo, with Upstash used for supporting services. A hosted version runs at getinboxzero.com, and the repository includes instructions for self-hosting. Feature requests go through GitHub issues or Discord, and the license is specified in the repository.

Key features

AI assistant that pre-drafts replies
Plain-English AI rules for inbox handling
Reply Zero tracking of pending responses
Bulk unsubscribe and bulk archive tools
Cold email blocker and email analytics
Slack and Telegram chat integration

Good fit for

→Clearing a crowded Gmail inbox
→Preparing for meetings with email context

Built with: TypeScript; Next.js; PostgreSQL
Tags: email; ai-assistant; inbox-zero; gmail; productivity; nextjs; self-hosted; automation

Inbox Zero: questions and answers

What is Inbox Zero used for?: Inbox Zero is an open-source AI email assistant that sorts your inbox, pre-drafts replies, blocks cold email and bulk-unsubscribes from unwanted senders. It is a good fit for clearing a crowded Gmail inbox and preparing for meetings with email context.
Is Inbox Zero open source?: Yes. Inbox Zero is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at elie222/inbox-zero and is written mainly in TypeScript.
Is Inbox Zero free?: Yes. Inbox Zero is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence. A managed cloud version is also available, with paid plans from $20 per seat per month.
Can I self-host Inbox Zero?: Yes. Inbox Zero can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Inbox Zero an alternative to?: Inbox Zero is an open-source alternative to Superhuman, Shortwave, Spark Mail and HEY. Other open-source alternatives to Superhuman include Mailspring and Mail0.
Is Inbox Zero actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Inbox Zero was on 2 October 2026. The project has 12k stars on GitHub.