Ship apps,
not infrastructure
Use Sobamail to build local-first apps backed by your mailbox. Storage, sync, and logins are already handled for you, so your team focuses on real work.
Already have an account? Download the app or open Webmail.
How it works
Your mailbox is the single source of truth for your email, your apps,
and their data.
It stays in sync across your devices and with your teammates.
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Native clients
Sobamail offers standards-compliant email hosting (SMTP, IMAP, POP3, and webmail), paired with a fast native desktop client.
Beyond a no-nonsense email experience with large files (up to 1 GB), the native client provides the runtime that runs your apps locally.
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Your mailbox is the data store
Your email archive, app data, and files live inside your mailbox itself.
No separate servers to run, and no logins to build: your email address is the identity your apps use.
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It all runs on email
Apps react to events and ship each change as an ordinary email with a machine-readable attachment, either through the Sobamail cloud or peer-to-peer over your local network.
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Works offline, always in sync
Because apps run on your own machine, they keep working with no connection, and catch up automatically once you're back online.
However it gets there, all your devices end up with exactly the same data. On a collaborative app, so do your teammates.
Your work, your apps
The people closest to the work build the tools they need with today's AI coding tools, on infrastructure your IT team already controls.
Build tools that fit how you work
Off-the-shelf software rarely fits how a specialist works, but Sobamail's building blocks are simple enough to shape around your exact process: an intake form, an approval checklist, a case tracker.
No new attack surface
Every new tool usually means another server, endpoint, and set of credentials to secure. Sobamail apps add none of that.
They run inside the mailbox and client you already trust, so even in tightly controlled environments your attack surface stays flat as your toolset grows.
One hub for the whole team
Your team's apps and their records live in one mailbox, a single place to look instead of a dozen scattered tools.
Your data, on your terms
No lock-in: it's standard email underneath, you decide who can see your data, and you can run the whole thing on your own infrastructure.
Your data stays in your mailbox
App data and large files live in the mailbox you control, not behind links to third-party services. It's real email underneath (standard SMTP, IMAP, and POP3), so there's no proprietary lock-in.
Take your data with you
Nothing here is a one-way door. Export your mail and app data with standard email tools and move to another host whenever you choose.
Private by default
Your mailbox and its apps are yours alone. Data is shared only when you explicitly create a shared app instance with the people you choose.
Run it on your own infrastructure
Don't want to depend on our servers? Sobamail can run on infrastructure you control, so your data never has to leave it.
Have a security or compliance question? Read the full FAQ or email us.
Build local-first apps
Ready to build? A Sobamail app is a JS backend plus a regular web UI. No servers to provision and no database to wire up. Your mailbox is the data store.
You write a Mutator that reacts to events and a frontend in plain HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, while the runtime handles storage, sync, and replication. Better yet, don't start from a blank page: every app we ship is open source, so you can fork a working one and shape it to fit.
Building needs an account, free during the beta. Read the docs now, and request access when you're ready.
import "soba://computer/R2";
export default class Mutator {
static id = "todo.alice.user.app.example.com";
static name = "My First App";
static version = "1.0.0.0";
static objects = new Map([ /* events to handle */ ]);
constructor() {
// define your tables, run sanity checks
}
process(message, metadata) {
// react to the incoming event
}
}Get your Sobamail account
Tell us a bit about you and we'll set up your account. We review every request by hand during the beta.