Getting Started

Adding Your First Email Account

After signing in, you'll need to connect your email account(s) to start using Cascade Mail.

1. Click "Add Account" in the left sidebar, or the button that appears when you first sign in.
2. Enter your email address — this is the account you want to check (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.)
3. Fill in the server settings — See the provider settings table below for common providers. You'll need IMAP (incoming) and SMTP (outgoing) server addresses.
4. Enter your password — For Gmail and some other providers, you'll need an App Password instead of your regular password (see note below).
5. Test & Save — Click "Test Connection" to verify everything works, then save the account.

Common Provider Settings

Use these settings when adding accounts from popular email providers:

All providers use port 993 for IMAP and 587 for SMTP with SSL/TLS encryption (these are the defaults in Cascade).

Reading Your Email

Navigating Your Inbox

• Switch accounts by clicking on them in the left sidebar
• Switch folders (Inbox, Sent, Drafts, etc.) below the account list
• Click any message to read it in the preview pane
• Unread messages appear with a blue left border and bold text

Message Actions

• Star messages by clicking the star icon to mark important emails
• Reply or Forward using the buttons at the top of the message preview
• Delete moves messages to Trash (or permanently deletes from Trash)
• Download attachments by clicking on them in the message view

Composing Messages

Click the Compose button in the message list header to write a new email.

Compose Features

• To, CC, BCC — Add multiple recipients separated by commas
• Rich text formatting — Bold, italic, links, and lists
• Attachments — Click the paperclip icon or drag files onto the compose window
• Send from aliases — If you've set up aliases, choose which address to send from

Drafts

Close the compose window without sending to save a draft. Access your drafts from the Drafts folder.

Organizing Your Inbox

Bulk Actions

• Select multiple messages using the checkboxes, or use "Select All" in the header
• Delete, mark as spam, mark read/unread — Action buttons appear when messages are selected
• Drag and drop messages between folders

Spam Filters

Click Filters below the folder list to manage spam rules:

• Block senders — Emails from blocked addresses go straight to spam
• Whitelist senders — Ensure important contacts are never marked as spam

Custom Folders

Click + New Folder to create custom folders for organizing your email.

Tips & Shortcuts

Speed Tips

• Messages load instantly after the first view thanks to local caching
• Hover over an account to prefetch its inbox before you click
• Threaded view groups related messages together — toggle it in the header

Search

• Search within a folder or across all accounts using the search bar
• Use filters like from:name, to:email, has:attachment
• Search by date range with before:2024-01-01 or after:2024-01-01

Mobile Use

Cascade works great on mobile browsers — no app needed. On phones, the interface adapts to show one panel at a time with easy navigation between accounts, messages, and reading pane.