BasicMails

Email, without the noise.

A calmer, more considered inbox experience — designed around clarity, privacy, and the belief that email should feel simple again.

Visit basicmails.com →

The world is loud enough. Your inbox doesn't have to be.

BasicMails is a modern email concept and interactive product experience for everyday communication. The current repository contains the product website, an interactive mailbox preview, a protected demo, and the launch infrastructure around it.

The idea

Most inboxes compete for your attention. BasicMails takes the opposite approach:

• Quiet by default — less visual noise, fewer distractions.
• Clear by design — the important things should be obvious.
• Privacy at the core — thoughtful defaults and careful handling of sensitive data.
• Made for real life — a familiar experience without unnecessary complexity.

Explore the experience

The website is a dark, responsive Next.js experience with motion that respects reduced-motion preferences. Try the interactive mailbox preview to:

• search sample messages;
• filter unread mail;
• star, archive, restore, and mark messages read or unread;
• compose and edit a demo draft; and
• explore the larger mail experience at /experience.

All messages in the public preview are fictional. The actual mail service has not launched yet.

Routes

Route	What you'll find
/	Landing page, product principles, and interactive inbox preview
/experience	A larger interactive mailbox experience
/about	The philosophy behind BasicMails
/updates	Build notes and animated FAQ
/team	The people behind the project
/waitlist	Launch waiting list
/roadmap	What is coming next
/demo	Protected mailbox demo

Run it locally

The product website lives in website/ and requires Node.js 22.x.

git clone https://github.com/benjamin-blanke/basicmails.git
cd basicmails/website
npm install
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:3000 and start exploring.

Validate and build

npm run typecheck
npm run build
npm start

To run the demo authentication test:

node --experimental-strip-types --test tests/demo-auth.test.mjs

Project map

basicmails/
├── website/
│   ├── src/app/          # Routes, metadata, and server entry points
│   ├── src/components/   # Reusable UI and interactive experiences
│   ├── src/lib/          # Site configuration and sample content
│   ├── src/styles/       # Inbox and route styling
│   ├── tests/            # Focused validation tests
│   └── vercel.json       # Website build configuration
├── CONTRIBUTING.md
├── SECURITY.md
├── SUPPORT.md
└── README.md

Deploy the website

The website is configured for Vercel:

1. Import this repository into Vercel.
2. Set the project Root Directory to website.
3. Select Next.js as the framework.
4. Deploy.

The included website/vercel.json defines the install and build commands. Marketing pages work without environment variables. The protected demo and launch waiting list require the server-only variables documented in website/README.md.

Contributing

Have a thoughtful improvement? Contributions are welcome.

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a focused branch.
3. Make the change and add tests where appropriate.
4. Run the relevant type checks and validation.
5. Open a pull request with context and screenshots for visual changes.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the project workflow and CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md for community guidelines.

Security & support

Please do not publish vulnerabilities, secrets, or exploit details in public issues. Follow the private reporting guidance in SECURITY.md.

For questions, bugs, and product feedback, see SUPPORT.md or open an issue.

Roadmap

BasicMails is being built in public. The direction is simple: make email feel calmer, more intentional, and easier to trust.

The current roadmap includes continued work on the mailbox experience, launch readiness, privacy details, and the foundations of the service behind the interface.

Simple is not less. It's focused.

Website · Issues · Contributing