Does Windows Mail run on Linux?

Verdict: No

No, and it no longer works on Windows either. Microsoft ended support for Windows Mail, Calendar and People on 31 December 2024. On Linux you pick a new mail app instead.

Windows Mail by Microsoft · Email & calendar · No way to run it

Windows Mail was part of Windows, so there was never a version of it for anything else. It is also finished. Microsoft ended support for Mail, Calendar and People on 31 December 2024 and moved people to the new Outlook or to Outlook.com in a browser.

That actually makes switching simpler. Whatever you choose on Linux, you are replacing an app that has already been retired, not one you were happily using.

Your email itself is not stored in Windows Mail. Gmail, Outlook.com, iCloud and almost every other provider keep your messages on their own servers, so when you add the account to a new app on Linux the mail downloads again. Only things saved locally, and contacts you typed only into the People app, need exporting before the Windows machine goes.

Outlook.com also works in a browser on Linux if you want the Microsoft experience rather than an installed app.

What to use instead of Windows Mail

Geary

Drop-in replacementFree

The closest feel to Windows Mail. You type your address and password, it sorts out the rest, and the inbox looks familiar.

Your files: Connects straight to Gmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo and standard mail accounts, and mail on the server downloads again.

Thunderbird

Close matchFree

More capable and the usual choice if you have several accounts or want a calendar in the same window. More settings to look at first.

Your files: Adds your existing accounts and redownloads mail from the server. Local folders can be imported.

Evolution

Close matchFree

Mail, calendar and contacts in one window, and the one that connects to a work Exchange mailbox without extras.

Your files: Adds existing accounts and syncs calendar and contacts along with mail.

This doesn't have to stop you

One stubborn program doesn't have to decide the whole question. You can keep Windows on the same PC and restart into it only when you need Windows Mail. Everything else you do can move.

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