macOS Monterey to Support All-New Mail App Extensions, Plug-Ins Will Stop Functioning in Future Release

[MacRumors]

As part of WWDC this week, Apple introduced a new MailKit framework for macOS Monterey that enables developers to create Mail app extensions that block content, perform message and composing actions, and help with security.

There will be four main categories of Mail app extensions, according to Apple:

• Compose: Extensions that provide new workflows when composing emails
• Actions: Extensions that apply custom rules to incoming emails, such as an email being color coded, moved to a separate inbox, marked as read, or flagged
• Content Blocking: Extensions that serve as WebKit content blockers for emails based on specific criteria in an email's HTML code
• Message Security: Extensions that sign, encrypt, and decrypt emails when sending and receiving mail, with signed and encrypted icons below emails

Xcode 13, available in beta, includes a template for developers looking to create Mail app extensions on the Mac. The extensions can be built into existing Mac apps and can also be distributed through the Mac App Store, according to a WWDC session about MailKit, which is available on macOS only and not iOS or iPadOS.

In the WWDC session, Apple indicated that older Mail app plug-ins will stop functioning in an unspecified future macOS release.

macOS Monterey is available now in beta for developers, with a public beta to follow in July.

Article Link: macOS Monterey to Support All-New Mail App Extensions, Plug-Ins Will Stop Functioning in Future Release

 

[countryside]

Can someone make an extension that lets us schedule a time for an email to be sent?

 

[Peepo]

Hope will be possible to tag a sender as not junk.

 

[slammer0]

What we would like to get: correctly working gmail with most of its features in the native mail app
What we are getting:

 

[sfwalter]

I wonder if the new extension framework would allow for the popular third party plugin Mail Tags.

 

[Graham King]

It would be nice to be able to easily add HTML signatures. I might switch back from Spark if this is possible.

 

[AwesomestOwl]

This may be bad for developer-researchers and AltStore users who rely on Mail extensions for entitlements.

 

[Eddy Munn]

RIP AltStore.

 

[steevn]

Waiting for the “only on M1 Macs” lol.

 

[cmaier]

What we would like to get: correctly working gmail with most of its features in the native mail app
What we are getting:

Who is “we?” People who don’t care about their privacy, who demand that Apple support non-standards based protocols and functionality, and who work at Google?

 

[BreuerEditor]

Spark still has many more features that will keep me with them...

• Snooze: Have an email to be redelivered at another time
• Send Later: Schedule time for an email to be sent
• Reminders: Spark will remind you if you haven't received a response to an email
• HTML signatures
• Email accounts and signatures synced across all devices with a single sign-in
• Delayed sending
• Smart notifications
• Grouped emails based on 'people', 'newsletter', and 'notification'
• Email templates with token fields
• Integrations with Reminders, Zoom, GoToMeeting, OmniFocus, Things, 2Do, etc.
• Link sharing to a specific thread/email

 

[kc9hzn]

What we would like to get: correctly working gmail with most of its features in the native mail app
What we are getting:

To be fair, that’s mostly the fault of Google’s bizarre non-standard implementation of IMAP. Those features don’t really work on any app other than GMail.

As for the mail plug-ins, they were never a great solution. Apple will continually move away from systems like mail plug-ins that live in the memory space of another application to inter-application communication systems like extensions that allow an application to extend another application visually without sharing memory space MacOS Classic style. I, for one, am looking forward to having a mail extension system that provides a stable API and that doesn’t break with each point release.

 

[cmaier]

To be fair, that’s mostly the fault of Google’s bizarre non-standard implementation of IMAP. Those features don’t really work on any app other than GMail.

As for the mail plug-ins, they were never a great solution. Apple will continually move away from systems like mail plug-ins that live in the memory space of another application to inter-application communication systems like extensions that allow an application to extend another application visually without sharing memory space MacOS Classic style. I, for one, am looking forward to having a mail extension system that provides a stable API and that doesn’t break with each point release.

Yep, this seems to allow most of the same sorts of functionality but in a much safer and more supported manner.

 

[BreuerEditor]

Can someone make an extension that lets us schedule a time for an email to be sent?

I'd look into Spark: http://sparkmailapp.com

 

[kc9hzn]

I wonder if the new extension framework would allow for the popular third party plugin Mail Tags.

I’d assume the API was designed specifically with the most popular unofficially sanctioned mail plug-ins in mind. Things like Mail Tags, the Omni Clip-O-Tron, MacPGP, that sort of thing.

 

[Marco Klobas]

Can someone make an extension that lets us schedule a time for an email to be sent?

Mailbutler? https://www.mailbutler.io

 

[0924487]

This will break AltServer, wouldn't it? Anyone using AltStore?

 

[kc9hzn]

It would be nice to be able to easily add HTML signatures. I might switch back from Spark if this is possible.

A couple of questions (out of legitimate curiosity): 1) What value do you see in HTML signatures? I don’t even use a plaintext mail signature (though, to be fair, my work email is all exclusively internal and I don’t really participate in mailserv type email lists anymore). 2) How does your HTML signature show up in email clients that default to plaintext for security reasons? (Preventing script execution or loading of remote images, for instance.)

 

[Marco Klobas]

I hope MailSuite will be updated to work with Monterey.

 

[countryside]

Mailbutler? https://www.mailbutler.io

This is fantastic, thank you.

 

[1262385]

Who is “we?” People who don’t care about their privacy, who demand that Apple support non-standards based protocols and functionality, and who work at Google?

Is this why Gmail is such a disaster in the native Mail client?

 

[JosephAW]

I used to have a plug-in for apple mail that would alert you of no attachments if you used the word attachment in your text.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

What we would like to get: correctly working gmail with most of its features in the native mail app
What we are getting:

It won't happen.

However, there is a good solution: https://mimestream.com (free in beta period)

 

[jrlcopy]

Same thing, different day, Apple can never find the original team that built a program, so they have to rebuild it from the ground up! lol

 

[Jeaz]

A couple of questions (out of legitimate curiosity): 1) What value do you see in HTML signatures? I don’t even use a plaintext mail signature (though, to be fair, my work email is all exclusively internal and I don’t really participate in mailserv type email lists anymore). 2) How does your HTML signature show up in email clients that default to plaintext for security reasons? (Preventing script execution or loading of remote images, for instance.)

I can't speak for OP, but my corporate signature is in HTML. No images, but the text is formatted and coloured, and include links. I've worked with hundreds of customers over the years and never had any issues with it.
Also, in a corporate situation, to not include your basic contact information in some form as a signature, is a big no-no.