Interface Overview

Gaivota's interface is designed for efficiency, with a familiar layout and powerful keyboard shortcuts.

Main Window Layout

The main window is divided into three resizable panes:

┌──────────────┬─────────────────────┬────────────────────────┐
│              │                     │                        │
│   Sidebar    │    Email List       │    Email Detail        │
│              │                     │                        │
│  • Accounts  │  • Subject          │  • Full message        │
│  • Folders   │  • Sender           │  • Thread view         │
│  • Virtual   │  • Preview          │  • Attachments         │
│    Folders   │  • Date             │                        │
│              │                     │                        │
└──────────────┴─────────────────────┴────────────────────────┘

Sidebar

The left sidebar contains:

• Account List: All connected email accounts
• Folder Tree: Standard folders (Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Archive, Junk, Trash)
• Virtual Folders: Custom plugin-powered folders

Click on any folder to view its contents. The number badge shows unread messages.

You can collapse the sidebar by clicking the toggle button or pressing [.

Email List

The center pane shows emails in the selected folder:

• Subject: Email subject line
• Sender: Who sent the email
• Preview: First line of the email body
• Date: When the email was received
• Flags: Read/unread, flagged, attachments

Use j and k to navigate up and down the list.

Email Detail

The right pane shows the selected email:

• Header: Sender, recipients, subject, date
• Body: Full email content with formatting
• Attachments: File attachments with download options
• Thread: Related emails in the conversation

Press o or Enter to focus on an email, u to go back.

Resizing Panes

All three panes are resizable. Drag the dividers between panes to adjust their width.

Your layout preferences are saved and restored when you reopen Gaivota.

Thread View

When you select an email that's part of a conversation, Gaivota shows the entire thread:

• All related emails are grouped together
• Newest messages appear at the bottom
• Click on any message in the thread to expand it

Compose Window

Press c to open the compose window:

• To: Recipients (with autocomplete)
• Cc/Bcc: Additional recipients
• Subject: Email subject
• Body: Rich text editor with formatting toolbar

The compose window supports:

• Bold, italic, underline, text color
• Bullet and numbered lists
• Tables
• Images and attachments
• Links

Press ⌘+Enter to send.

Settings Dialog

Press ⌘, (Cmd+Comma) to open Settings:

Tab	Contents
General	Polling interval, notifications
Accounts	Connected accounts, per-account settings
Appearance	Theme selection, dark mode
Spam	ML spam detection settings
Blocked	Blocked senders list
Shortcuts	Keyboard shortcut customization
Plugins	Installed plugins
Profiles	Profile management

Keyboard-First Design

Gaivota is designed for keyboard users. Nearly every action has a shortcut:

Action	Shortcut
Navigate emails	j / k
Open email	o or Enter
Go back	u
Compose	c
Reply	r
Reply All	a
Forward	f
Archive	e
Delete	#
Mark spam	!
Search	/
Settings	⌘,
Help	?

See Keyboard Shortcuts for the complete reference.