What is Pooka?
Pooka is an email client written in Java, using the Javamail API. It supports email through the IMAP (connected and disconnected) and POP3 protocols. Outgoing mail is sent using SMTP.
An incomplete but extensive feature list is available, as are several screenshots.
Pooka is released under the GNU General Public License.
Information about Pooka development may be found at the Pooka project page at SourceForge.net.
Status
I'm now claiming that Pooka is in beta release, since it's reasonably stable and has an almost full set of features.
There are two different builds of Pooka available: the 1.0 versions which are for JDK 1.2.x and 1.3.x and the 1.1 versions which are for JDK 1.4.x. The 1.0 releases are pretty much only going to get bugfixes from now on; all new features (such as, when I find time for it, PGP support and spam filters) are going to go into the JDK 1.4 version.
Download
New: Pooka now supports Java Web Start. You can go here to see information about running Pooka through Web Start, or, if you already have Web Start installed, click here (jdk 1.2 or 1.3) or here (jdk 1.4) to launch Pooka directly.For non-Web Start use, Pooka can be downloaded either from SourceForge. Make sure to get the correct version to match the Java version you have (Pooka 1.0 for JDK 1.2 or 1.3, Pooka 1.1 for JDK 1.4 and 1.5).
- download releases from SourceForge Note that the 1.0 builds are available under the heading "Pooka-fullJar"; the 1.1 builds are under "Pooka-1.1 (JDK 1.4)"
Pooka releases invole three files: an executable jar file
(pooka_YYMMDD.jar
), a source file (pooka_src_YYMMDD.jar
), and a JavaDoc file (pooka_javadoc_YYMMDD.jar
).
If you just want to run Pooka, then all you need is the executable file.
The other two are for developers who want to look at or modify the source
code.
You can also check out the bug list at the Pooka project page at SourceForge.net
Installation/Running
To run pooka 1.0, you must have a JRE (Java Runtime Environment) version 1.2.x or 1.3.x installed and in your PATH (JRE/JDK 1.3.1_03 or higher is recommended, especially for Preview Pane mode). To run the 1.1 versions, you need JDK 1.4 or higher.
To run, just type
java -Xmx64M -jar pooka_<versionnumber>.jar
Or, as an alternative (if you're running Windows or OSX), just double-click on the downloaded jar file.
Pooka will start up and take you through the first steps of configuring a mailbox.
For more complete instructions, including information on downloading a JRE, see the Pooka installation page.
News
I usually put build notes up at the Pooka page on SourceForge. I'll try to copy them here, too.
030325: News: I updated the site, including putting up new build instructions. Yay!
Mailing List
Subscribe to the pooka development list by emailing
pooka-request@suberic.net
with the word subscribe
in the body.
ObSourceForgeLink
Pooka Home Page / http://www.suberic.net/pooka/
Allen Petersen /
allen at suberic dot net
Last modified: May 10, 2005.