FOLD Documentation
Early access
Troubleshooting

Default mail app

How to make FOLD open email links on the Mac, and why this is not yet possible on iPhone and iPad.

The default mail app is the app that opens when you click an email link (mailto:) in a browser or another app. Inside FOLD, email links in messages always open FOLD’s own compose window, whatever the default is.

Mac

macOS has no entry for the default mail app in System Settings. The choice lives in Apple Mail: Mail > Settings > General > Default email reader. Apple Mail shows this setting only when an email account is set up in Mail.

FOLD cannot make this change itself. The App Sandbox, which every FOLD build for the Mac runs in, does not allow apps to change which app opens a link type. FOLD therefore takes you to Apple Mail:

  1. Open Settings (⌘,) > General in FOLD. The Default Mail App card shows the current state: FOLD opens email links., Email links currently open in “…”. with the name of another app, or No app is set to open email links.
  2. Click Open Mail. Apple Mail starts.
  3. In Apple Mail, choose FOLD under Default email reader.
  4. Return to FOLD. It checks the new assignment and confirms with FOLD is now your default mail app.

If Apple Mail cannot be started, FOLD reports Couldn’t open Apple Mail.

The question at startup

As long as FOLD is not the default, it may ask Use FOLD as your default mail app? when it starts:

  • Open Mail starts Apple Mail as described above.
  • In 1 week asks again in a week.
  • No stops the question for good. The card in Settings > General remains available.

iPhone and iPad

iOS and iPadOS let you choose a default mail app under the app’s entry in the Settings app, but only for apps that Apple has granted a special permission. FOLD does not have this permission yet. It therefore does not appear in the list of mail apps, and email links in other apps keep opening your current default.