Why we're building Woof
Email is the universal communication protocol. Everyone has an address. It's federated, open, and works across every platform and device. But the interfaces we use to read and write email haven't meaningfully evolved in 25 years.
Meanwhile, tools like Slack proved that channel-based messaging with threads, reactions, and real-time presence makes teams dramatically more productive. The problem? They're walled gardens. Your clients, contractors, and external contacts can't participate without creating an account.
Woof bridges that gap. We built an email client that gives your team the speed and UX of Slack — channels, threads, typing indicators, emoji reactions — while keeping email as the transport layer. People outside your team see a normal, well-formatted email. People inside your team never touch a cluttered inbox again.
What we believe
Open protocols win
Email is federated and universal. We build on it rather than replacing it with another walled garden.
Your data is yours
Messages live in your email account. Leave Woof anytime and keep everything. Zero lock-in by design.
Speed matters
Real-time for Woof users, instant delivery via SMTP for everyone else. No waiting, no polling.
Works with everyone
External contacts don't need to install anything. They see a normal email. You see it in a channel.
How we got here
- Idea January 2026
The frustration
Every team we worked with used Slack for internal chat and email for everything else. Two inboxes, scattered context, constant switching. We asked: what if email could feel like chat?
- Prototype March 2026
First working demo
Built a basic IMAP client with channels mapped to labels and threads that actually threaded. Showed it to 10 teams. 8 wanted to use it immediately.
- Alpha May 2026
Private alpha
Invited 50 teams. Added real-time sync between Woof users, emoji reactions stored as email metadata, and shared inbox support. Retention was 89% weekly.
- Beta June 2026
Public beta
Opened sign-ups to everyone. Gmail and Outlook integration, typing indicators, file sharing, and the self-hosted option. Thousands of teams joined in the first week.
Open source at the core
Woof's protocol layer is open source. We believe communication infrastructure should be transparent and auditable. The client is source-available with a self-host option on Enterprise.