CRIEW

CRIEW is a Rust TUI for Linux kernel patch mail workflows. CRIEW stands for Code Review in Efficient Workflow. The repository name stays uppercase as CRIEW, while the crate and CLI use lowercase criew.

It is built for developers who work on mailing-list-driven review, especially in Linux kernel style flows, and want a terminal-first tool that keeps subscription, sync, review, patch application, and reply in one local workflow.

Chinese usage guide: README-zh.md

Status

CRIEW is under active development. The current develop branch already covers the core workflow:

• sync mail from lore.kernel.org
• sync a real IMAP INBOX through the built-in My Inbox subscription
• browse threads and detect patch series
• apply or export patches through b4
• compose and send replies from the TUI through git send-email

Release Baseline

v0.0.1 is the first supported public baseline for CRIEW. Starting from v0.0.1, the project uses only the CRIEW naming set: criew, ~/.criew/, criew-config.toml, criew.db, CRIEW_B4_PATH, and CRIEW_IMAP_PROXY.

Earlier Courier-era names are not treated as a supported upgrade path. If you tested an older pre-release snapshot or an earlier v0.0.1 tag before this rename settled, refresh your checkout or reinstall the binary and bootstrap a new CRIEW runtime directory.

Features

• Rust CLI with criew tui, criew sync, criew doctor, and criew version
• local SQLite storage with automatic runtime bootstrap
• incremental lore sync with checkpoint-based updates
• real IMAP INBOX sync with patch-oriented filtering
• background startup sync for enabled subscriptions
• periodic auto-sync for My Inbox
• patch series detection for subjects like [PATCH vN M/N]
• patch apply/export workflow powered by b4
• undo for the most recent successful apply in the current session
• kernel tree browser with source preview
• inline Vim-like editing and external Vim editing
• reply panel that fills From, To, Cc, Subject, In-Reply-To, and References
• real reply delivery through git send-email
• visual config editor, command palette completion, and structured operation logs

Requirements

• Rust stable
• Git
• Python 3
  • needed when using the repo-local vendor/b4/b4.sh or the embedded runtime fallback
• b4
  • CRIEW resolves it in this order: [b4].path -> CRIEW_B4_PATH -> ./vendor/b4/b4.sh -> embedded runtime vendor under ~/.criew/vendor/b4/b4.sh -> b4 in PATH
• git send-email
  • only required if you want to send replies

criew doctor checks b4, git send-email, git mail identity, and IMAP connectivity.

Installation

crates.io installation is the recommended path.

Install from crates.io

cargo install criew --locked

This build keeps a minimal vendored b4 runtime embedded in the binary. If [b4].path, CRIEW_B4_PATH, and ./vendor/b4/b4.sh are all unavailable, CRIEW can materialize that fallback under ~/.criew/vendor/b4/ on first use. Python 3 is still required for that fallback.

Install from a clone

If you want to use the repo-local ./vendor/b4/b4.sh fallback from a checkout, clone the repository with submodules:

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/ChenMiaoi/CRIEW.git
cd CRIEW
cargo install --path . --locked

If you already cloned the repository without submodules:

git submodule update --init --recursive

Install directly from GitHub

cargo install --git https://github.com/ChenMiaoi/CRIEW.git --locked criew

In this mode, you should provide b4 through b4.path, CRIEW_B4_PATH, or your system PATH. If the checkout also includes vendor/b4, CRIEW can use it the same way as a source clone.

Run from source

cargo run -- doctor
cargo run -- tui

Quick Start

1. Check your environment

criew doctor

2. Prepare configuration

The default config file is ~/.criew/criew-config.toml, and the default runtime directory is ~/.criew/. CRIEW creates a minimal config file automatically on first run.

See docs/config.example.toml for a complete example.

Typical configuration:

[source]
mailbox = "io-uring"

[imap]
email = "you@example.com"
user = "you@example.com"
pass = "app-password"
server = "imap.example.com"
serverport = 993
encryption = "ssl"

[kernel]
tree = "/path/to/linux"

Notes:

• relative paths are resolved from the config file directory
• [imap] is optional if you only use lore sync
• when IMAP config is complete, My Inbox is enabled by default on first use
• imap.proxy supports http://, socks5://, and socks5h://
• reply identity prefers git config sendemail.from, then falls back to git config user.name and git config user.email
• ui.startup_sync defaults to true
• ui.inbox_auto_sync_interval_secs defaults to 30
• Courier-era names such as ~/.courier, courier-config.toml, courier.db, COURIER_B4_PATH, and COURIER_IMAP_PROXY are intentionally unsupported from v0.0.1 onward

3. Sync mail

Sync a lore mailbox:

criew sync --mailbox io-uring

Sync a real IMAP inbox:

criew sync --mailbox INBOX

Use local .eml fixtures for debugging:

criew sync --mailbox test --fixture-dir ./fixtures

4. Start the TUI

criew tui

Inside the TUI:

• : opens the command palette
• y / n enable or disable the selected subscription
• Enter opens the selected mailbox or thread
• a applies the current patch series
• d exports the current patch series
• u undoes the most recent successful apply from the current session
• r or e opens the reply panel
• Tab switches between the mail page and the code browser

When IMAP is configured, My Inbox joins startup sync and continues periodic background sync while the TUI remains open. Enabled mailing-list subscriptions also keep doing periodic background sync while the TUI remains open so Linux lore and QEMU archive mailboxes keep pulling new mail.

Documentation

• README-zh.md: Chinese usage guide
• docs/config.example.toml: configuration example
• docs/design.md: design notes
• docs/reply-format-spec.md: reply panel and sending format
• docs/mvp-milestones.md: historical milestone record
• docs/reply-mvp-milestones.md: reply workflow evolution

Development

Common development commands:

cargo fmt --all -- --check
cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings
cargo test --all-targets --all-features
./scripts/check-coverage.sh

The repository includes GitHub Actions CI for push and pull_request with the same formatting, lint, and test checks.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome.

Before sending changes, run:

cargo fmt --all -- --check
cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings
cargo test --all-targets --all-features

If you change user-visible behavior, commands, config keys, or workflows, update the relevant documentation in the same change.

License

CRIEW's Rust code is licensed under LGPL-2.1. Bundled vendored components keep their upstream licenses, including vendor/b4 (GPL-2.0) and vendor/b4/patatt (MIT-0).