Open sourcing my email sending startup
Hi all, I've posted a few times here about Maildown, a startup that I've been trying to validate lately. Due to lack of time to focus on this, I've taken the decision to abandon the project as a startup, but to make it available as an open source solution instead. The (still very basic) github repository is here: https://github.com/chris104957/maildown Maildown now exists as a simple CLI wrapper for Amazon SES which bakes in Markdown and styling support, making it much easier to get transactional mails up and running in any project Thanks for looking, Chris
Open sourcing my email sending startup launched on May 8, 2019 with 38 votes, #828 of 3,072 launches that month and more than 90% of that year's launches.
In plain words
Maildown is an open-source command-line tool that simplifies sending transactional emails by wrapping Amazon SES with built-in Markdown and styling support. Designed for developers integrating email functionality into projects, it reduces the complexity of setting up transactional mail systems. The tool was released as open source after the creator decided to pivot away from pursuing it as a commercial startup.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
Does a similar job
all alternatives →- MMMaildown – Markdown email campaigns2019 · ▲92
Hi, The beta program of my new startup, Maildown, is now complete and is now accepting paying customers: https://www.maildown.app As well as a lot of stability enhancements, we've added a new help system, a new CLI (https://github.com/chris104957/mailer-cli) and a REST API. Maildown lets you create transactional and marketing email campaigns using Markdown syntax, so you can generate and send your email content far more quickly than with traditional WYSIWYG editors. Thanks for looking, Chris
Maildown – Super Simple Email API2019 · github.com · ▲98A super simple CLI for sending emails. Contribute to chris104957/maildown development by creating an account on GitHub.
- MSMaildown – super simple email API2020 · maildown.dev · ▲40
- IMI'm working on an open-source Gmail replacement2013 · khamidou.github.io · ▲387
I made a MailChimp alternative that connects to your database2023 · cc.dev · ▲302Hi all! Excited to share cc.dev after months of work and refinement. The idea for this product came from trying to do email marketing for my side project, CubeDesk, a site where Rubik's Cube enthusiasts can time themselves, race with one another, train algorithms — it's a fun niche! With over 40k users, sending even a single campaign was becoming expensive with MailChimp. I knew AWS SES would be much cheaper, but it’s just an API with none of the other necessities you need for a robust email marketing platform. Beyond cost, I was also frustrated with having to make sure my database was…
I made an open source Mailchimp RSS-to-Email alternative2024 · github.com · ▲109Hi all! Excited to share rss2newsletter after completing dev work for the initial release. The idea for this project came out of necessity, as I wanted to share my articles via email newsletter. I was looking for a super minimal, lightweight, and open source solution, and when none existed, I decided to create one. For any sizable number of email recipients, a popular platform like Mailchimp will easily cost you hundreds or even thousands per month in per-contact fees. rss2newsletter, on the other hand, allows you to use Amazon SES, so you can reach your audience at pennies on the dollar.…
More dev tools this month
the category →

open-source IDE for thoughtful software design. Contribute to devdotfast/whiteboard development by creating an account on GitHub.
Dev tools · 28d ago · github.com

Contribute to reladraw/reladraw development by creating an account on GitHub.
Dev tools · 26d ago · github.com
OpenBot▲362Grok Bot alternative: free, local, open-source, multiplayer
Dev tools · 23d ago · openbot.run
Talanoa▲346Hi HN, I’m a fullstack developer, and honestly, I’ve lost count of how many side projects I’ve worked on over the years. But one idea kept coming back to me: a different kind of email client. It first came to me in 2014: “What if we could handle emails more like conversations?” Every year, I’d revisit this concept in my “Build Notes.” Ten years later, no one had built exactly what I had in mind — so I finally decided to do it myself. That’s how Talanoa was born. I wanted something focused on people, not timelines. I was tired of marking messages as unread just to remember to reply later, or…
Dev tools · 21d ago · talanoa.email
CoreSpeed▲332One MCP for everything your agents need: apps, memory, tools
Dev tools · 29d ago · corespeed.io
Source: Show HN post ↗
Launched alongside, May 2019
the whole month →
Webframe▲796>800 web app screenshots for inspiration on your next app 🎉
Dev tools · 2019 · webframe.xyz
CSS Scan 2.0▲758The fastest and easiest way to inspect or copy CSS ⚡️
Dev tools · 2019 · getcssscan.com



- CC
Life & fun · 2019 · cssfx.dev