ExtEdit is a Thunderbird/Icedove extension to allow editing an email in an external editor, such as Vim or Emacs.
It is based on Alexandre Feblot's External Editor extension and updated by Brian M. Carlson.
To build, simply type make.
Either download the XPI from the releases or make it from source.
In thunderbird, go Tools -> Add-Ons -> Extensions and select the
gear to install. Restart as required. You can update preferences
here, such as the path to the editor.
When editing an email, you will have Tools -> Edit in External Editor. You can also right-click on the toolbar and Customize to
add a button, or use the ctrl-E shortcut.
To use a development version, clone the git tree, then place a file
called {ca8dd6ef-b3ce-4175-94fd-0eca45382519} in your profile
extension directory (~/.thunderbird/xxxxxxxx.default/extensions)
that contains just the path to the extension directory.
Tools -> Developer Tools -> Error Console can then be helpful for
diagnosing issues.
ExtEdit is licensed under your choice of the Mozilla Public License, version 1.1 or the GNU General Public License, version 2 or later.
Pull requests are welcome. The standard is to use hard tabs, aligned at four spaces. The current codebase is moving in that direction, even if it isn't there yet.
If you're submitting code, please sign off your work in compliance with the Developer's Certificate of Origin, version 1.1.