> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.slashy.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Make Slashy your default mail app

> Set Slashy as the handler for mailto: links on macOS and iOS so Reply buttons open Slashy.

When Slashy is your default mail app, every `mailto:` link, every "Email me" button on a website, and every contact card's email action opens a Slashy compose window. The macOS Mail app and iOS Mail stop intercepting those clicks.

## macOS

The Slashy desktop app registers as a mail handler on first launch. Telling macOS to actually use it takes two settings, because macOS treats browser-initiated `mailto:` links and system-initiated ones separately.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open System Settings → Default web browser">
    Set your preferred browser. Any `mailto:` link clicked inside that browser will route through it before hitting your default mail app.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the macOS Mail app once">
    Launch `Mail.app` from Spotlight or Applications. Don't sign in. Go to Mail → Settings → General → Default email reader, and choose Slashy from the dropdown.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Quit Mail.app">
    You only opened it to expose the setting. Quit it and macOS will route mail actions to Slashy from now on.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Apple has put the default mail app picker inside Mail.app's preferences for years. It looks odd but that's where it lives. You don't need a Mail.app account configured.
</Note>

## iOS

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Settings → Mail">
    On your iPhone or iPad.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Tap Default Mail App">
    iOS lists every installed app that has registered as a mail handler. Slashy appears once the iOS app has been installed and opened at least once.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select Slashy">
    From this point on, tapping an email address in Contacts, Calendar, Safari, or any other app opens Slashy's compose screen pre-filled with the recipient.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What changes after you set it

* Clicking a `mailto:` link on any website opens Slashy compose with the address pre-filled.
* "Email me" buttons in Calendar invites, Contacts, and other apps open Slashy.
* Right-clicking an address on macOS and choosing New Email opens Slashy.
* Calendar event organizer email actions open Slashy.

The actual sending still goes through whichever inbox you've connected to Slashy. Slashy is the editor; Gmail is still the wire.

## Reverting

To go back to Apple Mail or another client, repeat the steps above and pick the other app in the same dropdown. The change applies immediately; no restart needed.

<Accordion title="Slashy doesn't appear in the Default Mail App list on iOS">
  Install the Slashy iOS app, open it once, and sign in. iOS only registers a mail handler after first launch. Once that's done, the picker shows Slashy.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="mailto: links open my browser instead of Slashy on macOS">
  Open Mail.app once, set the Default email reader to Slashy, and quit. The browser preference points at the system default; the system default is set inside Mail.app.
</Accordion>

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Desktop app" href="/getting-started/desktop-app">Install Slashy on Mac or Windows.</Card>
  <Card title="Slashy on mobile" href="/getting-started/mobile">Set up the iOS app.</Card>
  <Card title="Composing email" href="/features/email/composing">Write and send from Slashy.</Card>
  <Card title="Why a primary email" href="/getting-started/why-primary">Pick the inbox compose uses by default.</Card>
  <Card title="Multiple accounts" href="/how-to-guides/multiple-accounts">Send from any connected inbox.</Card>
</CardGroup>