Share to Mail

An iOS app that adds a "Share to Mail" option to the native share sheet, sending any shared content to a set email address.

Share a URL from Safari, a photo from Photos, a PDF from Files — it opens a pre-filled Mail compose sheet with the recipient already set. One tap to send.

Why Share to Mail?

Sharing content to yourself is a universal need — saving links, forwarding articles, collecting references. Most people reach for Notes, read-later apps, or messaging threads. Email is better:

• Universal inbox. Email is the one app that works everywhere — phone, laptop, work computer, someone else's browser. Notes, Reminders, and read-later apps lock content into one ecosystem or require installing yet another app.
• Already part of your workflow. Most people process their inbox daily. Shared items land right where you already look, instead of piling up in a Notes folder you forget to check.
• Searchable by default. Email has decades of search infrastructure. Finding that link you saved six months ago is a search query away — no tagging, no folders, no special organization needed.
• Forwarding is built in. Shared something to yourself that turns out to be useful for a colleague? Forward it. With Notes or read-later apps, you'd copy the content, open Mail, paste, and send — three extra steps.
• No account required. No sign-ups, no sync services, no cloud subscriptions. If you have an email address, you're set.
• Works with everything. URLs get a clean body link. Images and PDFs arrive as proper attachments. Text is just text. The email you receive is a self-contained, portable record — not a proprietary format tied to one app.
• One tap, zero friction. Share sheet → Mail compose → Send. The recipient is pre-filled, the content is already attached. Compare this to: open Notes → find the right note → paste → go back. Or: open a read-later app → wait for sync → hope the bookmark parsed correctly.

The best capture system is the one you already use. For most people, that's email.

Install from Release

Download the latest ShareToMail.ipa from Releases and open it in AltStore or Sideloadly to sign and install.

Requirements

• iOS 26+
• Xcode 26+
• XcodeGen

Setup

1. Set your Apple Team ID in local.xcconfig (this file is gitignored):

   cp local.xcconfig.example local.xcconfig
   # Edit local.xcconfig and set DEVELOPMENT_TEAM = YOUR_TEAM_ID

2. Generate the Xcode project and open it:

   xcodegen generate
   open ShareToMail.xcodeproj

3. Select your device and run (Cmd+R).

4. Open the main app and tap "Set Recipient Email" to set your email via the share sheet, or just share something from any app — the extension prompts on first use.

Build IPA

To build an unsigned .ipa (for use with AltStore/Sideloadly):

./scripts/build-ipa.sh

Output: build/ShareToMail.ipa — unsigned, ready for AltStore/AltServer to sign with your Apple ID.

Setting the Recipient Email

The recipient email is managed entirely by the share extension:

• First use: The extension prompts you to enter an email address.
• From the main app: Tap "Set Recipient Email" to change it at any time.
• Storage: Saved in the extension's own UserDefaults — no App Groups needed.

Supported Content Types

Type	Handling
URLs	Added to email body
Text	Added to email body
Images	Attached as JPEG/PNG
Files/PDFs	Attached with original MIME type

Project Structure

ShareToMail/              Main app (info + set email button)
ShareExtension/           Share sheet extension (self-manages recipient email)
scripts/build-ipa.sh      Builds an unsigned .ipa
project.yml               XcodeGen project definition
local.xcconfig.example    Template for local signing config

How It Works

The share extension prompts for a recipient email on first use and saves it to its own UserDefaults. On subsequent shares, it reads the saved email, extracts shared items (text, URLs, images, files), and presents MFMailComposeViewController pre-filled with the recipient and content.

The main app shares a special trigger string (sharetomail:set-email) via the share sheet. When the extension detects this, it shows the email prompt instead of composing a mail — allowing you to set or change the recipient without leaving the app.

Signing

Sideloading (IPA): The IPA is built unsigned. Use AltStore/AltServer or Sideloadly to sign it with your Apple ID.

Building from source: Set your Team ID in local.xcconfig. Works with a free Apple ID (Personal Team). No paid developer account or App Groups required. Apps expire after 7 days — use AltStore/AltServer to auto-refresh.

Built Entirely by AI

This project — every line of Swift, the build script, the project configuration, and even this README — was written through agentic coding with Claude Code. A human described what they wanted; an AI agent wrote, compiled, tested, and iterated on the code. No manual editing involved.

License

MIT