704 lines
30 KiB
Plaintext
704 lines
30 KiB
Plaintext
OFFLINEIMAP(1) OfflineIMAP manual OFFLINEIMAP(1)
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NAME
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OfflineIMAP - Powerful IMAP/Maildir synchronization and
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reader support
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SYNOPSIS
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offlineimap [ -1 ] [ -P profiledir ] [ -a accountlist ] [
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-c configfile ] [ -d debugtype[,debugtype...] ] [ -o ] [
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-u interface ]
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offlineimap -h | --help
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DESCRIPTION
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OfflineIMAP is a tool to simplify your e-mail reading.
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With OfflineIMAP, you can read the same mailbox from mul-
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tiple computers. You get a current copy of your messages
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on each computer, and changes you make one place will be
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visible on all other systems. For instance, you can
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delete a message on your home computer, and it will appear
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deleted on your work computer as well. OfflineIMAP is
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also useful if you want to use a mail reader that does not
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have IMAP support, has poor IMAP support, or does not pro-
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vide disconnected operation.
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OfflineIMAP is FAST; it synchronizes my two accounts with
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over 50 folders in 3 seconds. Other similar tools might
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take over a minute, and achieve a less-reliable result.
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Some mail readers can take over 10 minutes to do the same
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thing, and some don't even support it at all. Unlike
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other mail tools, OfflineIMAP features a multi-threaded
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synchronization algorithm that can dramatically speed up
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performance in many situations by synchronizing several
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different things simultaneously.
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OfflineIMAP is FLEXIBLE; you can customize which folders
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are synced via regular expressions, lists, or Python
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expressions; a versatile and comprehensive configuration
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file is used to control behavior; two user interfaces are
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built-in; fine-tuning of synchronization performance is
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possible; internal or external automation is supported;
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SSL and PREAUTH tunnels are both supported; offline (or
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"unplugged") reading is supported; and esoteric IMAP fea-
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tures are supported to ensure compatibility with the
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widest variety of IMAP servers.
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OfflineIMAP is SAFE; it uses an algorithm designed to pre-
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vent mail loss at all costs. Because of the design of
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this algorithm, even programming errors should not result
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in loss of mail. I am so confident in the algorithm that
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I use my own personal and work accounts for testing of
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OfflineIMAP pre-release, development, and beta releases.
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METHOD OF OPERATION
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OfflineIMAP operates by maintaining a hierarchy of mail
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folders in Maildir format locally. Your own mail reader
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will read mail from this tree, and need never know that
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the mail comes from IMAP. OfflineIMAP will detect changes
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to the mail folders on your IMAP server and your own com-
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puter and bi-directionally synchronize them, copying,
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marking, and deleting messages as necessary.
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INSTALLATION
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If you are reading this document via the "man" command, it
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is likely that you have no installation tasks to perform;
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your system administrator has already installed it. If
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you need to install it yourself, you have three options: a
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system-wide installation with Debian, system-wide instal-
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lation with other systems, and a single-user installation.
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You can download the latest version of OfflineIMAP from
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http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap/.
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PREREQUISITES
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In order to use OfflineIMAP, you need to have these condi-
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tions satisfied:
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o Your mail server must support IMAP. Most Internet
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Service Providers and corporate networks do, and
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most operating systems have an IMAP implementation
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readily available.
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o You must have Python version 2.2.1 or above
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installed. If you are running on Debian GNU/Linux,
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this requirement will automatically be taken care
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of for you. If you do not have Python already,
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check with your system administrator or operating
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system vendor; or, download it from
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http://www.python.org/. If you intend to use the
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Tk interface, you must have Tkinter (python-tk)
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installed. If you intend to use the SSL interface,
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your Python must have been built with SSL support.
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o Have a mail reader that supports the Maildir mail-
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box format. Most modern mail readers have this
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support built-in, so you can choose from a wide
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variety of mail servers. This format is also known
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as the "qmail" format, so any mail reader compati-
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ble with it will work with OfflineIMAP.
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DEBIAN SYSTEM-WIDE INSTALLATION
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If you are tracking Debian unstable, you may install
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OfflineIMAP by simply running the following command as
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root:
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apt-get install offlineimap
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If you are not tracking Debian unstable, download the
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Debian .deb package from the OfflineIMAP website and then
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run dpkg -i to install the downloaded package. Then, go
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to CONFIGURATION below. You will type offlineimap to
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invoke the program.
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OTHER SYSTEM-WIDE INSTALLATION
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Download the tar.gz version of the package from the web-
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site. Then run these commands:
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tar -zxvf offlineimap-x.y.z.tar.gz
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cd offlineimap-x.y.z
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python2.2 setup.py
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Some systems will need to use python instead of python2.2.
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Next, proceed to configuration. You will type offlineimap
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to invoke the program.
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SINGLE-ACCOUNT INSTALLATION
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Download the tar.gz version of the package from the web-
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site. Then run these commands:
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tar -zxvf offlineimap-x.y.z.tar.gz
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cd offlineimap-x.y.z
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When you want to run OfflineIMAP, you will issue the cd
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command as above and then type ./offlineimap; there is no
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installation step necessary.
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CONFIGURATION
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OfflineIMAP is regulated by a configuration file that is
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normally stored in ~/.offlineimaprc. OfflineIMAP ships
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with a file named offlineimap.conf that you should copy to
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that location and then edit. This file is vital to proper
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operation of the system; it sets everything you need to
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run OfflineIMAP. Full documentation for the configuration
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file is included within the sample file.
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OPTIONS
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Most configuration is done via the configuration file.
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Nevertheless, there are a few options that you may set for
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OfflineIMAP.
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-1 Disable all multithreading operations and use
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solely a single-thread sync. This effectively sets
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the maxsyncaccounts and all maxconnections configu-
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ration file variables to 1.
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-P profiledir
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Sets OfflineIMAP into profile mode. The program
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will create profiledir (it must not already exist).
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As it runs, Python profiling information about each
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thread is logged into profiledir. Please note:
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This option is present for debugging and optimiza-
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tion only, and should NOT be used unless you have a
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specific reason to do so. It will significantly
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slow program performance, may reduce reliability,
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and can generate huge amounts of data. You must
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use the -1 option when you use -P.
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-a accountlist
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Overrides the accounts section in the config file.
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Lets you specify a particular account or set of
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accounts to sync without having to edit the config
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file. You might use this to exclude certain
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accounts, or to sync some accounts that you nor-
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mally prefer not to.
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-c configfile
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Specifies a configuration file to use in lieu of
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the default, ~/.offlineimaprc.
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-d debugtype[,debugtype...]
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Enables debugging for OfflineIMAP. This is useful
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if you are trying to track down a malfunction or
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figure out what is going on under the hood. I sug-
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gest that you use this with -1 in order to make the
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results more sensible.
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-d now requires one or more debugtypes, separated
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by commas. These define what exactly will be
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debugged, and so far include two options: imap and
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maildir. The imap option will enable IMAP protocol
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stream and parsing debugging. Note that the output
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may contain passwords, so take care to remove that
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from the debugging output before sending it to any-
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one else. The maildir option will enable debugging
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for certain Maildir operations.
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-o Run only once, ignoring any autorefresh setting in
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the config file.
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-h, --help
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Show summary of options.
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-u interface
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Specifies an alternative user interface module to
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use. This overrides the default specified in the
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configuration file. The UI specified with -u will
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be forced to be used, even if its isuable() method
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states that it cannot be. Use this option with
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care. The pre-defined options are listed in the
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USER INTERFACES section.
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USER INTERFACES
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OfflineIMAP has a pluggable user interface system that
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lets you choose how the program communicates information
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to you. There are two graphical interfaces, one terminal
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interface, and two noninteractive interfaces suitable for
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scripting or logging purposes. The ui option in the con-
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figuration file specifies the user interface preferences.
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The -u command-line option can override the configuration
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file. The available values for the configuration file or
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command-line are describef in this section.
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Tk.Blinkenlights
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This is an interface designed to be sleek, fun to watch,
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and informative of the overall picture of what OfflineIMAP
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is doing. I consider it to be the best general-purpose
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interface in OfflineIMAP. Tk.Blinkenlights contains, by
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default, a small window with a row of LEDs and a row of
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command buttons. The total size of the window is very
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small, so it uses little desktop space, yet it is quite
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functional. There is also an optional, toggable, log that
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shows more detail about what is happening and is color-
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coded to match the color of the lights.
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Tk.Blinkenlights is the only user interface that has con-
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figurable parameters; see the example offlineimap.conf for
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more details.
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Each light in the Tk.Blinkenlights interface represents a
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thread of execution -- that is, a particular task that
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OfflineIMAP is performing right now. The color indicates
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what task the particular thread is performing, and are as
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follows:
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Black indicates that this light's thread has terminated;
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it will light up again later when new threads start
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up. So, black indicates no activity.
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Red (Meaning 1)
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is the color of the main program's thread, which
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basically does nothing but monitor the others. It
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might remind you of HAL 9000 in 2001.
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Gray indicates that the thread is establishing a new
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connection to the IMAP server.
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Purple is the color of an account synchronization thread
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that is monitoring the progress of the folders in
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that account (not generating any I/O).
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Cyan indicates that the thread is syncing a folder.
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Green means that a folder's message list is being loaded.
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Blue is the color of a message synchronization con-
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troller thread.
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Orange indicates that an actual message is being copied.
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Red (Meaning 2)
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indicates that a message is being deleted.
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Yellow (bright orange) indicates that message flags are
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being added.
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Pink (bright red) indicates that message flags are being
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removed.
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Red / Black Flashing
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corresponds to the countdown timer that runs
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between synchronizations.
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The name of this interface derives from a bit of computer
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science history. Eric Raymond's Jargon File defines
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blinkenlights, in part, as:
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Front-panel diagnostic lights on a computer, esp. a
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dinosaur. Now that dinosaurs are rare, this term
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usually refers to status lights on a modem, network
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hub, or the like.
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This term derives from the last word of the famous
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blackletter-Gothic sign in mangled pseudo-German
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that once graced about half the computer rooms in
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the English-speaking world. One version ran in its
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entirety as follows:
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ACHTUNG! ALLES LOOKENSPEEPERS!
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Das computermachine ist nicht fuer gefingerpoken
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und mittengrabben. Ist easy schnappen der sprin-
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genwerk, blowenfusen und poppencorken mit
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spitzensparken. Ist nicht fuer gewerken bei das
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dumpkopfen. Das rubbernecken sichtseeren keepen
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das cotten-pickenen hans in das pockets muss;
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relaxen und watchen das blinkenlichten.
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Tk.VerboseUI
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This interface (formerly known as Tk.TkUI) is a graphical
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interface that presents a variable-sized window. In the
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window, each currently-executing thread has a section
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where its name and current status are displayed. This
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interface is best suited to people running on slower con-
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nections, as you get a lot of detail, but for fast connec-
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tions, the detail may go by too quickly to be useful.
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People with fast connections may wish to use Tk.Blinken-
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lights instead.
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TTY.TTYUI
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This interface is the default for people running in termi-
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nals. It prints out basic status messages, has an inter-
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ruptible timer like the graphical interfaces do, and is
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generally friendly to use on a console or xterm.
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Noninteractive.Basic
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This interface is designed for situations where
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OfflineIMAP will be run non-attended and the status of its
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execution will be logged. You might use it, for instance,
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to have the system run automatically and e-mail you the
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results of the synchronization. This user interface is
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not capable of reading a password from the keyboard;
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account passwords must be specified using one of the con-
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figuration file options.
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Noninteractive.Quiet
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This interface is designed for non-attended running in
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situations where normal status messages are not desired.
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It will output nothing except errors and serious warnings.
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Like Noninteractive.Basic, this user interface is not
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capable of reading a password from the keyboard; account
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passwords must be specified using one of the configuration
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file options.
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EXAMPLES
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Here is an example configuration for a particularly com-
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plex situation; more examples will be added later.
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MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS WITH MUTT
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This example shows you how to set up OfflineIMAP to syn-
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chronize multiple accounts with the mutt mail reader.
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Start by creating a directory to hold your folders:
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mkdir ~/Mail
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In your ~/.offlineimaprc, specify this:
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accounts = Personal, Work
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Make sure that you have both a [Personal] and a [Work]
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section, with different localfolder pathnames and enable
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[mbnames].
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In each account section, do something like this:
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localfolders = ~/Mail/Personal
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Add these lines to your ~/.muttrc:
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source ~/path-to-mbnames-muttrc-mailboxes
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folder-hook Personal set from="youremail@personal.com"
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folder-hook Work set from="youremail@work.com"
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set mbox_type=Maildir
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set folder=$HOME/Mail
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set spoolfile=+Personal/INBOX
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That's it!
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UW-IMAPD AND REFERENCES
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Some users with a UW-IMAPD server need to use
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OfflineIMAP's "reference" feature to get at their mail-
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boxes, specifying a reference of "~/Mail" or "#mh/"
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depending on the configuration. The below configuration
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from docwhat@gerf.org shows using a reference of Mail, a
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nametrans that strips the leading Mail/ off incoming
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folder names, and a folderfilter that limits the folders
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synced to just three.
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[Gerf]
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localfolders = ~/Mail
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remotehost = gerf.org
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ssl = yes
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remoteuser = docwhat
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reference = Mail
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# Trims off the preceeding Mail on all the folder names.
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nametrans = lambda foldername: \
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re.sub('^Mail/', '', foldername)
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# Yeah, you have to mention the Mail dir, even though it
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# would seem intuitive that reference would trim it.
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folderfilter = lambda foldername: foldername in [
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'Mail/INBOX',
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'Mail/list/zaurus-general',
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'Mail/list/zaurus-dev',
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]
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maxconnections = 1
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holdconnectionopen = no
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PYTHONFILE CONFIGURATION FILE OPTION
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You can have OfflineIMAP load up a Python file before
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evaluating the configuration file options that are Python
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expressions. This example is based on one supplied by
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Tommi Virtanen for this feature.
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In ~/.offlineimap.rc, he adds these options:
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[general]
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pythonfile=~/.offlineimap.py
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[foo]
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foldersort=mycmp
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Then, the ~/.offlineimap.py file will contain:
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prioritized = ['INBOX', 'personal', 'announce', 'list']
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def mycmp(x, y):
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for prefix in prioritized:
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if x.startswith(prefix):
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return -1
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elif y.startswith(prefix):
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return +1
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return cmp(x, y)
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def test_mycmp():
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import os, os.path
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folders=os.list-
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dir(os.path.expanduser('~/data/mail/tv@hq.yok.utu.fi'))
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folders.sort(mycmp)
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print folders
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This code snippet illustrates how the foldersort option
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can be customized with a Python function from the python-
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file to always synchronize certain folders first.
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ERRORS
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If you get one of some frequently-encountered or confusing
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errors, please check this section.
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UID validity problem for folder
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IMAP servers use a unique ID (UID) to refer to a specific
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message. This number is guaranteed to be unique to a par-
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ticular message FOREVER. No other message in the same
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folder will ever get the same UID. UIDs are an integral
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part of OfflineIMAP's synchronization scheme; they are
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used to match up messages on your computer to messages on
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the server.
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Sometimes, the UIDs on the server might get reset. Usu-
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ally this will happen if you delete and then recreate a
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folder. When you create a folder, the server will often
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start the UID back from 1. But OfflineIMAP might still
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have the UIDs from the previous folder by the same name
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stored. OfflineIMAP will detect this condition and skip
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the folder. This is GOOD, because it prevents data loss.
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You can fix it by removing your local folder and cache
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data. For instance, if your folders are under ~/Folders
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and the folder with the problem is INBOX, you'd type this:
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rm -r ~/Folders/INBOX
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rm ~/.offlineimap/AccountName/INBOX
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(replacing AccountName with the account name as specified
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in ~/.offlineimaprc)
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Next time you run OfflineIMAP, it will re-download the
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folder with the new UIDs. Note that the procedure speci-
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fied above will lose any local changes made to the folder.
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Some IMAP servers are broken and do not support UIDs prop-
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erly. If you continue to get this error for all your
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folders even after performing the above procedure, it is
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likely that your IMAP server falls into this category.
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OfflineIMAP is incompatible with such servers. Using
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OfflineIMAP with them will not destroy any mail, but at
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the same time, it will not actually synchronize it either.
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(OfflineIMAP will detect this condition and abort prior to
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synchronization)
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OTHER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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There are some other FAQs that might not fit into another
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section of this document, and they are enumerated here.
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What platforms does OfflineIMAP run on?
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It should run on most platforms supported by
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Python, which are quite a few.
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I'm using Mutt. Other IMAP sync programs require me to use
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set maildir_trash=yes . Do I need to do that with
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OfflineIMAP?
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No. OfflineIMAP is smart enough to figure out mes-
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sage deletion without this extra crutch. You'll
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get the best results if you don't use this setting,
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in fact.
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How do I specify the names of my folders?
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You do not need to. OfflineIMAP is smart enough to
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automatically figure out what folders are present
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on the IMAP server and synchronize them. You can
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use the folderfilter and foldertrans configuration
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file options to request certain folders and rename
|
|
them as they come in if you like.
|
|
|
|
How can I prevent certain folders from being synced?
|
|
Use the folderfilter option in the configuration
|
|
file.
|
|
|
|
How can I add or delete a folder?
|
|
OfflineIMAP does not currently provide this fea-
|
|
ture, but if you create a new folder on the IMAP
|
|
server, it will be created locally automatically.
|
|
|
|
Are there any other warnings that I should be aware of?
|
|
Yes; see the NOTES section below.
|
|
|
|
What is the mailbox name recorder (mbnames) for?
|
|
The Mutt mail reader is not capable of automati-
|
|
cally determining the names of your mailboxes.
|
|
OfflineIMAP can help it (or many other) programs
|
|
out be writing these names out in a format you
|
|
specify. See the example offlineimap.conf file for
|
|
details.
|
|
|
|
Can I synchronize multiple accounts with OfflineIMAP?
|
|
Sure. Just name them all in the accounts line in
|
|
the general section of the config file, and add a
|
|
per-account section for each one.
|
|
|
|
Does OfflineIMAP support POP?
|
|
No. POP is not robust enough to do a completely
|
|
reliable multi-machine synchronization like
|
|
OfflineIMAP can do. OfflineIMAP will not support
|
|
it.
|
|
|
|
Do you support mailbox formats other than Maildir?
|
|
Not at present. There is no technical reason not
|
|
to; just no demand yet. Maildir is a superior for-
|
|
mat anyway.
|
|
|
|
[technical] Why are your Maildir message filenames so
|
|
huge?
|
|
OfflineIMAP has two relevant principles: 1) never
|
|
modifying your messages in any way and 2) ensuring
|
|
100% reliable synchronizations. In order to do a
|
|
reliable sync, OfflineIMAP must have a way to
|
|
uniquely identify each e-mail. Three pieces of
|
|
information are required to do this: your account
|
|
name, the folder name, and the message UID. The
|
|
account name can be calculated from the path in
|
|
which your messages are. The folder name can usu-
|
|
ally be as well, BUT some mail clients move mes-
|
|
sages between folders by simply moving the file,
|
|
leaving the name intact.
|
|
|
|
So, OfflineIMAP must store both a UID folder ID.
|
|
The folder ID is necessary so OfflineIMAP can
|
|
detect a message moved to a different folder.
|
|
OfflineIMAP stores the UID (U= number) and an
|
|
md5sum of the foldername (FMD5= number) to facili-
|
|
tate this.
|
|
|
|
What is the speed of OfflineIMAP's sync?
|
|
OfflineIMAP versions 2.0 and above contain a multi-
|
|
threaded system. A good way to experiment is by
|
|
setting maxsyncaccounts to 3 and maxconnections to
|
|
3 in each account clause.
|
|
|
|
This lets OfflineIMAP open up multiple connections
|
|
simultaneously. That will let it process multiple
|
|
folders and messages at once. In most cases, this
|
|
will increase performance of the sync.
|
|
|
|
Don't set the number too high. If you do that,
|
|
things might actually slow down as your link gets
|
|
saturated. Also, too many connections can cause
|
|
mail servers to have excessive load. Administra-
|
|
tors might take unkindly to this, and the server
|
|
might bog down. There are many variables in the
|
|
optimal setting; experimentation may help.
|
|
|
|
An informal benchmark yields these results for my
|
|
setup:
|
|
|
|
10 minutes with MacOS X Mail.app "manual cache"
|
|
5 minutes with GNUS agent sync
|
|
20 seconds with OfflineIMAP 1.x
|
|
9 seconds with OfflineIMAP 2.x
|
|
3 seconds with OfflineIMAP 3.x "cold start"
|
|
2 seconds with OfflineIMAP 3.x "held connection"
|
|
|
|
CONFORMING TO
|
|
o Internet Message Access Protocol version 4rev1
|
|
(IMAP 4rev1) as specified in RFC2060
|
|
|
|
o Maildir as specified in http://www.qmail.org/qmail-
|
|
manual-html/man5/maildir.html and
|
|
http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html.
|
|
|
|
o Standard Python 2.2.1 as implemented on POSIX-com-
|
|
pliant systems.
|
|
|
|
NOTES
|
|
DELETING LOCAL FOLDERS
|
|
OfflineIMAP does a two-way synchronization. That is, if
|
|
you make a change to the mail on the server, it will be
|
|
propogated to your local copy, and vise-versa. Some peo-
|
|
ple might think that it would be wise to just delete all
|
|
their local mail folders periodically. If you do this
|
|
with OfflineIMAP, remember to also remove your local sta-
|
|
tus cache (~/.offlineimap by default). Otherwise,
|
|
OfflineIMAP will take this as an intentional deletion of
|
|
many messages and will interpret your action as requesting
|
|
them to be deleted from the server as well. (If you don't
|
|
understand this, don't worry; you probably won't encounter
|
|
this situation)
|
|
|
|
COPYING MESSAGES BETWEEN FOLDERS
|
|
Normally, when you copy a message between folders or add a
|
|
new message to a folder locally, OfflineIMAP will just do
|
|
the right thing. However, sometimes this can be tricky --
|
|
if your IMAP server does not provide the SEARCH command,
|
|
or does not return something useful, OfflineIMAP cannot
|
|
determine the new UID of the message. So, in these rare
|
|
instances, OfflineIMAP will upload the message to the IMAP
|
|
server and delete it from your local folder. Then, on
|
|
your next sync, the message will be re-downloaded with the
|
|
proper UID. OfflineIMAP makes sure that the message was
|
|
properly uploaded before deleting it, so there should be
|
|
no risk of data loss.
|
|
|
|
MAILING LIST
|
|
There is an OfflineIMAP mailing list available.
|
|
|
|
To subscribe, send the text "Subscribe" in the subject of
|
|
a mail to offlineimap-request@complete.org. To post, send
|
|
the message to offlineimap@complete.org.
|
|
|
|
BUGS
|
|
Reports of bugs should be sent via e-mail to the
|
|
OfflineIMAP bug-tracking system (BTS) at
|
|
offlineimap@bugs.complete.org or submitted on-line using
|
|
the Web interface at http://bugs.complete.org/. The Web
|
|
site also lists all current bugs, where you can check
|
|
their status or contribute to fixing them.
|
|
|
|
COPYRIGHT
|
|
OfflineIMAP is Copyright (C) 2002 John Goerzen.
|
|
|
|
This program is free software; you can redistribute it
|
|
and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public
|
|
License as published by the Free Software Foundation;
|
|
either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any
|
|
later version.
|
|
|
|
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be
|
|
useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied
|
|
warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
|
|
PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more
|
|
details.
|
|
|
|
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public
|
|
License along with this program; if not, write to:
|
|
|
|
Free Software Foundation, Inc.
|
|
59 Temple Place
|
|
Suite 330
|
|
Boston, MA 02111-1307
|
|
USA
|
|
|
|
AUTHOR
|
|
OfflineIMAP, its libraries, documentation, and all
|
|
included files, except where noted, was written by John
|
|
Goerzen <jgoerzen@complete.org> and copyright is held as
|
|
stated in the COPYRIGHT section.
|
|
|
|
OfflineIMAP may be downloaded, and information found, from
|
|
its homepage via either Gopher or HTTP:
|
|
|
|
gopher://quux.org/1/devel/offlineimap
|
|
http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap
|
|
|
|
OfflineIMAP may also be downloaded using Subversion.
|
|
Additionally, the distributed tar.gz may be updated with a
|
|
simple "svn update" command; it is ready to go. For
|
|
information on getting OfflineIMAP with Subversion, please
|
|
visit:
|
|
|
|
http://svn.complete.org/
|
|
|
|
SEE ALSO
|
|
mutt(1), python(1).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
John Goerzen July 12, 2002 OFFLINEIMAP(1)
|