I. OfflineIMAP Manual

Table of Contents
offlineimap -- Powerful IMAP/Maildir synchronization + and reader support

offlineimap

Name

OfflineIMAP -- Powerful IMAP/Maildir synchronization + and reader support

Synopsis

offlineimap [-1] [-P profiledir] [-a accountlist] [-c configfile] [-d debugtype[,...]] [-o] [-u interface]

offlineimap -h | --help

Description

OfflineIMAP is a tool to simplify your e-mail + reading. With OfflineIMAP, you can read the same mailbox + from multiple computers. You get a current copy of your + messages on each computer, and changes you make one place will be + visible on all other systems. For instance, you can delete a message + on your home computer, and it will appear deleted on your work + computer as well. OfflineIMAP is also useful if you want to + use a mail reader that does not have IMAP support, has poor IMAP + support, or does not provide disconnected operation. +

OfflineIMAP is FAST; it synchronizes + my two accounts with over 50 folders in 3 seconds. Other + similar tools might take over a minute, and achieve a + less-reliable result. Some mail readers can take over 10 + minutes to do the same thing, and some don't even support it + at all. Unlike other mail tools, OfflineIMAP features a + multi-threaded synchronization algorithm that can dramatically + speed up performance in many situations by synchronizing + several different things simultaneously. +

OfflineIMAP is FLEXIBLE; you can + customize which folders are synced via regular expressions, + lists, or Python expressions; a versatile and comprehensive + configuration file is used to control behavior; two user + interfaces are built-in; fine-tuning of synchronization + performance is possible; internal or external automation is + supported; SSL and PREAUTH tunnels are both supported; offline + (or "unplugged") reading is supported; and esoteric IMAP + features are supported to ensure compatibility with the widest + variety of IMAP servers. +

OfflineIMAP is SAFE; it uses an + algorithm designed to prevent mail loss at all costs. Because + of the design of this algorithm, even programming errors + should not result in loss of mail. I am so confident in the + algorithm that I use my own personal and work accounts for + testing of OfflineIMAP pre-release, development, and beta + releases. Of course, legally speaking, OfflineIMAP comes + with no warranty, so I am not responsible if this turns out + to be wrong. +

Method of Operation

OfflineIMAP operates by maintaining a hierarchy of + mail folders in Maildir format locally. Your own mail + reader will read mail from this tree, and need never know + that the mail comes from IMAP. OfflineIMAP will detect + changes to the mail folders on your IMAP server and your own + computer and bi-directionally synchronize them, copying, + marking, and deleting messages as necessary. +

Quick Start

If you have already installed OfflineIMAP system-wide, + or your system adminstrator has done that for you, your task + for setting up OfflineIMAP for the first time is quite + simple. You just need to set up your configuration file, make + your folder directory, and run it! +

You can quickly set up your configuration file. The distribution + includes a file offlineimap.conf.minimal + (Debian users + may find this at + /usr/share/doc/offlineimap/examples/offlineimap.conf.minimal) that is a basic example of setting of OfflineIMAP. You can + simply copy this file into your home directory and name it + .offlineimaprc (note the leading period). A + command such as cp offlineimap.conf.minimal ~/.offlineimaprc will do it. Or, if you prefer, you can just copy this text to + ~/.offlineimaprc: +

[general]
+accounts = Test
hunk ./offlineimap/head/manual.html 274
-OFFLINEIMAP
-NAME

-SYNOPSIS

-DESCRIPTION

-INSTALLATION

-CONFIGURATION

-OPTIONS

-USER INTERFACES

-EXAMPLES

-ERRORS

-OTHER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

-CONFORMING TO

-NOTES

-BUGS

-COPYRIGHT

-AUTHOR

-SEE ALSO

+[Test]
+localfolders = ~/Test
+remotehost = examplehost
+remoteuser = jgoerzen

Now, edit the ~/.offlineimaprc file with + your favorite editor. All you have to do is specify a directory + for your folders to be in (on the localfolders + line), the host name of your IMAP server (on the + remotehost line), and your login name on + the remote (on the remoteuser line). That's + it!

To run OfflineIMAP, you just have to say + offlineimap -- it will fire up, ask you for + a login password if necessary, synchronize your folders, and exit. + See? You can just throw away the rest of this finely-crafted, + perfectly-honed manual! Of course, if you want to see how you can + make OfflineIMAP FIVE TIMES FASTER FOR JUST $19.95 (err, well, + $0), you have to read on! +

Installation

If you are reading this document via the "man" command, it is + likely + that you have no installation tasks to perform; your system + administrator has already installed it. If you need to install it + yourself, you have three options: a system-wide installation with + Debian, system-wide installation with other systems, and a single-user + installation. You can download the latest version of OfflineIMAP from + the OfflineIMAP + website. +

Prerequisites

In order to use OfflineIMAP, you need to have these conditions + satisfied: +

Your mail server must support IMAP. Most Internet Service + Providers + and corporate networks do, and most operating systems + have an IMAP + implementation readily available. +
You must have Python version 2.2.1 or above installed. + If you are + running on Debian GNU/Linux, this requirement will automatically be + taken care of for you. If you do not have Python already, check with + your system administrator or operating system vendor; or, download it from + the Python website. + If you intend to use the Tk interface, you must have Tkinter + (python-tk) installed. If you intend to use the SSL interface, your + Python must have been built with SSL support. +
Have a mail reader that supports the Maildir mailbox format. Most + modern mail readers have this support built-in, so you can choose from + a wide variety of mail servers. This format is also known as the + "qmail" format, so any mail reader compatible with it will work with + OfflineIMAP. +

System-Wide Installation, Debian

If you are tracking Debian unstable, you may install + OfflineIMAP by simply running the following command as root: +

apt-get install offlineimap +

If you are not tracking Debian unstable, download the Debian .deb + package from the OfflineIMAP website + and then run dpkg -i to install the downloaded + package. Then, skip to Configruation below. You will type offlineimap to + invoke the program. +

System-Wide Installation, Other

Download the tar.gz version of the package from the + website. + Then run + these commands, making sure that you are the "root" user first: +

tar -zxvf offlineimap_x.y.z.tar.gz
+cd offlineimap-x.y.z
+python2.2 setup.py install

On some systems, you will need to use + python instead of python2.2. + Next, proceed to Configruation below. You will type offlineimap to + invoke the program. +

Single-Account Installation

Download the tar.gz version of the package from the + website. + Then run these commands: +

tar -zxvf offlineimap_x.y.z.tar.gz
+cd offlineimap-x.y.z

When you want to run OfflineIMAP, you will issue the + cd command as above and then type + ./offlineimap.py; there is no installation + step necessary. +

Configruation

OfflineIMAP is regulated by a configuration file that is normally + stored in ~/.offlineimaprc. OfflineIMAP + ships with a file named offlineimap.conf + that you should copy to that location and then edit. This file is + vital to proper operation of the system; it sets everything you need + to run OfflineIMAP. Full documentation for the configuration file + is included within the sample file. +

OfflineIMAP also ships a file named + offlineimap.conf.minimal that you can also try. + It's useful if you want to get started with + the most basic feature set, and you can read about other features + later with offlineimap.conf. +

Options

Most configuration is done via the configuration file. Nevertheless, + there are a few command-line options that you may set for + OfflineIMAP. +

-1

Disable most multithreading operations and use + solely a single-connection + sync. This effectively sets the maxsyncaccounts + and all maxconnections configuration file + variables to 1. +

-P profiledir

Sets OfflineIMAP into profile mode. The program + will create profiledir + (it must not already exist). As it runs, Python profiling + information + about each thread is logged into profiledir. Please note: This option + is present for debugging and optimization only, and should NOT be used + unless you have a specific reason to do so. It will significantly + slow program performance, may reduce reliability, and can generate + huge amounts of data. You must use the -1 option when + you use -P. +

-a accountlist

Overrides the accounts option + in the general section of the configuration + file. You might use this to exclude certain accounts, or to sync + some accounts that you normally prefer not to. Separate the + accounts by commas, and use no embedded spaces. +

-c configfile

Specifies a configuration file to use in lieu of + the default, ~/.offlineimaprc. +

-d debugtype[,...]

Enables debugging for OfflineIMAP. This is useful if + you are trying to track down a malfunction or figure out what is going + on under the hood. I suggest that you use this with + -1 to make the results more sensible.

-d requires one or more debugtypes, + separated by commas. These define what exactly will be + debugged, and include two options: imap + and maildir. The imap + option will enable IMAP protocol stream and parsing debugging. Note + that the output may contain passwords, so take care to remove that + from the debugging output before sending it to anyone else. The + maildir option will enable debugging for + certain Maildir operations. +

-o

Run only once, ignoring all + autorefresh settings in the configuration + file.

-h, --help

Show summary of options.

-u interface

Specifies an alternative user interface module + to use. This overrides the defailt specified in the + configuration file. The pre-defined options are listed in + the User Interfaces section.

User Interfaces

OfflineIMAP has a pluggable user interface system that lets you choose how the + program communicates information to you. There are two graphical + interfaces, two terminal interfaces, and two noninteractive interfaces + suitable for scripting or logging purposes. The + ui option in the configuration file specifies + user interface preferences. The -u command-line + option can override the configuration file setting. The available + values for the configuration file or command-line are described + in this section.

Tk.Blinkenlights

Tk.Blinkenlights is an interface designed to be sleek, fun to watch, and + informative of the overall picture of what OfflineIMAP + is doing. I consider it to be the best general-purpose interface in + OfflineIMAP. +

Tk.Blinkenlights contains, by default, a small window with a row of + LEDs, a small log, and a row of command buttons. + The total size of the window is + very small, so it uses little desktop space, yet it is quite + functional. The optional, toggleable, log shows more + detail about what is happening and is color-coded to match the color + of the lights. +

Tk.Blinkenlights is the only user interface that has configurable + parameters; see the example offlineimap.conf + for more details. +

Each light in the Blinkenlights interface represents a thread + of execution -- that is, a particular task that OfflineIMAP + is performing right now. The colors indicate what task + the particular thread is performing, and are as follows: +

Black: indicates that this light's thread has terminated; it will light up + again later when new threads start up. So, black indicates no + activity. +
Red (Meaning 1): is the color of the main program's thread, which basically does + nothing but monitor the others. It might remind you of HAL 9000 in + [2001]. +
Gray: indicates that the thread is establishing a new connection to the IMAP + server. +
Purple: is the color of an account synchronization thread that is monitoring + the progress of the folders in that account (not generating any I/O). +
Cyan: indicates that the thread is syncing a folder. +
Green: means that a folder's message list is being loaded. +
Blue: is the color of a message synchronization controller thread. +
Orange: indicates that an actual message is being copied. + (We use fuschia for fake messages.) +
Red (meaning 2): indicates that a message is being deleted. +
Yellow / bright orange: indicates that message flags are being added. +
Pink / bright red: indicates that message flags are being removed. +
Red / Black Flashing: corresponds to the countdown timer that runs between + synchronizations. +

The name of this interfaces derives from a bit of computer + history. Eric Raymond's [Jargon File] defines + blinkenlights, in part, as: +

Front-panel diagnostic + lights on a computer, esp. a dinosaur. Now that dinosaurs are rare, + this term usually refers to status lights on a modem, network hub, or + the like. +
This term derives from the last word of the famous blackletter-Gothic + sign in mangled pseudo-German that once graced about half the computer + rooms in the English-speaking world. One version ran in its entirety as + follows: +
ACHTUNG! ALLES LOOKENSPEEPERS! +
Das computermachine ist nicht fuer gefingerpoken und mittengrabben. + Ist easy schnappen der springenwerk, blowenfusen und poppencorken + mit spitzensparken. Ist nicht fuer gewerken bei das dumpkopfen. + Das rubbernecken sichtseeren keepen das cotten-pickenen hans in das + pockets muss; relaxen und watchen das blinkenlichten. +

Curses.Blinkenlights

Curses.Blinkenlights is an interface very similar to Tk.Blinkenlights, + but is designed to be run in a console window (an xterm, Linux virtual + terminal, etc.) Since it doesn't have access to graphics, it isn't + quite as pretty, but it still gets the job done. +

Please see the Tk.Blinkenlights section above for more + information about the colors used in this interface. +

Tk.VerboseUI

Tk.VerboseUI (formerly known as Tk.TkUI) is a graphical interface + that presents a variable-sized window. In the window, each + currently-executing thread has a section where its name and current + status are displayed. This interface is best suited to people running + on slower connections, as you get a lot of detail, but for fast + connections, the detail may go by too quickly to be useful. People + with fast connections may wish to use Tk.Blinkenlights instead. +

TTY.TTYUI

TTY.TTYUI interface is for people running in basic, non-color terminals. It + prints out basic status messages and is generally friendly to use on a console + or xterm. +

Noninteractive.Basic

Noninteractive.Basic is designed for situations in which OfflineIMAP + will be run non-attended and the status of its execution will be + logged. You might use it, for instance, to have the system run + automatically and + e-mail you the results of the synchronization. This user interface + is not capable of reading a password from the keyboard; account + passwords must be specified using one of the configuration file options. +

Noninteractive.Quiet

Noninteractive.Quiet is designed for non-attended running in situations + where normal status messages are not desired. It will output nothing + except errors and serious warnings. Like Noninteractive.Basic, + this user interface + is not capable of reading a password from the keyboard; account + passwords must be specified using one of the configuration file options. +

Examples

Here are some example configurations for various situations. + Please e-mail any other examples you have that may be useful to + me. +

Multiple Accounts with Mutt

This example shows you how to set up OfflineIMAP to + synchronize multiple accounts with the mutt mail reader. +

Start by creating a directory to hold your folders by running + mkdir ~/Mail. Then, in your + ~/.offlineimaprc, specify: +

accounts = Personal, Work

Make sure that you have both a [Personal] + and a [Work] section, each with different + localfolder path names. Also, make sure + to enable [mbnames]. +

In each account section, write something like this: +

localfolders = ~/Mail/Personal

Finally, add these lines to your ~/.muttrc: +

source ~/path-to-mbnames-muttrc-mailboxes
+folder-hook Personal set from="youremail@personal.com"
+folder-hook Work set from="youremail@work.com"
+set mbox_type=Maildir
+set folder=$HOME/Mail
+spoolfile=+Personal/INBOX

That's it! +

UW-IMAPD and References

Some users with a UW-IMAPD server need to use OfflineIMAP's + "reference" feature to get at their mailboxes, specifying a reference + of "~/Mail" or "#mh/" depending on the configuration. The below + configuration from docwhat@gerf.org + shows using a reference of Mail, a nametrans + that strips + the leading Mail/ off incoming folder names, and a + folderfilter that + limits the folders synced to just three. +

[Gerf]
+localfolders = ~/Mail
+remotehost = gerf.org
+ssl = yes
+remoteuser = docwhat
+reference = Mail
+# Trims off the preceeding Mail on all the folder names.
+nametrans = lambda foldername: \
+            re.sub('^Mail/', '', foldername)
+# Yeah, you have to mention the Mail dir, even though it
+# would seem intuitive that reference would trim it.
+folderfilter = lambda foldername: foldername in [
+      'Mail/INBOX',
+      'Mail/list/zaurus-general',
+      'Mail/list/zaurus-dev',
+      ]
+maxconnections = 1
+holdconnectionopen = no

pythonfile Configuration File Option

You can have OfflineIMAP + load up a Python file before evaluating the + configuration file options that are Python expressions. This example + is based on one supplied by Tommi Virtanen for this feature. +

In ~/.offlineimap.rc, he adds these options: +

[general]
+pythonfile=~/.offlineimap.py
+[foo]
+foldersort=mycmp

Then, the ~/.offlineimap.py file will + contain: +

prioritized = ['INBOX', 'personal', 'announce', 'list']
hunk ./offlineimap/head/manual.html 1239
-
-
-NAME
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-OfflineIMAP − Powerful IMAP/Maildir synchronization
-and reader support
-
-
-SYNOPSIS
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-offlineimap [ −1 ] [ −P
-profiledir ] [ −a accountlist ] [
-−c configfile ] [ −d
-debugtype[,debugtype...] ] [ −o ] [
-−u interface ]
-
-offlineimap −h |
-−−help
-
-
-DESCRIPTION
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-OfflineIMAP is a tool to simplify your e-mail
-reading. With OfflineIMAP, you can read the same
-mailbox from multiple computers. You get a current copy of
-your messages on each computer, and changes you make one
-place will be visible on all other systems. For instance,
-you can delete a message on your home computer, and it will
-appear deleted on your work computer as well.
-OfflineIMAP is also useful if you want to use a mail
-reader that does not have IMAP support, has poor IMAP
-support, or does not provide disconnected operation.
-
-OfflineIMAP is FAST; it synchronizes my two
-accounts with over 50 folders in 3 seconds. Other similar
-tools might take over a minute, and achieve a less-reliable
-result. Some mail readers can take over 10 minutes to do the
-same thing, and some don’t even support it at all.
-Unlike other mail tools, OfflineIMAP features a
-multi-threaded synchronization algorithm that can
-dramatically speed up performance in many situations by
-synchronizing several different things simultaneously.
-
-OfflineIMAP is FLEXIBLE; you can customize
-which folders are synced via regular expressions, lists, or
-Python expressions; a versatile and comprehensive
-configuration file is used to control behavior; two user
-interfaces are built-in; fine-tuning of synchronization
-performance is possible; internal or external automation is
-supported; SSL and PREAUTH tunnels are both supported;
-offline (or "unplugged") reading is supported; and
-esoteric IMAP features are supported to ensure compatibility
-with the widest variety of IMAP servers.
-
-OfflineIMAP is SAFE; it uses an algorithm
-designed to prevent mail loss at all costs. Because of the
-design of this algorithm, even programming errors should not
-result in loss of mail. I am so confident in the algorithm
-that I use my own personal and work accounts for testing of
-OfflineIMAP pre-release, development, and beta
-releases.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-METHOD OF OPERATION
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-OfflineIMAP operates by maintaining a hierarchy of
-mail folders in Maildir format locally. Your own mail reader
-will read mail from this tree, and need never know that the
-mail comes from IMAP. OfflineIMAP will detect changes
-to the mail folders on your IMAP server and your own
-computer and bi-directionally synchronize them, copying,
-marking, and deleting messages as necessary.
-
-
-INSTALLATION
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-If you are reading this document via the "man"
-command, it is likely that you have no installation tasks to
-perform; your system administrator has already installed it.
-If you need to install it yourself, you have three options:
-a system-wide installation with Debian, system-wide
-installation with other systems, and a single-user
-installation. You can download the latest version of
-OfflineIMAP from http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap/.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-PREREQUISITES
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-In order to use OfflineIMAP, you need to have these
-conditions satisfied:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
+def mycmp(x, y):
+   for prefix in prioritized:
+       if x.startswith(prefix):
+           return -1
+       elif y.startswith(prefix):
+           return +1
+   return cmp(x, y)
hunk ./offlineimap/head/manual.html 1247
-•
- 
-
-Your mail server must support IMAP. Most Internet
-Service Providers and corporate networks do, and most
-operating systems have an IMAP implementation readily
-available.
-

-
-•
- 
-
-You must have Python version 2.2.1 or above installed.
-If you are running on Debian GNU/Linux, this requirement
-will automatically be taken care of for you. If you do not
-have Python already, check with your system administrator or
-operating system vendor; or, download it from
-http://www.python.org/. If you intend to use the Tk
-interface, you must have Tkinter (python-tk) installed. If
-you intend to use the SSL interface, your Python must have
-been built with SSL support.
-

-
-•
- 
-
-Have a mail reader that supports the Maildir mailbox
-format. Most modern mail readers have this support built-in,
-so you can choose from a wide variety of mail servers. This
-format is also known as the "qmail" format, so any
-mail reader compatible with it will work with
-OfflineIMAP.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-DEBIAN SYSTEM-WIDE INSTALLATION
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-If you are tracking Debian unstable, you may install
-OfflineIMAP by simply running the following command
-as root:
-
-apt-get install offlineimap
-
-If you are not tracking Debian unstable, download the
-Debian .deb package from the OfflineIMAP website and then
-run dpkg -i to install the downloaded package. Then,
-go to CONFIGURATION below. You will type offlineimap
-to invoke the program.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-OTHER SYSTEM-WIDE INSTALLATION
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Download the tar.gz version of the package from the
-website. Then run these commands, making sure that you are
-the "root" user first:
-
-tar -zxvf offlineimap_x.y.z.tar.gz

-cd offlineimap-x.y.z

-python2.2 setup.py install
-
-Some systems will need to use python instead of
-python2.2. Next, proceed to configuration. You will
-type offlineimap to invoke the program.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-SINGLE-ACCOUNT INSTALLATION
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Download the tar.gz version of the package from the
-website. Then run these commands:
-
-tar -zxvf offlineimap-x.y.z.tar.gz

-cd offlineimap-x.y.z
-
-When you want to run OfflineIMAP, you will issue
-the cd command as above and then type
-./offlineimap.py; there is no installation step
-necessary.
-
-
-CONFIGURATION
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-OfflineIMAP is regulated by a configuration file
-that is normally stored in ~/.offlineimaprc.
-OfflineIMAP ships with a file named
-offlineimap.conf that you should copy to that
-location and then edit. This file is vital to proper
-operation of the system; it sets everything you need to run
-OfflineIMAP. Full documentation for the configuration
-file is included within the sample file.
-
-OfflineIMAP also ships a file named
-offlineimap.conf.minimal that you can also try.
-It’s useful if you want to get started with the most
-basic feature set, and you can read about other features
-later with offlineimap.conf.
-
-
-OPTIONS
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Most configuration is done via the configuration file.
-Nevertheless, there are a few options that you may set for
-OfflineIMAP.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-
-−1
- 
-
-Disable all multithreading operations and use solely a
-single-thread sync. This effectively sets the
-maxsyncaccounts and all maxconnections
-configuration file variables to 1.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-−P profiledir
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Sets OfflineIMAP into profile mode. The program
-will create profiledir (it must not already exist).
-As it runs, Python profiling information about each thread
-is logged into profiledir. Please note: This option is
-present for debugging and optimization only, and should NOT
-be used unless you have a specific reason to do so. It will
-significantly slow program performance, may reduce
-reliability, and can generate huge amounts of data. You must
-use the −1 option when you use -P.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-−a accountlist
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Overrides the accounts section in the config file.
-Lets you specify a particular account or set of accounts to
-sync without having to edit the config file. You might use
-this to exclude certain accounts, or to sync some accounts
-that you normally prefer not to.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-−c configfile
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Specifies a configuration file to use in lieu of the
-default, ~/.offlineimaprc.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-−d debugtype[,debugtype...]
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Enables debugging for OfflineIMAP. This is useful if you
-are trying to track down a malfunction or figure out what is
-going on under the hood. I suggest that you use this with
-−1 in order to make the results more
-sensible.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
--d now requires one or more debugtypes, separated by
-commas. These define what exactly will be debugged, and so
-far include two options: imap and maildir. The
-imap option will enable IMAP protocol stream and
-parsing debugging. Note that the output may contain
-passwords, so take care to remove that from the debugging
-output before sending it to anyone else. The maildir
-option will enable debugging for certain Maildir
-operations.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-
-−o
- 
-
-Run only once, ignoring any autorefresh setting in the
-config file.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-−h, −−help
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Show summary of options.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-−u interface
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Specifies an alternative user interface module to use.
-This overrides the default specified in the configuration
-file. The UI specified with -u will be forced to be
-used, even if its isuable() method states that it
-cannot be. Use this option with care. The pre-defined
-options are listed in the USER INTERFACES section.
-
-
-USER INTERFACES
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-OfflineIMAP has a pluggable user interface system
-that lets you choose how the program communicates
-information to you. There are two graphical interfaces, two
-terminal interfaces, and two noninteractive interfaces
-suitable for scripting or logging purposes. The ui
-option in the configuration file specifies the user
-interface preferences. The −u command-line
-option can override the configuration file. The available
-values for the configuration file or command-line are
-describef in this section.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Tk.Blinkenlights or Curses.Blinkenlights
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-This is an interface designed to be sleek, fun to watch,
-and informative of the overall picture of what
-OfflineIMAP is doing. I consider it to be the best
-general-purpose interface in OfflineIMAP.
-Tk.Blinkenlights contains, by default, a small window with a
-row of LEDs and a row of command buttons. The total size of
-the window is very small, so it uses little desktop space,
-yet it is quite functional. There is also an optional,
-toggable, log that shows more detail about what is happening
-and is color-coded to match the color of the lights.
-
-Curses.Blinkenlights is an interface very similar to
-Tk.Blinkenlights, but is designed to be run in a console
-window (an xterm, Linux virtual terminal, etc.) Since it
-doesn’t have access to graphics, it isn’t quite
-as pretty, but it still gets the job done.
-
-Tk.Blinkenlights is the only user interface that has
-configurable parameters; see the example
-offlineimap.conf for more details.
-
-Each light in the Tk.Blinkenlights or
-Curses.Blinkenlights interface represents a thread of
-execution -- that is, a particular task that
-OfflineIMAP is performing right now. The color
-indicates what task the particular thread is performing, and
-are as follows:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-
-Black
- 
-
-indicates that this light’s thread has terminated;
-it will light up again later when new threads start up. So,
-black indicates no activity.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Red (Meaning 1)
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-is the color of the main program’s thread, which
-basically does nothing but monitor the others. It might
-remind you of HAL 9000 in 2001.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-
-Gray
- 
-
-indicates that the thread is establishing a new
-connection to the IMAP server.
-

-
-Purple
- 
-
-is the color of an account synchronization thread that
-is monitoring the progress of the folders in that account
-(not generating any I/O).
-

-
-Cyan
- 
-
-indicates that the thread is syncing a folder.
-

-
-Green
- 
-
-means that a folder’s message list is being
-loaded.
-

-
-Blue
- 
-
-is the color of a message synchronization controller
-thread.
-

-
-Orange
- 
-
-indicates that an actual message is being copied.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Red (Meaning 2)
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-indicates that a message is being deleted.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-
-Yellow
- 
-
-(bright orange) indicates that message flags are being
-added.
-

-
-Pink
- 
-
-(bright red) indicates that message flags are being
-removed.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Red / Black Flashing
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-corresponds to the countdown timer that runs between
-synchronizations.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-The name of this interface derives from a bit of computer
-science history. Eric Raymond’s Jargon File
-defines blinkenlights, in part, as:
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Front-panel diagnostic lights on a computer, esp. a
-dinosaur. Now that dinosaurs are rare, this term usually
-refers to status lights on a modem, network hub, or the
-like.
-
-This term derives from the last word of the famous
-blackletter-Gothic sign in mangled pseudo-German that once
-graced about half the computer rooms in the English-speaking
-world. One version ran in its entirety as follows:
-
-ACHTUNG! ALLES LOOKENSPEEPERS!
-
-Das computermachine ist nicht fuer gefingerpoken und
-mittengrabben. Ist easy schnappen der springenwerk,
-blowenfusen und poppencorken mit spitzensparken. Ist nicht
-fuer gewerken bei das dumpkopfen. Das rubbernecken
-sichtseeren keepen das cotten-pickenen hans in das pockets
-muss; relaxen und watchen das blinkenlichten.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Tk.VerboseUI
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-This interface (formerly known as Tk.TkUI) is a graphical
-interface that presents a variable-sized window. In the
-window, each currently-executing thread has a section where
-its name and current status are displayed. This interface is
-best suited to people running on slower connections, as you
-get a lot of detail, but for fast connections, the detail
-may go by too quickly to be useful. People with fast
-connections may wish to use Tk.Blinkenlights instead.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-TTY.TTYUI
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-This interface is the default for people running in
-terminals. It prints out basic status messages and is
-generally friendly to use on a console or xterm.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Noninteractive.Basic
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-This interface is designed for situations where
-OfflineIMAP will be run non-attended and the status
-of its execution will be logged. You might use it, for
-instance, to have the system run automatically and e-mail
-you the results of the synchronization. This user interface
-is not capable of reading a password from the keyboard;
-account passwords must be specified using one of the
-configuration file options.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Noninteractive.Quiet
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-This interface is designed for non-attended running in
-situations where normal status messages are not desired. It
-will output nothing except errors and serious warnings. Like
-Noninteractive.Basic, this user interface is not capable of
-reading a password from the keyboard; account passwords must
-be specified using one of the configuration file
-options.
-
-
-EXAMPLES
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Here is an example configuration for a particularly
-complex situation; more examples will be added later.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS WITH MUTT
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-This example shows you how to set up OfflineIMAP
-to synchronize multiple accounts with the mutt mail
-reader.
-
-Start by creating a directory to hold your
-folders:

-mkdir ~/Mail
-
-In your ~/.offlineimaprc, specify this:

-accounts = Personal, Work
-
-Make sure that you have both a [Personal] and a
-[Work] section, with different localfolder pathnames
-and enable [mbnames].
-
-In each account section, do something like this:

-localfolders = ~/Mail/Personal
-
-Add these lines to your ~/.muttrc:

-source ~/path-to-mbnames-muttrc-mailboxes

-folder-hook Personal set
-from="youremail@personal.com"

-folder-hook Work set from="youremail@work.com"

-set mbox_type=Maildir

-set folder=$HOME/Mail

-set spoolfile=+Personal/INBOX
-
-That’s it!
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-UW-IMAPD AND REFERENCES
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-Some users with a UW-IMAPD server need to use
-OfflineIMAP’s "reference" feature to
-get at their mailboxes, specifying a reference of
-"~/Mail" or "#mh/" depending on the
-configuration. The below configuration from docwhat@gerf.org
-shows using a reference of Mail, a nametrans that strips the
-leading Mail/ off incoming folder names, and a folderfilter
-that limits the folders synced to just three.
-
-[Gerf]

-localfolders = ~/Mail

-remotehost = gerf.org

-ssl = yes

-remoteuser = docwhat

-reference = Mail

-# Trims off the preceeding Mail on all the folder names.

-nametrans = lambda foldername: \

-re.sub(’^Mail/’, ’’, foldername)

-# Yeah, you have to mention the Mail dir, even though it

-# would seem intuitive that reference would trim it.

-folderfilter = lambda foldername: foldername in [

-’Mail/INBOX’,

-’Mail/list/zaurus-general’,

-’Mail/list/zaurus-dev’,

-]

-maxconnections = 1

-holdconnectionopen = no
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-PYTHONFILE CONFIGURATION FILE OPTION
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-You can have OfflineIMAP load up a Python file before
-evaluating the configuration file options that are Python
-expressions. This example is based on one supplied by Tommi
-Virtanen for this feature.
-
-In ~/.offlineimap.rc, he adds these options:
-
-[general]

-pythonfile=~/.offlineimap.py

-[foo]

-foldersort=mycmp
-
-Then, the ~/.offlineimap.py file will contain:
-
-prioritized = [’INBOX’,
-’personal’, ’announce’,
-’list’]
-
-def mycmp(x, y):

-for prefix in prioritized:

-if x.startswith(prefix):

-return -1

-elif y.startswith(prefix):

-return +1

-return cmp(x, y)
-
-def test_mycmp():

-import os, os.path

-
-folders=os.listdir(os.path.expanduser(’~/data/mail/tv@hq.yok.utu.fi’))

-folders.sort(mycmp)

-print folders
-
-This code snippet illustrates how the foldersort
-option can be customized with a Python function from the
-pythonfile to always synchronize certain folders
-first.
-
-
-ERRORS
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-If you get one of some frequently-encountered or
-confusing errors, please check this section.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-UID validity problem for folder
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-IMAP servers use a unique ID (UID) to refer to a specific
-message. This number is guaranteed to be unique to a
-particular message FOREVER. No other message in the same
-folder will ever get the same UID. UIDs are an integral part
-of OfflineIMAP’s synchronization scheme; they are used
-to match up messages on your computer to messages on the
-server.
-
-Sometimes, the UIDs on the server might get reset.
-Usually this will happen if you delete and then recreate a
-folder. When you create a folder, the server will often
-start the UID back from 1. But OfflineIMAP might
-still have the UIDs from the previous folder by the same
-name stored. OfflineIMAP will detect this condition
-and skip the folder. This is GOOD, because it prevents data
-loss.
-
-You can fix it by removing your local folder and cache
-data. For instance, if your folders are under
-~/Folders and the folder with the problem is INBOX,
-you’d type this:
-
-rm -r ~/Folders/INBOX

-rm ~/.offlineimap/AccountName/INBOX
-
-(replacing AccountName with the account name as specified
-in ~/.offlineimaprc)
-
-Next time you run OfflineIMAP, it will re-download
-the folder with the new UIDs. Note that the procedure
-specified above will lose any local changes made to the
-folder.
-
-Some IMAP servers are broken and do not support UIDs
-properly. If you continue to get this error for all your
-folders even after performing the above procedure, it is
-likely that your IMAP server falls into this category.
-OfflineIMAP is incompatible with such servers. Using
-OfflineIMAP with them will not destroy any mail, but
-at the same time, it will not actually synchronize it
-either. (OfflineIMAP will detect this condition and abort
-prior to synchronization)
-
-
-OTHER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-There are some other FAQs that might not fit into another
-section of this document, and they are enumerated here.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-What platforms does OfflineIMAP run on?
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-It should run on most platforms supported by Python,
-which are quite a few.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-I’m using Mutt. Other IMAP sync programs require
-me to use set maildir_trash=yes . Do I need to do that with
-OfflineIMAP?
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-No. OfflineIMAP is smart enough to figure out
-message deletion without this extra crutch. You’ll get
-the best results if you don’t use this setting, in
-fact.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-How do I specify the names of my folders?
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-You do not need to. OfflineIMAP is smart enough to
-automatically figure out what folders are present on the
-IMAP server and synchronize them. You can use the
-folderfilter and foldertrans configuration
-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
-feature, 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 automatically
-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 format 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 usually be as well, BUT
-some mail clients move messages 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 facilitate this.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-What is the speed of OfflineIMAP’s
-sync?
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-OfflineIMAP versions 2.0 and above contain a
-multithreaded 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. Administrators 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
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-
-•
- 
-
-Internet Message Access Protocol version 4rev1 (IMAP
-4rev1) as specified in RFC2060
-

-
-•
- 
-
-CRAM-MD5 as specified in RFC2195
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-
-•
- 
-
-Maildir as specified in
-http://www.qmail.org/qmail-manual-html/man5/maildir.html and
-http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html.
-

-
-•
- 
-
-Standard Python 2.2.1 as implemented on POSIX-compliant
-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
-people 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 status 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.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-USE WITH EVOLUTION
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-OfflineIMAP can work with Evolution. To do so, first
-configure your OfflineIMAP account to have:

-sep = /

-in its configuration. Then, configure Evolution with the
-"Maildir-format mail directories" server type. For
-the path, you will need to specify the name of the top-level
-folder inside your OfflineIMAP storage location.
-You’re now set!
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-USE WITH KMAIL
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-At this time, I believe that OfflineIMAP is not
-compatible with KMail. KMail cannot work in any mode other
-than to move all messages out of all folders immediately,
-which (besides being annoying and fundamentally broken) is
-incompatible with OfflineIMAP.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 
-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, and this manual, are Copyright (C) 2002,
-2003 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).
-
-
-
-
-
+def test_mycmp():
+   import os, os.path
+   folders=os.listdir(os.path.expanduser('~/data/mail/tv@hq.yok.utu.fi'))
+   folders.sort(mycmp)
+   print folders

This code snippet illustrates how the foldersort + option can be customized with a Python function from the + pythonfile to always synchronize certain + folders first. +

Errors

If you get one of some frequently-encountered or confusing errors, + please check this section. +

UID validity problem for folder

IMAP servers use a unique ID (UID) to refer to a specific message. + This number is guaranteed to be unique to a particular message + forever. + No other message in the same folder will ever get the same + UID. UIDs are an integral part of OfflineIMAP's synchronization + scheme; they are used to match up messages on your computer to + messages on the server. +

Sometimes, the UIDs on the server might get reset. Usually this will + happen if you delete and then recreate a folder. When you create a + folder, the server will often start the UID back from 1. But + OfflineIMAP might still have the UIDs from the previous folder by the + same name stored. OfflineIMAP will detect this condition and skip the + folder. This is GOOD, because it prevents data loss. +

You can fix it by removing your local folder and cache data. For + instance, if your folders are under ~/Folders + and the folder with the problem is INBOX, you'd type this: +

rm -r ~/Folders/INBOX
+rm -r ~/.offlineimap/AccountName/INBOX

(Of course, replace AccountName with the account name as specified + in ~/.offlineimaprc). +

Next time you run OfflineIMAP, it will re-download + the folder with the + new UIDs. Note that the procedure specified above will lose any local + changes made to the folder. +

Some IMAP servers are broken and do not support UIDs properly. If you + continue to get this error for all your folders even after performing + the above procedure, it is likely that your IMAP server falls into + this category. OfflineIMAP is incompatible with such servers. + Using OfflineIMAP with them will not destroy any mail, but at the same time, + it will not actually synchronize it either. (OfflineIMAP will detect + this condition and abort prior to synchronization.) +

Conforming To

Internet Message Access Protocol version 4rev1 (IMAP 4rev1) as + specified in RFC2060
CRAM-MD5 as specified in RFC2195
Maildir as specified in + the Maildir manpage and + the qmail website.
Standard Python 2.2.1 as implemented on POSIX-compliant 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 people 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 status + 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. +

Use with Evolution

OfflineIMAP can work with Evolution. To do so, first configure + your OfflineIMAP account to have + sep = / in its configuration. Then, configure + Evolution with the + "Maildir-format mail directories" server type. For the path, you will need to + specify the name of the top-level folder + inside your OfflineIMAP storage location. + You're now set! +

Use with KMail

At this time, I believe that OfflineIMAP is not compatible + with KMail. KMail cannot work in any mode other than to move + all messages out of all folders immediately, which (besides being annoying + and fundamentally broken) is incompatible with OfflineIMAP. +

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 online using + the web interface. +

The Web site also lists all current bugs, where you can check their + status or contribute to fixing them. +

Copyright

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 the Free Software + Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA

imaplib.py comes from the Python dev tree and is licensed under + the GPL-compatible PSF license as stated in the file + COPYRIGHT in the OfflineIMAP + distribution. +

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 is + homepage via either Gopher + or HTTP. +

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 the + complete.org Subversion page. +

	+def mycmp(x, y): + for prefix in prioritized: + if x.startswith(prefix): + return -1 + elif y.startswith(prefix): + return +1 + return cmp(x, y) hunk ./offlineimap/head/manual.html 1247 - • -		- - Your mail server must support IMAP. Most Internet -Service Providers and corporate networks do, and most -operating systems have an IMAP implementation readily -available. -
	- - • -		- - You must have Python version 2.2.1 or above installed. -If you are running on Debian GNU/Linux, this requirement -will automatically be taken care of for you. If you do not -have Python already, check with your system administrator or -operating system vendor; or, download it from -http://www.python.org/. If you intend to use the Tk -interface, you must have Tkinter (python-tk) installed. If -you intend to use the SSL interface, your Python must have -been built with SSL support. -
	- - • -		- - Have a mail reader that supports the Maildir mailbox -format. Most modern mail readers have this support built-in, -so you can choose from a wide variety of mail servers. This -format is also known as the "qmail" format, so any -mail reader compatible with it will work with -OfflineIMAP. -

	- - Gray -	- - indicates that the thread is establishing a new -connection to the IMAP server. -
	- - Purple -	- - is the color of an account synchronization thread that -is monitoring the progress of the folders in that account -(not generating any I/O). -
	- - Cyan -	- - indicates that the thread is syncing a folder. -
	- - Green -	- - means that a folder’s message list is being -loaded. -
	- - Blue -	- - is the color of a message synchronization controller -thread. -
	- - Orange -	- - indicates that an actual message is being copied. -

	- - Yellow -		- - (bright orange) indicates that message flags are being -added. -
	- - Pink -		- - (bright red) indicates that message flags are being -removed. -

	- - • -		- - Internet Message Access Protocol version 4rev1 (IMAP -4rev1) as specified in RFC2060 -
	- - • -		- - CRAM-MD5 as specified in RFC2195 -

	- - • -		- - Maildir as specified in -http://www.qmail.org/qmail-manual-html/man5/maildir.html and -http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html. -
	- - • -		- - Standard Python 2.2.1 as implemented on POSIX-compliant -systems. -

I. OfflineIMAP Manual

offlineimap

Name

Synopsis

Description

Method of Operation

Quick Start

OFFLINEIMAP

Installation

Prerequisites

System-Wide Installation, Debian

System-Wide Installation, Other

Single-Account Installation

Configruation

Options

User Interfaces

Tk.Blinkenlights

Curses.Blinkenlights

Tk.VerboseUI

TTY.TTYUI

Noninteractive.Basic

Noninteractive.Quiet

Examples

Multiple Accounts with Mutt

UW-IMAPD and References

pythonfile Configuration File Option

NAME

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

INSTALLATION

CONFIGURATION

OPTIONS

USER INTERFACES

EXAMPLES

ERRORS

OTHER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

CONFORMING TO

NOTES

BUGS

COPYRIGHT

AUTHOR

SEE ALSO