OfflineIMAP
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OfflineIMAP is
IMAP In computing, the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) is an Internet standard protocol used by email clients to retrieve email messages from a mail server over a TCP/IP connection. IMAP is defined by . IMAP was designed with the goal of per ...
synchronization Synchronization is the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. For example, the conductor of an orchestra keeps the orchestra synchronized or ''in time''. Systems that operate with all parts in synchrony are said to be synchronou ...
utility software Utility software is software designed to help analyze, configure, optimize or maintain a computer. It is used to support the computer infrastructure - in contrast to application software, which is aimed at directly performing tasks that benefit ord ...
, capable of synchronizing mail on IMAP server with local
Maildir The Maildir e-mail format is a common way of storing email messages in which each message is stored in a separate file with a unique name, and each mail folder is a file system directory. The local file system handles file locking as messages are ...
folder or another server.


Description

The synchronization is performed bidirectionally between two endpoints ("Remote" and "Local" repositories). OfflineIMAP accesses mail servers only via
Internet Message Access Protocol In computing, the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) is an Internet standard protocol used by email clients to retrieve email messages from a mail server over a TCP/IP connection. IMAP is defined by . IMAP was designed with the goal of per ...
(
Post Office Protocol In computing, the Post Office Protocol (POP) is an application-layer Internet standard protocol used by e-mail clients to retrieve e-mail from a mail server. POP version 3 (POP3) is the version in common use, and along with IMAP the most common p ...
– another popular way to get mail from server – is not supported), it works faster (though it is sensitive to connection's latency) and supports more advanced features than most
mail client An email client, email reader or, more formally, message user agent (MUA) or mail user agent is a computer program used to access and manage a user's email. A web application which provides message management, composition, and reception functio ...
s. The special mode for better handling the non-standard implementation of IMAP in
Gmail Gmail is a free email service provided by Google. As of 2019, it had 1.5 billion active users worldwide. A user typically accesses Gmail in a web browser or the official mobile app. Google also supports the use of email clients via the POP an ...
may optionally be enabled in a
configuration file In computing, configuration files (commonly known simply as config files) are computer file, files used to configure the Parameter (computer programming), parameters and Initialization (programming), initial settings for some computer programs. T ...
. When configured to store mail locally, OfflineIMAP uses the
Maildir The Maildir e-mail format is a common way of storing email messages in which each message is stored in a separate file with a unique name, and each mail folder is a file system directory. The local file system handles file locking as messages are ...
format. Unix mail boxes support may be added in the future, though currently it is not implemented.


Configuration

Several synchronizations account, each consisting of Remote and Local repositories, may be defined in configuration file. Each repository is then configured separately, allowing to specify credentials and access method.


Filtering and translation

OfflineIMAP is capable of filtering the folders of Remote repository, so that only partial synchronization would occur if needed. To use this capability one has to define the
mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...
that would be matched against the list of folders with each synchronization. This is achieved by using
Python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...
's
lambda Lambda (}, ''lám(b)da'') is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiced alveolar lateral approximant . In the system of Greek numerals, lambda has a value of 30. Lambda is derived from the Phoenician Lamed . Lambda gave rise ...
capability; for example, to synchronize only "INBOX", "Sent Mail" and "Received" folders one should specify the following rule: folderfilter = lambda foldername: foldername in INBOX", "Sent Mail", "Received" Remaining folders' names may be altered (translated) using similar construct: nametrans = lambda foldername: re.sub( "^Sent$", "root/Sent", re.sub("^(\ .*ail\INBOX)", "root", foldername) ) This technique may also be used to synchronize the content of an IMAP server to the folder of another server.


Limitations

Each account has to use separate directory; otherwise the synchronization process may suffer from unexpected behavior or even data loss.


User interface

OfflineIMAP provides several
command-line interface A command-line interpreter or command-line processor uses a command-line interface (CLI) to receive commands from a user in the form of lines of text. This provides a means of setting parameters for the environment, invoking executables and pro ...
s, including interactive color
curses A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...
-based,
non-interactive Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but mos ...
console logging, and several yet less verbose modes. Tk-based
graphical user interface The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...
is also available.


See also

*
Mail delivery agent A message delivery agent (MDA), or mail delivery agent, is a computer software component that is responsible for the delivery of e-mail messages to a local recipient's mailbox., ''Internet Mail Architecture'', D. Crocker (July 2009) It is also call ...
*
getmail getmail is a simple mail retrieval agent intended as a replacement for fetchmail, implemented in Python. It can retrieve mail from POP3, IMAP4, and ''Standard Dial-up POP3 Service'' servers, with or without SSL. It supports simple and domain ...
*
fetchmail Fetchmail is an open-source software utility for POSIX-compliant operating systems which is used to retrieve e-mail from a remote POP3, IMAP, or ODMR mail server to the user's local system. It was developed from thpopclientprogram, written by Ca ...


References

Free email software Data synchronization Free software programmed in Python Software that uses Tk (software) Articles with example Python (programming language) code {{Use MDY dates, date=September 2012