Current File : //proc/thread-self/root/usr/share/doc/imapsync/FAQ.d/FAQ.Archiving.txt
#!/bin/cat
$Id: FAQ.Archiving.txt,v 1.27 2022/05/19 08:56:06 gilles Exp gilles $
This documentation is also available online at
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/FAQ.d/
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/FAQ.d/FAQ.Archiving.txt
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Imapsync issues and tips about archiving
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Questions answered in this FAQ are:
Q. How can I archive different accounts on the same destination account,
each account on a separate folder?
Q. How can I restore a complete account backuped in a subfolder, like
a backup done with the option --subfolder2?
Q. How to move emails from one IMAP folder to another, either on the
same IMAP server or on a different one? Example:
How to move all messages older than 1 year, from INBOX to Archive?
Q. Can imapsync be used to maintain and restore a local offline copy
of a mailbox, eg for backup purposes, using Mbox or Maildir
format, so that if the server fails, then the mailbox could be
reinstated?
Q. How to archive a whole year in a subfolder?
Q. How to archive a whole year in subfolders but without subsubfolders?
Now the questions again with their answers.
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/FAQ.d/FAQ.Archiving.txt
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Q. How can I archive different accounts on the same destination account,
each account on a separate folder?
R. Use --subfolder2
--subfolder2 str : Syncs the whole host1 folders hierarchy under the
host2 given folder str.
(It does it internally by adding two --regextrans2
options before all others.)
Examples:
To backup the account Foo in a subfolder called FooArchiv:
imapsync ... --user1 Foo --subfolder2 FooArchiv
To backup the account Bar in a subfolder called BarArchiv:
imapsync ... --user1 Bar --subfolder2 BarArchiv
In case you need a very strict sync, add options
--delete2 --delete2foldersonly "FooArchiv"
(or "BarArchiv" for the second example).
It will delete on account2 what is not on account1 but only in the right place,
ie, the subfolder "FooArchiv".
Examples:
To mirror the account Foo in a subfolder called FooArchiv:
imapsync ... --user1 Foo --subfolder2 FooArchiv --delete2 --delete2foldersonly "FooArchiv"
To mirror the account Bar in a subfolder called BarArchiv:
imapsync ... --user1 Bar --subfolder2 BarArchiv --delete2 --delete2foldersonly "BarArchiv"
See how to restore those with the next Q/R.
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Q. How can I restore a complete account backuped in a subfolder, like
a backup done with the option --subfolder2?
R. Use --subfolder1
--subfolder1 str : Syncs the host1 folders hierarchy under folder str
to the root hierarchy of host2.
It's the couterpart of a sync done by --subfolder2
when doing it in the reverse order.
Backup/Restore scenario:
Use --subfolder2 str for a backup to the folder str
on host2. Then use --subfolder1 str for restoring
from the folder str, after inverting
host1/host2 user1/user2 values.
Examples:
To restore the whole folder FooArchiv hierarchy into the Foo account:
imapsync ... --user2 Foo --subfolder1 FooArchiv
To restore the whole folder BarArchiv hierarchy into the Bar account:
imapsync ... --user2 Bar --subfolder1 BarArchiv
Read the previous FAQ item "How can I archive different accounts on the same
destination account, each account on a separate folder?"
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Q. How to move emails from one IMAP folder to another, either on the
same IMAP server or on a different one? Example:
How to move all messages older than 1 year, from INBOX to Archive?
R1. Solution:
imapsync ... --minage 365 --folder INBOX --f1f2 INBOX=Archive --delete1 --noexpungeaftereach
Use the option --noexpungeaftereach if speed is a concern.
Use the option --delete1 if you want to move messages, instead of just copy/sync them.
R2. See also file FAQ.Folders_Mapping.txt
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/FAQ.d/FAQ.Archiving.txt
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Q. Can imapsync be used to maintain and restore a local offline copy
of a mailbox, eg for backup purposes, using Mbox or Maildir
format, so that if the server fails, then the mailbox could be
reinstated?
R1. No. Imapsync plays with IMAP servers only.
R2. Imapsync can't but rick-sanders-imap-tools can!
See https://github.com/andrewnimmo/rick-sanders-imap-tools
Back up and restore IMAP accounts with imapdump.pl and dumptoIMAP.pl
It looks like imapdump.pl has options to avoid duplicates and be
in an update mode. There are options -u -U
[-u] Don't dump messages already dumped
[-U] Don't dump message if it already exists in the dump directory
I wonder the difference, I've never used Rick's tools.
Remember that doing backups without trying the restore process
is more dangerous than doing no backups at all. No backups makes
people act in a safer way, well, usually...
R3. Use isync or mbsync
https://isync.sourceforge.io/
R4. Use ImportExportTools for Mozilla Thunderbird by Paolo Kaosmos.
ImportExportTools does not do IMAP as a destination.
R5. There is a free online service (French language) allowing you to do
a Maildir or EML or HTML backup at
https://www.powermail.fr/sauvegarder-une-boite-mail/
Prefer Maildir or EML format if you want to be able to restore the
archive. HTML format will be ok to only view the messages, not to
restore them to an imap server account.
I have never used any of this tools so asking me for support with them
won't go far away.
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Q. How to backup a whole year in a subfolder?
R. To backup the whole year 2018 in a subfolder called ARCHIVE_2018:
imapsync ... --search "SENTSINCE 1-Jan-2018 SENTBEFORE 31-Dec-2018" \
--subfolder2 ARCHIVE_2018
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Q. How to archive a whole year in subfolders but without subsubfolders?
R. Instead of the solution with --subfolder2, use:
imapsync ... --search "SENTSINCE 1-Jan-2018 SENTBEFORE 31-Dec-2018" \
--sep2 _ --regextrans2 's{(.*)}{Archive_$1_2018}'
For each folder "FFFF" in the source account, it will create a destination
folder called "Archive_FFFF_2018", at the top level hierarchy.
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