Back up Email with a Single Command
![Dmitri Popov Dmitri Popov](/var/linux_magazin/storage/images/online/blogs/productivity-sauce/275404-17-eng-US/Productivity-Sauce.png)
Productivity Sauce
The Web is awash with tutorials on how to back up your email. Strangely, none of them covers probably the easiest and most efficient email backup system based on the excellent IMAP Grab utility. This tiny Python script acts as a user-friendly wrapper for the getmail tool. Using the script, you can set up a fool-proof email backup solution using just a single command.
Deploying the IMAP Grab backup solution is a cinch. First off, install the getmail package using your distro's package manager. Download then the latest IMAP Grab package, unzip it, and move the imapgrab.py file to the directory of your choosing. Make the script executable using the chmod +x imapgrab.py command.
To make sure that the script works properly and to obtain a list of the available mailboxes, run the following command in the terminal:
./imapgrab.py -l -s imap.mail.server -u username -p password
Replace imap.mail.server, username, and password with the actual mail server address and your login credentials. The -l (or --list) argument instructs the script to fetch a list of IMAP folders on the specified email account. If everything works as it should, the command should return a list of the available mailboxes.
Now you can construct a command to back up emails. It may look something like tihs:
./imapgrab.py -d -v -M -f /home/user/emailbackup -s imap.mail.server -u username -p password -m "_ALL_,-INBOX.Trash,-INBOX.Junk Mail"
The -d (--download) argument instructs the script to download messages, while the -f (--folder) argument specifies the destination directory. By default, the script downloads emails in the Mbox format which stores all messages in a single file. However, IMAP Grab supports the Maildir format, too, and you can force the script to use this format by adding the -M (--maildir) argument.
IMAP can also handle SSL connections, and you can use the -S (--ssl) and -p (--port) arguments to enable this feature:
./imapgrab.py -l -s imap.mail.server -S -p 993 -u username -p password
The -m (--mailboxes) argument lets you specify which IMAP folders you want the script to back up. The _ALL_ switch instructs the script to download all the available folders. To exclude certain folders from the backup, use the minus (-) character followed by the name of the mailbox you want the script to omit. So the -m "_ALL_,-INBOX.Trash,-INBOX.Junk Mail" argument instructs the script to download all folders except INBOX.Trash and INBOX.Junk Mail.
Finally, when you run the script for the first time, you might want to add the -a (-all) argument which forces IMAP Grab to download all messages.
That's all there is to it. To perform backup on a regular basis, set up a cron job, and you are done.
Comments
comments powered by DisqusSubscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
![Learn More](https://www.linux-magazine.com/var/linux_magazin/storage/images/media/linux-magazine-eng-us/images/misc/learn-more/834592-1-eng-US/Learn-More_medium.png)
News
-
NVIDIA Released Driver for Upcoming NVIDIA 560 GPU for Linux
Not only has NVIDIA released the driver for its upcoming CPU series, it's the first release that defaults to using open-source GPU kernel modules.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 24.07 Released
If you’re into rolling release Linux distributions, OpenMandriva ROME has a new snapshot with a new kernel.
-
Kernel 6.10 Available for General Usage
Linus Torvalds has released the 6.10 kernel and it includes significant performance increases for Intel Core hybrid systems and more.
-
TUXEDO Computers Releases InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen9 Laptop
Sporting either AMD or Intel CPUs, the TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 is an extremely compact, lightweight, sturdy powerhouse.
-
Google Extends Support for Linux Kernels Used for Android
Because the LTS Linux kernel releases are so important to Android, Google has decided to extend the support period beyond that offered by the kernel development team.
-
Linux Mint 22 Stable Delayed
If you're anxious about getting your hands on the stable release of Linux Mint 22, it looks as if you're going to have to wait a bit longer.
-
Nitrux 3.5.1 Available for Install
The latest version of the immutable, systemd-free distribution includes an updated kernel and NVIDIA driver.
-
Debian 12.6 Released with Plenty of Bug Fixes and Updates
The sixth update to Debian "Bookworm" is all about security mitigations and making adjustments for some "serious problems."
-
Canonical Offers 12-Year LTS for Open Source Docker Images
Canonical is expanding its LTS offering to reach beyond the DEB packages with a new distro-less Docker image.
-
Plasma Desktop 6.1 Released with Several Enhancements
If you're a fan of Plasma Desktop, you should be excited about this new point release.
This is the main site
Download
Restore
small mistake
IMAP Grab GUI