offlineimap/offlineimap/head/offlineimap.sgml

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<reference>
  <title>OfflineIMAP Manual</title>

  <refentry>
    <refentryinfo>
      <address><email>jgoerzen@complete.org</email></address>
      <author><firstname>John</firstname><surname>Goerzen</surname></author>
      <date> $Date: 2003-01-08 08:40:39 -0600 (Wed, 08 Jan 2003) $ </date>
    </refentryinfo>

    <refmeta>
      <refentrytitle>offlineimap</refentrytitle>
      <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
      <refmiscinfo>John Goerzen</refmiscinfo>
    </refmeta>

    <refnamediv>
      <refname>OfflineIMAP</refname>
      <refpurpose>Powerful IMAP/Maildir synchronization
	and reader support</refpurpose>
    </refnamediv>

    <refsynopsisdiv>
      <cmdsynopsis>
	<command>offlineimap</command>
	<arg>-1</arg>
	<arg>-P <replaceable>profiledir</replaceable></arg>
	<arg>-a <replaceable>accountlist</replaceable></arg>
	<arg>-c <replaceable>configfile</replaceable></arg>
	<arg>-d <replaceable>debugtype[,...]</replaceable></arg>
	<arg>-o</arg>
	<arg>-u <replaceable>interface</replaceable></arg>
      </cmdsynopsis>
      <cmdsynopsis>
	<command>offlineimap</command>
	<group choice="plain"><arg>-h</arg><arg>--help</arg></group>
      </cmdsynopsis>
    </refsynopsisdiv>

    <refsect1>
      <title>Description</title>

      <para>&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.
      </para>

      <para>&OfflineIMAP; is <emphasis>FAST</emphasis>; 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.
      </para>

      <para>&OfflineIMAP; is <emphasis>FLEXIBLE</emphasis>; 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.
      </para>

      <para>&OfflineIMAP; is <emphasis>SAFE</emphasis>; 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.
      </para>

      <refsect2>
        <title>Method of Operation</title>
       
        <para>&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.
        </para>
      </refsect2>
    </refsect1>
    
    <refsect1>
      <title>Quick Start</title>
      <para>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!
      </para>

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

	<PROGRAMLISTING>[general]
accounts = Test

[Test]
localfolders = ~/Test
remotehost = examplehost
remoteuser = jgoerzen
</PROGRAMLISTING>

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

	<para>To run &OfflineIMAP;, you just have to say
	  <command>offlineimap</command> -- 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!
	</para>

    </refsect1>

    <refsect1>
      <title>Installation</title>

      <para>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
	<ulink url="http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap/">the &OfflineIMAP;
	website</ulink>.
      </para>

      <refsect2>
	<title>Prerequisites</title>

	<para>In order to use &OfflineIMAP;, you need to have these conditions
	  satisfied:
	</para>

	<itemizedlist>
	  <listitem>
	    <para>Your mail server must support IMAP.  Most Internet Service
	      Providers
	      and corporate networks do, and most operating systems
	      have an IMAP
	      implementation readily available.
	    </para>
	  </listitem>
	  <listitem>
	    <para>
	      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
	      <ulink url="http://www.python.org/">the Python website</ulink>.
	      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.
	    </para>
	  </listitem>
	  <listitem>
	    <para>
	      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;.
	</itemizedlist>
      </refsect2>

      <refsect2>
	<title>System-Wide Installation, Debian</title>
	<para>
	  If you are tracking Debian unstable, you may install
	  &OfflineIMAP; by simply running the following command as root:
	</para>
	<para>
	  <command>apt-get install offlineimap</command>
	</para>
	<para>
	  If you are not tracking Debian unstable, download the Debian .deb
	  package from the <ulink url="http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap/">&OfflineIMAP; website</ulink>
	  and then run <command>dpkg -i</command> to install the downloaded
	  package.  Then, skip to <xref linkend="configuration" endterm="configuration-title"> below.  You will type <command>offlineimap</command> to
	  invoke the program.
	</para>
      </refsect2>

      <refsect2>
	<title>System-Wide Installation, Other</title>
	<para>
	  Download the tar.gz version of the package from the
	  <ulink url="http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap/">website</ulink>.
	  Then run
	  these commands, making sure that you are the "root" user first:
	</para>

	<ProgramListing>tar -zxvf offlineimap_x.y.z.tar.gz
cd offlineimap-x.y.z
python2.2 setup.py install</ProgramListing>
	<para>On some systems, you will need to use
	  <command>python</command> instead of <command>python2.2</command>.
	  Next, proceed to <xref linkend="configuration" endterm="configuration-title"> below.  You will type <command>offlineimap</command> to
	  invoke the program.
	</para>
      </refsect2>

      <refsect2>
	<title>Single-Account Installation</title>
	<para>
	  Download the tar.gz version of the package from the
	  <ulink url="http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap/">website</ulink>.
	  Then run these commands:
	</para>

	<ProgramListing>tar -zxvf offlineimap_x.y.z.tar.gz
cd offlineimap-x.y.z</ProgramListing>

	<para>When you want to run &OfflineIMAP;, you will issue the
	  <command>cd</command> command as above and then type
	  <command>./offlineimap.py</command>; there is no installation
	  step necessary.
	</para>
      </refsect2>
    </refsect1>

    <refsect1 id="configuration">
      <title id="configuration-title">Configruation</title>
      <para>
	&OfflineIMAP; is regulated by a configuration file that is normally 
	stored in <filename>~/.offlineimaprc</filename>.  &OfflineIMAP;
	ships with a file named <filename>offlineimap.conf</filename>
	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.
      </para>
      <para>
	&OfflineIMAP; also ships a file named
	<filename>offlineimap.conf.minimal</filename> 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 <filename>offlineimap.conf</filename>.
      </para>
    </refsect1>

    <refsect1>
      <title>Options</title>
      <para>
	Most configuration is done via the configuration file.  Nevertheless,
	there are a few command-line options that you may set for
	&OfflineIMAP;.
      </para>

      <variablelist><title>OfflineIMAP arguments</title>
        <varlistentry><term>-1</term>
          <listitem><para>Disable most multithreading operations and use
	    solely a single-connection
	    sync.  This effectively sets the <property>maxsyncaccounts</property>
	    and all <property>maxconnections</property> configuration file
	    variables to 1.
	  </para></listitem>
	</varlistentry>
	<varlistentry><term>-P <replaceable>profiledir</replaceable></term>
	  <listitem><para>Sets &OfflineIMAP; into profile mode.  The program
	    will create <replaceable>profiledir</replaceable>
	    (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 <option>-1</option> option when
	    you use <option>-P</option>.
	  </para></listitem>
	</varlistentry>
	<varlistentry><term>-a <replaceable>accountlist</replaceable></term>
	  <listitem><para>Overrides the <property>accounts</property> option
	    in the <property>general</property> 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.
	  </para></listitem>
	</varlistentry>
	<varlistentry><term>-c <replaceable>configfile</replaceable></term>
	  <listitem><para>Specifies a configuration file to use in lieu of
	    the default, <filename>~/.offlineimaprc</filename>.
	  </para></listitem>
	</varlistentry>
	<varlistentry><term>-d <replaceable>debugtype[,...]</replaceable></term>
	  <listitem><para>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
	    <option>-1</option> to make the results more sensible.</para>

	    <para><option>-d</option> requires one or more debugtypes,
	      separated by commas.  These define what exactly will be
	      debugged, and include two options: <property>imap</property>
	      and <property>maildir</property>.  The <property>imap</property>
	      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
	      <property>maildir</property> option will enable debugging for
	      certain Maildir operations.
	    </para></listitem>
	  </varlistentry>
	  <varlistentry><term>-o</term>
	    <listitem><para>Run only once, ignoring all
	      <property>autorefresh</property> settings in the configuration
	      file.</para>
	    </listitem>
	  </varlistentry>
	  <varlistentry><term>-h</term> <term>--help</term>
	    <listitem><para>Show summary of options.</para></listitem>
	  </varlistentry>
	  <varlistentry><term>-u <replaceable>interface</replaceable></term>
	    <listitem><para>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.</para>
	    </listitem>
	  </varlistentry>
      </variablelist>
    </refsect1>
    <refsect1>
      <title>User Interfaces</title>
      <para>&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
	<property>ui</property> option in the configuration file specifies
	user interface preferences.  The <option>-u</option> command-line
	option can override the configuration file setting.  The available
	values for the configuration file or command-line are described
	in this section.</para>
      <refsect2>
	<title>Tk.Blinkenlights</title>
	<para>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;.
	</para>
	<para>
	  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.
	</para>
	<para>
	  Tk.Blinkenlights is the only user interface that has configurable
	  parameters; see the example <filename>offlineimap.conf</filename>
	  for more details.
	</para>
	<para>
	  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:
	</para>
	<variablelist><title>Blinkenlights Colors</title>
	  <varlistentry>
	    <term>Black</term>
	    <para>indicates that this light's thread has terminated; it will light up
	      again later when new threads start up.  So, black indicates no
	      activity.
	    </para>
	  </varlistentry>
	  <varlistentry>
	    <term>Red (Meaning 1)</term>
	    <para>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
	      <citation>2001</citation>.
	    </para>
	  </varlistentry>
	  <varlistentry>
	    <term>Gray</term>
	    <para>indicates that the thread is establishing a new connection to the IMAP
	      server.
	    </para>
	  </varlistentry>
	  <varlistentry>
	    <term>Purple</term>
	    <para>is the color of an account synchronization thread that is monitoring
	      the progress of the folders in that account (not generating any I/O).
	    </para>
	  </varlistentry>
	  <varlistentry>
	    <term>Cyan</term>
	    <para>indicates that the thread is syncing a folder.
	    </para>
	  </varlistentry>
	  <varlistentry>
	    <term>Green</term>
	    <para>means that a folder's message list is being loaded.
	    </para>
	  </varlistentry>
	  <varlistentry>
	    <term>Blue</term>
	    <para>is the color of a message synchronization controller thread.
	    </para>
	  </varlistentry>
	  <varlistentry>
	    <term>Orange</term>
	    <para>indicates that an actual message is being copied.
	      (We use fuschia for fake messages.)
	    </para>
	  </varlistentry>
	  <varlistentry>
	    <term>Red (meaning 2)</term>
	    <para>indicates that a message is being deleted.
	    </para>
	  </varlistentry>
	  <varlistentry>
	    <term>Yellow / bright orange</term>
	    <para>indicates that message flags are being added.
	    </para>
	  </varlistentry>
	  <varlistentry>
	    <term>Pink / bright red</term>
	    <para>indicates that message flags are being removed.
	    </para>
	  </varlistentry>
	  <varlistentry>
	    <term>Red / Black Flashing</term>
	    <para>corresponds to the countdown timer that runs between
	      synchronizations.
	    </para>
	  </varlistentry>
	</variablelist>
	<para>The name of this interfaces derives from a bit of computer
	  history.  Eric Raymond's <citation>Jargon File</citation> defines
	  <term>blinkenlights</term>, in part, as:
	</para>
	<blockquote>
	  <para>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.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    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:
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    <emphasis>ACHTUNG!  ALLES LOOKENSPEEPERS!</emphasis>
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    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.
	  </para>
	</blockquote>
      </refsect2>

      <refsect2>
	<title>Curses.Blinkenlights</title>
	<para>
	  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.
	</para>
	<para>Please see the Tk.Blinkenlights section above for more
	  information about the colors used in this interface.
	</para>
      </refsect2>

      <refsect2>
	<title>Tk.VerboseUI</title>
	<para>
	  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.
	</para>
      </refsect2>

      <refsect2>
	<title>TTY.TTYUI</title>
	<para>
	  This 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.
	</para>
      </refsect2>

      <refsect2>
	<title>Noninteractive.Basic</title>
	<para>
	  This interface 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.
	</para>
      </refsect2>

      <refsect2>
	<title>Noninteractive.Quiet</title>
	<para>
	  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.
	</para>
      </refsect2>

    </refsect1>


    <refsect1>
      <title>See Also</title>
      <para>This is also a test.  Foo bar.</para>
    </refsect1>
  </refentry>
</reference>