How to Install and Use Imapsync on Ubuntu & Debian

Imapsync is a powerful tool that allows for the migration of email messages between two IMAP servers with high fidelity, preserving folder structure, message flags, and timestamps. This utility is invaluable for administrators and users undergoing email migrations due to server changes or when consolidating email accounts. This article guides you through installing and using Imapsync on Ubuntu and Debian systems.

Prerequisites

• Two IMAP servers (source and destination) with active email accounts.
• A machine running Ubuntu or Debian.
• Command-line/terminal access.
• Sudo privileges or root access.

Step 1: Prepare Your System

Imapsync is not available in the default Ubuntu or Debian repositories but can be installed via a third-party repository or by downloading and running the Perl script directly. We will focus on the latter method for its simplicity and because it ensures you’re getting the latest version directly from the source.

1. Update Your System

Before starting, make sure your system packages are up-to-date:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

2. Install Required Dependencies

Imapsync depends on several Perl modules. Install them by running:

sudo apt-get install git rcs make makepasswd cpanminus \
     gcc libssl-dev libauthen-ntlm-perl \ 
     libclass-load-perl libcrypt-ssleay-perl liburi-perl \
     libdata-uniqid-perl libdigest-hmac-perl libdist-checkconflicts-perl \
     libfile-copy-recursive-perl libio-compress-perl libio-socket-inet6-perl \
     libio-socket-ssl-perl libio-tee-perl libmail-imapclient-perl \
     libmodule-scandeps-perl libnet-ssleay-perl libpar-packer-perl \
     libreadonly-perl libsys-meminfo-perl libterm-readkey-perl \
     libtest-fatal-perl libtest-mock-guard-perl libtest-pod-perl \
     libtest-requires-perl libtest-simple-perl libunicode-string-perl

3. Install Python Modules

Also, install required Python modules using CPAN on your system.

sudo cpanm Crypt::OpenSSL::RSA Crypt::OpenSSL::Random --force
sudo cpanm Mail::IMAPClient JSON::WebToken Test::MockObject
sudo cpanm Unicode::String Data::Uniqid

Step 2: Install Imapsync

After completing the installation of required packages. Download latest imapsync code from its official Github repository on your local system.

git clone https://github.com/imapsync/imapsync.git

Navigate to newly cloned repository and install it with the following commands on your system.

cd imapsync
mkdir -p dist
sudo make install

At this stage, your system is ready to migrate all data from one email account to another email accounts using IMAP.

Step 3: Transfer Emails with IMAP

Now that Imapsync is installed, you can start the migration process. The basic syntax for the imapsync command is as follows:

imapsync --host1 imap.source.example.com  \
	   --user1 user@example.com 	    \
	   --password1 S0urcePassw0rd  	    \
	   --ssl1			    \
	   --host2 imap.dest.example.com    \
	   --user2 user@example.com 	    \
	   --password2 Dest1nat10NPassw0rd  \
	   --ssl2

The command will take a long time as per the size of your source Mailbox. After completing all process, you will see a long list of output. Check the output to find if any error occurred during transfer. Below is the small part of the result.

• Read this => 5 Ways to Send Email From Linux Command Line

Transfer started at Thu May 11 11:45:37 2017
PID is 4969
...
...
...
Total bytes transferred           : 78373 (76.536 KiB)
Total bytes duplicate host1       : 0 (0.000 KiB)
Total bytes duplicate host2       : 0 (0.000 KiB)
Total bytes skipped               : 0 (0.000 KiB)
Total bytes error                 : 0 (0.000 KiB)
Message rate                      : 0.1 messages/s
Average bandwidth rate            : 3.0 KiB/s
Memory consumption                : 217.0 MiB
Biggest message                   : 57947 bytes (56.589 KiB)
Memory/biggest message ratio      : 3927.0
Start difference host2 - host1    : -2 messages, -78373 bytes (-76.536 KiB)
Final difference host2 - host1    : 0 messages, 0 bytes (0.000 KiB)
Detected 0 errors

Conclusion

Imapsync is a robust tool for migrating emails between IMAP servers. While the installation process on Ubuntu and Debian involves a few steps, including setting up necessary Perl dependencies, the actual migration process is straightforward. Remember to review the imapsync documentation and use the –help flag to explore all available options to customize your email migration process effectively.

Migrating emails can be a sensitive operation, so always ensure you have backup copies of important emails before proceeding. Happy migrating!

Reference:

• https://imapsync.lamiral.info/
• https://github.com/imapsync/imapsync