[jrichardshaw]

Backing up my gmail has been on my list for a while (as step 1 of a migration away from gmail). Does anyone haver any experience with this tool, and could compare it to offline-imap (https://github.com/OfflineIMAP/imapfw) or mbsync? For something important like email, I'd rather use something older with more battle testing. I guess beyond a backup I would hope to use the offline copy to migrate to a new provider.

[kseistrup]

I've been using mbsync (+ notmuch for indexing) for a good while. I run it nightly from a cron job, and it does what it is supposed to do.

[cfcosta]

I've used OfflineIMAP for many years, and recently (less than a year) moved to mbsync. It's much faster, and the end result is largely the same (I did some sanity tests, downloading both and comparing).

I'm not exactly sure if you can migrate to a new provider by providing the mailbox yourself, but you can still use things like notmuch to index and search on the mbox.

[encryptluks2]

You can migrate messages from mbsync as it provides push or pull, or two-way. You just wouldn't be able to retain a provider-specific email address. That is why I would recommend everyone to use SimpleLogin or similar for email addresses with a custom domain, and then just have them forwarded to whatever email provider you're using at the time.

[cfcosta]

Actually, thanks a lot for the recommendation. I'll be migrating my custom domain from Google apps into something else and this will be of great help.

[bener]

Do you have issues with Google/Gmail's policies etc or are you moving to a different host for other reasons?

I run my business emails on Google Workspace because the price is right, but I've spent a fair amount of time considering a move due to their invasive scanning etc.

[commandersaki]

I'd avoid OfflineIMAP and instead use mbsync. OfflineIMAP adds headers to the synchronised/copied emails, whereas mbsync makes a verbatim copy which is good for preservation/backup.

[sildur]

I’ve successfully used imapsync (https://imapsync.lamiral.info/)