Configuring an IMAP service | ![]() |
General notes
Please note that Imap configuration is not IronMailer specific. IronMailer does not require a specific setup for the IMAP service, however it relies on a standard setup (as it accesses the IMAP service through Sun's JavaMail API).
Nonetheless, we will post here any useful tips on Imap we find out about.
What IMAP is can be found here: http://www.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc3501.txt
Cyrus IMAPD
For this service, we use the following setup:
- the user has a file called ".mailboxlist" in her home directory,
containing at least one line as such:
INBOX
IronMailer will work even if this line is not present, however this should be the correct setup. - the user has a subdirectory mail in her home, where messages are stored. This is recommended to setup like this at Cyrus IMAPD installation time; if this is not done, mails will be stored in /var/mail instead
- in the subdirectory where the users mails are stored, there
exists a file called mbox. This is the default mechanism for
storing messages by Cyrus IMAPD. If no file exists in the mail
subdirectory at all, go to this directory and execute:
touch mbox
Courier Imap
Although this program calls it itself "Imap", it is not: for instance, folders must be called INBOX.something for them to be accepted by Courier Imap. This is not Imap-compliant, and creates problems for interoperability with other mail systems, and also IronMailer. Currently IronMailer does not have work-arounds for operating with Courier.