[Dovecot] mbox vs maildir

[poohba at blkpoohba.dyndns.org]

On Mon, 31 Jan 2005, Curtis Maloney wrote:

> poohba at blkpoohba.dyndns.org wrote:
>> I am a little confused and maybe if I figure this out I will be able to get 
>> this to work.  I am now able to get my pop3 working but not imap. 
>
> I take it you're not using Dovecot for POP3, then?  If not, any particular 
> reason why not?
>
Yes I am using Dovecot for POP3, it wasn't working before but it started 
working.  I changed: default_mail_env = 
mbox:/home/%u/mail:INBOX=/var/spool/mail/%u  to something else and then 
restarted dovecat service then changed it back and restarted the service 
and it would then allow me to get pop.

>> My inbox is in /var/spool/mail/%u and my mail directory is /home/%u/mail 
>> and then all the 'folders' are there which are actually files.  Is that 
>> maildir or mbox?
>
> If each folder is a single file, that's mbox.
>
> Maildir has a separate directory for each folder, with three directories in 
> each: new, tmp, cur.  Each of these contain 0 or more files, each file a 
> single e-mail.
>
>>  Which do I have to use for dovecot?  Or can I use whichever I choose.
>
> Dovecot can understand both.  Which format it is depends on either Dovecot 
> guessing, or you telling it in the MAIL env.  Check the "default_mail_env" 
> setting in the config file.
>
>>  I would like to keep the setup I have and use IMAP but i am finding this 
>> very difficult.  I find some places that say I have to convert what I have 
>> and other places that say I don't.  Can someone please break it down for 
>> me.
>
> Without knowing what setup you have, I can't say if you'd have to convert 
> anything.  What do these sources say needs to be converted, and to what?
>
> I found that Dovecot's flexibility makes very few demands on how you do 
> things.  If your existing mail is in mbox format, you can continue to use 
> mbox.
>
> From the paths you mention above, I believe setting:
> 	default_mail_env = mbox:/home/%u/mail:INBOX=/var/spool/mail/%u
> should set you right.  That is, assuming your MDA is delivering mail to 
> /var/spool/mail/%u.
>
> A few questions for you:
> 1) Which OS are you running this on?
 	FC3
> 2) Which version of Dovecot?
 	0.99.11
> 3) What are you migrating from?
 	I kind of migrated from FC1 but It was a fresh install i just
 	transfered /home/* from the old hd to the new one.
> 4) If you're not using Dovecot for POP3 also, what are you using?
 	I am using Dovecot.  Not sure why it wasn't working before.
 	It did at first then it stopped and now POP3 is working again.
>
> --
> Curtis Maloney
>