I’m requesting help getting macOS’s Notes.app to sync notes with a new dovecot IMAP server.

Thanks to dovecot’s excellent online documentation and help from this list, I have a new perfectly functioning IMAP server.

The issue is that macOS Note.app does not sync with this server. However, iOS Notes.app *does* sync and work well with this IMAP server, and the differences between macOS and iOS Notes apps are well known. (Thanks, Apple.)

I am migrating from a working Server.app system in which Notes.app syncing does work across all devices, and therefore have a working dovecot configuration from Server.app, although it does not contain an explicit configuration for the “Notes” mailbox.

I would greatly appreciate any help or pointers for these questions:

Does anyone have a working template for dovecot that works with macOS Notes.app? I’ve posted doveconf -n of both the new server and the old Server.app server below.

Would you all be able to provide advice on TO-DO’s and NOT-TO-DO’s for mailbox/name-space reconfiguration as I try to muck around with a nicely working, deployed IMAP server? I believe that the solution has something to do with name spaces and separators, and I’ve already changed the separator from the original ‘/’  to ‘.’ on the working server without success or obvious changes.

All the mail boxes on the new IMAP server look like this, *without* a prefix ‘.’:
ls -1 /var/mail/tld.domain.mail/username/mdbox/mailboxes/
Archive/
Deleted Messages/
Drafts/
INBOX/
Junk/
Notes/
Sent/
Trash/

All the mailboxes on the working Server.app mailserver look like this, *with* a prefix ‘.’:
$ sudo ls -1 /Library/Server/Mail/Data/mail/users/username
.Archive
.Deleted Messages
.Drafts
.Junk
.Notes
.Sent Messages
cur
new
subscriptions
tmp


Here are the `doveconf -n` of the new server that doesn’t sync macOS Notes.app, and the old Server.app IMAP server that does:

New server `dovecot -n` [Note: original separator was set to ‘/’, now changed to ‘.’ in config.d/10-mail.conf]:
# 2.3.6 (): /opt/local/etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf
# Pigeonhole version 0.5.6 ()
# OS: Darwin 18.6.0 x86_64  apfs
# Hostname: newhost.domain.tld
auth_cache_size = 10 M
auth_gssapi_hostname = $ALL
auth_krb5_keytab = /opt/local/etc/dovecot/imap.keytab
auth_mechanisms = plain gssapi
auth_realms = newhost.domain.tld
auth_socket_path = /opt/local/var/run/dovecot/auth-userdb
auth_username_format = %Ln
debug_log_path = /opt/local/var/log/mail/mail-debug.log
disable_plaintext_auth = no
first_valid_gid = 6
first_valid_uid = 6
imap_id_log = *
imap_id_send = "name" * "version" *
imap_idle_notify_interval = 29 mins
imap_urlauth_submit_user = submit
info_log_path = /opt/local/var/log/mail/mail-info.log
last_valid_gid = 100
lda_mailbox_autocreate = yes
log_path = /opt/local/var/log/mail/mail-err.log
login_log_format_elements = user=<%u> method=%m rip=%r lip=%l mpid=%e %c
mail_access_groups = mail
mail_attachment_dir = /private/var/mail/tld.domain.mail/attachments
mail_attachment_fs = sis posix:mode=0666
mail_debug = yes
mail_gid = mail
mail_home = /private/var/mail/tld.domain.mail
mail_location = mdbox:/private/var/mail/tld.domain.mail/%Ln/mdbox
mail_log_prefix = "%s(pid %p user %u): "
mail_plugins = quota zlib acl fts fts_solr fts_lucene
mail_privileged_group = mail
mail_uid = _dovecot
managesieve_notify_capability = mailto
managesieve_sieve_capability = fileinto reject envelope encoded-character vacation subaddress comparator-i;ascii-numeric relational regex imap4flags copy include variables body enotify environment mailbox date index ihave duplicate mime foreverypart extracttext imapsieve vnd.dovecot.imapsieve
mdbox_rotate_size = 200 M
namespace inbox {
  inbox = yes
  location = 
  mailbox Archive {
    auto = subscribe
    special_use = \Archive
  }
  mailbox Drafts {
    auto = subscribe
    special_use = \Drafts
  }
  mailbox Junk {
    auto = create
    special_use = \Junk
  }
  mailbox Notspam_train {
    auto = create
    special_use = \Junk
  }
  mailbox Sent {
    auto = subscribe
    special_use = \Sent
  }
  mailbox "Sent Messages" {
    special_use = \Sent
  }
  mailbox Spam_train {
    auto = create
    special_use = \Junk
  }
  mailbox Trash {
    auto = create
    special_use = \Trash
  }
  prefix = 
  separator = .
}
passdb {
  driver = pam
  name = pam
}
plugin {
  fts = solr
  fts_autoindex = yes
  fts_autoindex_exclude = \Junk
  fts_solr = url=http://127.0.0.1:8983/solr/dovecot/
  imapsieve_mailbox1_before = file:/opt/local/etc/dovecot/sieve/report-spam.sieve
  imapsieve_mailbox1_causes = COPY APPEND
  imapsieve_mailbox1_name = Spam_train
  imapsieve_mailbox2_before = file:/opt/local/etc/dovecot/sieve/report-ham.sieve
  imapsieve_mailbox2_causes = COPY APPEND
  imapsieve_mailbox2_name = Notspam_train
  mail_log_events = delete undelete expunge copy mailbox_delete mailbox_rename
  mail_log_fields = uid box msgid from subject size flags
  quota_grace = 10%%
  quota_rule = *:storage=16G
  quota_rule2 = Trash:storage=+256M
  quota_warning = storage=100%% quota-exceeded %u
  quota_warning2 = storage=80%% quota-warning %u
  recipient_delimiter = +
  sieve = /private/var/mail/tld.domain.mail/rules/%Ln/dovecot.sieve
  sieve_after = /opt/local/etc/dovecot/sieve-after.d
  sieve_before = /opt/local/etc/dovecot/sieve-before.d
  sieve_dir = /private/var/mail/tld.domain.mail/rules/%Ln/%u
  sieve_global_extensions = +vnd.dovecot.pipe +vnd.dovecot.environment
  sieve_pipe_bin_dir = /opt/local/etc/dovecot/sieve
  sieve_plugins = sieve_imapsieve sieve_extprograms
  sieve_quota_max_storage = 50M
}
postmaster_address = postmaster@domain.tld
protocols = imap lmtp sieve
quota_full_tempfail = yes
sendmail_path = /opt/local/sbin/sendmail
service auth-worker {
  group = mail
  user = root
}
service auth {
  extra_groups = _keytabusers
  idle_kill = 15 mins
  unix_listener /opt/local/var/spool/postfix/private/auth {
    group = mail
    mode = 0660
    user = _postfix
  }
}
service imap-login {
  inet_listener imap {
    address = 127.0.0.1, ::1
    port = 143
  }
  inet_listener imaps {
    port = 993
    ssl = yes
  }
  process_min_avail = 6
  service_count = 0
  vsz_limit = 2 G
}
service imap {
  process_limit = 200
  process_min_avail = 6
}
service lmtp {
  unix_listener /opt/local/var/spool/postfix/private/dovecot-lmtp {
    group = mail
    mode = 0660
    user = _postfix
  }
}
ssl = required
ssl_ca = </etc/certificates/newhost.domain.tld.SHA1.chain.pem
ssl_cert = </etc/certificates/newhost.domain.tld.SHA1.cert.pem
ssl_cipher_list = ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:ECDHE-RSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256
ssl_dh = # hidden, use -P to show it
ssl_key = # hidden, use -P to show it
ssl_min_protocol = TLSv1.2
ssl_prefer_server_ciphers = yes
userdb {
  driver = passwd
  name = passwd
}
verbose_proctitle = yes
protocol lda {
  mail_fsync = optimized
  mail_plugins = quota zlib acl fts fts_solr fts_lucene sieve
}
protocol imap {
  mail_max_userip_connections = 50
  mail_plugins = quota zlib acl fts fts_solr fts_lucene imap_acl imap_quota imap_zlib imap_sieve
}
protocol lmtp {
  mail_fsync = optimized
  mail_plugins = quota zlib acl fts fts_solr fts_lucene sieve
}


Old Server.app server `dovecot -n`:
# 2.2.30.2 (c0c463e): /Library/Server/Mail/Config/dovecot/dovecot.conf
# Pigeonhole version 0.4.18 (29cc74d)
# OS: Darwin 17.7.0 x86_64  apfs
aps_topic = com.apple.mail.XServer.d7d6581e-37ed-4a8a-8775-92c4c5a4bf28
auth_gssapi_hostname = $ALL
auth_mechanisms = cram-md5 plain login gssapi
auth_realms = host.domain.tld
auth_socket_path = /var/run/dovecot/auth-userdb
auth_username_format = %n
debug_log_path = /Library/Logs/Mail/mail-debug.log
default_internal_user = _dovecot
default_login_user = _dovenull
disable_plaintext_auth = no
first_valid_gid = 6
first_valid_uid = 6
imap_id_log = *
imap_id_send = "name" * "version" *
imap_urlauth_submit_user = submit
info_log_path = /Library/Logs/Mail/mail-info.log
log_path = /Library/Logs/Mail/mail-err.log
login_log_format_elements = user=<%u> method=%m rip=%r lip=%l mpid=%e %c
mail_access_groups = mail
mail_attribute_dict = file:/Library/Server/Mail/Data/attributes/attributes.dict
mail_location = maildir:/Library/Server/Mail/Data/mail/%u
mail_log_prefix = "%s(pid %p user %u): "
mail_plugins = quota zlib acl fts fts_sk
managesieve_notify_capability = mailto
managesieve_sieve_capability = fileinto reject envelope encoded-character vacation subaddress comparator-i;ascii-numeric relational regex imap4flags copy include variables body enotify environment mailbox date index ihave duplicate mime foreverypart extracttext
mdbox_rotate_size = 200 M
namespace acl-mailboxes {
  list = children
  location = maildir:/Library/Server/Mail/Data/mail/users/%%u:INDEX=/Library/Server/Mail/Data/mail/shared/%%u
  prefix = shared.%%u.
  separator = .
  subscriptions = no
  type = shared
}
namespace inbox {
  inbox = yes
  location = 
  mailbox Drafts {
    special_use = \Drafts
  }
  mailbox Junk {
    special_use = \Junk
  }
  mailbox Sent {
    special_use = \Sent
  }
  mailbox "Sent Messages" {
    special_use = \Sent
  }
  mailbox Trash {
    special_use = \Trash
  }
  prefix = 
}
namespace list-archives {
  list = children
  location = maildir:/Library/Server/Mail/Data/listserver/messages/archive/lists/%%u:INDEX=/Library/Server/Mail/Data/listserver/messages/archive/shared/%%u
  prefix = archives.%%u.
  separator = .
  subscriptions = no
  type = shared
}
passdb {
  driver = od
}
passdb {
  args = /Library/Server/Mail/Config/dovecot/submit.passdb
  driver = passwd-file
}
plugin {
  acl = vfile:/Library/Server/Mail/Config/dovecot/global-acls:cache_secs=300
  acl_shared_dict = file:/Library/Server/Mail/Data/shared/shared-mailboxes
  fts = sk
  quota = maildir:User quota
  quota_warning = storage=100%% quota-exceeded %u
  quota_warning2 = storage=80%% quota-warning %u
  sieve = /Library/Server/Mail/Data/rules/%u/dovecot.sieve
  sieve_dir = /Library/Server/Mail/Data/rules/%u
  stats_refresh = 30 secs
  stats_track_cmds = yes
}
postmaster_address = postmaster@host.domain.tld
protocols = imap pop3 lmtp sieve
quota_full_tempfail = yes
service auth {
  extra_groups = _keytabusers
  idle_kill = 15 mins
  unix_listener auth-userdb {
    user = _dovecot
  }
}
service dns_client {
  unix_listener dns-client {
    mode = 0600
  }
}
service imap-login {
  inet_listener imap {
    port = 143
  }
  inet_listener imaps {
    port = 993
    ssl = yes
  }
  service_count = 0
}
service imap {
  client_limit = 5
  process_limit = 200
  service_count = 0
}
service indexer-worker {
  user = _dovecot
}
service lmtp {
  unix_listener lmtp {
    mode = 0600
  }
}
service managesieve-login {
  inet_listener sieve {
    port = 4190
  }
}
service pop3-login {
  inet_listener pop3 {
    port = 110
  }
  inet_listener pop3s {
    port = 995
    ssl = yes
  }
}
service pop3 {
  client_limit = 5
  process_limit = 200
  service_count = 0
}
service quota-exceeded {
  executable = script /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/usr/libexec/dovecot/quota-exceeded.sh
  unix_listener quota-exceeded {
    group = mail
    mode = 0660
    user = _dovecot
  }
  user = _dovecot
}
service quota-warning {
  executable = script /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/usr/libexec/dovecot/quota-warning.sh
  unix_listener quota-warning {
    group = mail
    mode = 0660
    user = _dovecot
  }
  user = _dovecot
}
service stats {
  fifo_listener stats-mail {
    mode = 0600
    user = _dovecot
  }
}
ssl = required
ssl_ca = </etc/certificates/host.domain.tld.SHA1.chain.pem
ssl_cert = </etc/certificates/host.domain.tld.SHA1.cert.pem
ssl_cipher_list = ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:DHE-DSS-AES128-GCM-SHA256:kEDH+AESGCM:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA:DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA:DHE-DSS-AES128-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA256:DHE-DSS-AES256-SHA:DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA:AES128-GCM-SHA256:AES256-GCM-SHA384:AES128-SHA256:AES256-SHA256:AES128-SHA:AES256-SHA:AES:CAMELLIA:DES-CBC3-SHA:!aNULL:!eNULL:!EXPORT:!DES:!RC4:!MD5:!PSK:!aECDH:!EDH-DSS-DES-CBC3-SHA:!EDH-RSA-DES-CBC3-SHA:!KRB5-DES-CBC3-SHA
ssl_key =  # hidden, use -P to show it
ssl_key_path =  # hidden, use -P to show it
ssl_protocols = !SSLv2 !SSLv3
userdb {
  args = partition=/Library/Server/Mail/Config/dovecot/partition_map.conf global_quota=8192 enforce_quotas=yes
  driver = od
}
userdb {
  args = /Library/Server/Mail/Config/dovecot/submit.passdb
  driver = passwd-file
}
verbose_proctitle = yes
protocol lmtp {
  mail_plugins = quota zlib acl fts fts_sk sieve push_notify
}
protocol lda {
  mail_plugins = quota zlib acl fts fts_sk sieve push_notify
}
protocol imap {
  mail_max_userip_connections = 20
  mail_plugins = quota zlib acl fts fts_sk imap_acl imap_quota imap_zlib
}
protocol pop3 {
  mail_max_userip_connections = 6
}