Hi!
2.4 does no longer support %u, see https://doc.dovecot.org/2.4.5/installation/upgrade/2.3-to-2.4.html#variable-...
Aki
On 30/08/2026 01:52 EEST rdorau--- via dovecot <dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
Hello,
I'm running Dovecot 2.4.1 on a Raspberry Pi 4 with DietPi (Debian 13, ARM64). My maildir is located at /var/mail/mailuser. The directory contains many dot-prefixed subfolders, e.g. .Archiv, .Archiv.Reisen, .Sozio, .Marla. The mail files themselves are intact.
My current doveconf -n output looks like this: text
dovecot_config_version = 2.4.0 auth_mechanisms = plain login dovecot_storage_version = 2.4.0 listen = * login_trusted_networks = 192.168.178.0/24 mail_driver = maildir mail_home = /var/mail/%u mail_path = /var/mail/%u protocols = imap ssl = no passdb pam { driver = pam } userdb passwd { driver = passwd } namespace inbox { inbox = yes prefix = separator = . }
Problem 1: doveadm mailbox list -u mailuser returns only INBOX and Trash. The dot-prefixed subfolders are not recognized. In Thunderbird, the subfolders appear inside INBOX (e.g. INBOX.Archiv, INBOX.Archiv.Reisen), but doveadm does not list them as separate mailboxes.
Problem 2: I cannot move, delete, or rename any folder via IMAP. In Thunderbird, I can move individual messages, but I cannot move, rename, or delete any folder. This affects all folders.
What I have already tried (without success):
Renaming the three problematic folders to simple names and copying the mails into new folders Deleting Dovecot index files (dovecot.index*, dovecot-uidlist, subscriptions) and restarting Dovecot Changing separator and prefix settings Adding dovecot to mailuser group and adjusting permissions (chmod 750) Forcing Thunderbird to re-synchronize by deleting local .msf files – after that, the three folders sometimes disappear or become empty in Thunderbird, but the mail files remain on disk Moving all dot-prefixed folders into a Maildir subdirectory and adjusting mail_path accordinglyNone of this made doveadm mailbox list show the subfolders, and the three folders remain unreadable.
My questions:
Why does doveadm mailbox list not show the subfolders, even though they exist as dot-prefixed directories and Thunderbird displays them? What do I need to change so that Dovecot lists them properly? Why can I not move, delete, or rename any folder via IMAP, even though moving messages works? Is this a configuration issue? How can I make the three unreadable folders readable again? What is the safest way to rebuild their indexes or re-create them so that Thunderbird can open the messages?Additional note: I do not have access to the online conversion tool. I would be very grateful if someone could post the minimal, correct Dovecot 2.4 configuration for my setup. My maildir is at /var/mail/mailuser/ and contains dot-prefixed subfolders. My goal is to see these folders in Thunderbird and doveadm mailbox list without a double INBOX.
Thank you in advance for your help.
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