dovecot 2.4 changes
I just did a Tumbleweed upgrade. then I had to fix dovecot. No warning that dovecot was going to break what so ever. Below is all the things I had to fix. And then I could not read my email in Thunderbird because you changed:
mail_location = mbox:~/mail:INBOX=/var/spool/mail/%u to mail_driver = mbox mail_path = ~/mail mail_inbox_path = /var/spool/mail/%{user}
and the "%u" to "%{user}" was the showstopper.
What a crock of BS! I spent 3 hours determining the problem and then fixing dovecot because you decided to make major changes for no good reason. It worked just fine the way it was. You could have automated the changes by providing a utility that would make the changes the first time it started up after the upgrade.
I had to try to start dovecot and when it failed to start look in the log and see the error and fix it. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and...
Like I said what a bunch of BS! Yes this is a rant. And maybe openSuSE's is too blame also.
Jan 24 03:33:35 server dovecot[2223449]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf line 25: The first setting must be dovecot_config_version Jan 24 03:36:45 server dovecot[4626]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf line 25: The first setting must be dovecot_config_version Jan 24 03:46:10 server dovecot[21464]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf line 2: Invalid dovecot_config_version: Currently supported versions are: 2.4.0 2.4.1 2.4.2 Jan 24 03:48:45 server dovecot[22135]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf line 92: dict { } is missing section name Jan 24 03:51:47 server dovecot[28824]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/auth-system.conf.ext line 10: passdb { } is missing section name Jan 24 03:53:22 server dovecot[29258]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/auth-system.conf.ext line 10: passdb { } is missing section name Jan 24 03:55:26 server dovecot[29906]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/auth-system.conf.ext line 49: userdb { } is missing section name Jan 24 03:56:57 server dovecot[30179]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-director.conf line 40: inet_listener { } is missing section name Jan 24 03:58:37 server dovecot[30652]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-logging.conf line 64: Unknown section name: plugin Jan 24 04:01:32 server dovecot[37805]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-mail.conf line 31: mail_location: Unknown setting: mail_location Jan 24 04:05:30 server dovecot[38898]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-mail.conf line 32: mail_location: Unknown setting: mail_location Jan 24 04:06:35 server dovecot[39158]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-ssl.conf line 23: ssl_cert: Unknown setting: ssl_cert Jan 24 04:09:07 server dovecot[39707]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-ssl.conf line 25: ssl_server_cert_file: open(/etc/dovecot/conf.d/-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- Jan 24 04:09:07 server dovecot[39707]: doveconf: Fatal: -----END CERTIFICATE----- Jan 24 04:09:07 server dovecot[39707]: doveconf: Fatal: ) failed: File name too long Jan 24 04:14:52 server dovecot[47156]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-ssl.conf line 27: ssl_server_cert_file: open(/etc/dovecot/conf.d/-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- Jan 24 04:14:52 server dovecot[47156]: doveconf: Fatal: -----END CERTIFICATE----- Jan 24 04:14:52 server dovecot[47156]: doveconf: Fatal: ) failed: File name too long Jan 24 04:17:35 server dovecot[54187]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-ssl.conf line 72: ssl_dh: Unknown setting: ssl_dh Jan 24 04:19:04 server dovecot[54532]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-ssl.conf line 93: ssl_prefer_server_ciphers: Unknown setting: ssl_prefer_server_ciphers Jan 24 04:21:07 server dovecot[60961]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/90-acl.conf line 11: Unknown section name: plugin Jan 24 04:22:40 server dovecot[61409]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/90-acl.conf line 17: Unknown section name: plugin Jan 24 04:23:35 server dovecot[61624]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/90-plugin.conf line 9: Unknown section name: plugin Jan 24 04:24:40 server dovecot[61932]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/90-quota.conf line 17: Unknown section name: plugin Jan 24 04:25:38 server dovecot[62301]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/90-quota.conf line 41: Unknown section name: plugin Jan 24 04:26:12 server dovecot[62335]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/90-quota.conf line 69: Unknown section name: plugin Jan 24 04:26:42 server dovecot[62550]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/90-quota.conf line 78: Unknown section name: plugin Jan 24 04:27:05 server dovecot[62582]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/90-sieve-extprograms.conf line 9: Unknown section name: plugin Jan 24 04:28:11 server dovecot[62819]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/90-sieve.conf line 24: Unknown section name: plugin Jan 24 04:29:02 server dovecot[63099]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/90-sieve.conf line 39: sieve: Unknown setting: sieve Jan 24 04:36:01 server dovecot[71295]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/90-sieve.conf line 39: sieve: Unknown setting: sieve Jan 24 04:39:04 server dovecot[72067]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/90-sieve.conf line 40: sieve: Unknown setting: sieve (sieve_script_sieve or sieve_script_personal_sieve not found either.) Jan 24 04:47:39 server dovecot[86665]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf: ssl_options: unknown flag: 'no_compression' Jan 24 04:50:51 server dovecot[93375]: doveconf: Fatal: dovecot_storage_version setting must be set Jan 24 05:01:51 server dovecot[105836]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-mail.conf line 31: mail_location: Unknown setting: mail_location
Jan 24 05:06:18 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107288><SOtYQyBJTOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, dir owned by 0:0 mode=0755) Jan 24 05:06:18 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107288><SOtYQyBJTOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: Failed to autocreate mailbox: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, dir owned by 0:0 mode=0755) Jan 24 05:06:18 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107289><9+pYQyBJTeXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, dir owned by 0:0 mode=0755) Jan 24 05:06:18 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<10Jan 24 05:06:18 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107288><SOtYQyBJTOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, dir owned by 0:0 mode=0755) Jan 24 05:06:18 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107288><SOtYQyBJTOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: Failed to autocreate mailbox: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, dir owned by 0:0 mode=0755) Jan 24 05:06:18 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107289><9+pYQyBJTeXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, dir owned by 0:0 mode=0755) Jan 24 05:06:18 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107289><9+pYQyBJTeXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: Failed to autocreate mailbox: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, dir owned by 0:0 mode=07557289><9+pYQyBJTeXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: Failed to autocreate mailbox: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, dir owned by 0:0 mode=0755)
Jan 24 05:08:38 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107806><1/QbSyBJUOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, dir owned by 0:0 mode=0755) Jan 24 05:08:38 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107806><1/QbSyBJUOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: Failed to autocreate mailbox: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, dir owned by 0:0 mode=0755) Jan 24 05:11:10 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107806><1/QbSyBJUOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, dir owned by 0:0 mode=0755) Jan 24 05:11:10 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107806><1/QbSyBJUOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: Failed to autocreate mailbox: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, dir owned by 0:0 mode=0755) Jan 24 05:15:09 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107806><1/QbSyBJUOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, dir owned by 0:473 mode=0755) Jan 24 05:15:09 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107806><1/QbSyBJUOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: Failed to autocreate mailbox: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, dir owned by 0:473 mode=0755) Jan 24 05:18:35 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107806><1/QbSyBJUOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, we're not in group 473(mail), dir owned by 0:473 mode=0775) Jan 24 05:18:35 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107806><1/QbSyBJUOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: Failed to autocreate mailbox: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, we're not in group 473(mail), dir owned by 0:473 mode=0775)
Jan 24 05:19:09 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<122933></apLcSBJaKrAqBTq>: Disconnected: Connection closed (SELECT finished 0.138 secs ago) in=102 out=787 deleted=0 expunged=0 trashed=0 hdr_count=0 hdr_bytes=0 body_count=0 body_bytes=0 Jan 24 05:19:58 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107806><1/QbSyBJUOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, we're not in group 473(mail), dir owned by 0:473 mode=0775) Jan 24 05:19:58 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107806><1/QbSyBJUOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: Failed to autocreate mailbox: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, we're not in group 473(mail), dir owned by 0:473 mode=0775) Jan 24 05:20:20 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107806><1/QbSyBJUOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, we're not in group 473(mail), dir owned by 0:473 mode=0775) Jan 24 05:20:20 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107806><1/QbSyBJUOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: Failed to autocreate mailbox: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, we're not in group 473(mail), dir owned by 0:473 mode=0775) Jan 24 05:21:17 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107806><1/QbSyBJUOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, we're not in group 473(mail), dir owned by 0:473 mode=0775) Jan 24 05:21:17 cjbnew dovecot: imap(bob)<107806><1/QbSyBJUOXAqBTz>: Error: Mailbox INBOX: Failed to autocreate mailbox: open(/var/spool/mail/%u) failed: Permission denied (euid=500(bob) egid=100(users) missing +w perm: /var/spool/mail, we're not in group 473(mail), dir owned by 0:473 mode=0775)
On Sat, Jan 24, 2026 at 4:11 PM Curtis J Blank via dovecot < dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
I just did a Tumbleweed upgrade. then I had to fix dovecot. No warning that dovecot was going to break what so ever. Below is all the things I had to fix. And then I could not read my email in Thunderbird because you changed:
mail_location = mbox:~/mail:INBOX=/var/spool/mail/%u to mail_driver = mbox mail_path = ~/mail mail_inbox_path = /var/spool/mail/%{user}
and the "%u" to "%{user}" was the showstopper.
What a crock of BS! I spent 3 hours determining the problem and then fixing dovecot because you decided to make major changes for no good reason. It worked just fine the way it was. You could have automated the changes by providing a utility that would make the changes the first time it started up after the upgrade.
All this ranting while you did not read the release announcement? Oh Lord of Mercy :-)
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :-) [How to ask smart questions: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]
On Sat, Jan 24, 2026 at 4:11PM Curtis J Blank via dovecot <[1]dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
I just did a Tumbleweed upgrade. then I had to fix dovecot. No warning
that dovecot was going to break what so ever. Below is all the things I
had to fix. And then I could not read my email in Thunderbird because
you changed:
mail_location = mbox:~/mail:INBOX=/var/spool/mail/%u
to
mail_driver = mbox
mail_path = ~/mail
mail_inbox_path = /var/spool/mail/%{user}
and the "%u" to "%{user}" was the showstopper.
What a crock of BS! I spent 3 hours determining the problem and then
fixing dovecot because you decided to make major changes for no good
reason. It worked just fine the way it was. You could have automated the
changes by providing a utility that would make the changes the first
time it started up after the upgrade.All this ranting while you did not read the release announcement? Oh Lord of Mercy :-)
Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' -\_(Tu)_/- :-) [How to ask smart questions: [2]http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]
References
Visible links
- mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org
- http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
Yes there is a release note, and yes it includes extreme changes.
I have yet to update Debian due to this. I did install in a test site and spent the better part of a day getting it to work, hopefully.
In fairness Dovecot is free. They don't owe me anything. If opensource software is going to treat its users like this. I guess that could generate sales.
I am considering other options, before I upgrade to Debian 13 or maybe something altogether different.
--john
On 1/24/26 9:48 AM, Washington Odhiambo via dovecot wrote:
On Sat, Jan 24, 2026 at 4:11PM Curtis J Blank via dovecot <[1]dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote: I just did a Tumbleweed upgrade. then I had to fix dovecot. No warning that dovecot was going to break what so ever. Below is all the things I had to fix. And then I could not read my email in Thunderbird because you changed: mail_location = mbox:~/mail:INBOX=/var/spool/mail/%u to mail_driver = mbox mail_path = ~/mail mail_inbox_path = /var/spool/mail/%{user} and the "%u" to "%{user}" was the showstopper. What a crock of BS! I spent 3 hours determining the problem and then fixing dovecot because you decided to make major changes for no good reason. It worked just fine the way it was. You could have automated the changes by providing a utility that would make the changes the first time it started up after the upgrade. All this ranting while you did not read the release announcement? Oh Lord of Mercy :-) -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' -\_(Tu)_/- :-) [How to ask smart questions: [2]http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]References
Visible links 1. mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org 2. http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
dovecot mailing list -- dovecot@dovecot.org To unsubscribe send an email to dovecot-leave@dovecot.org
On Sat, Jan 24, 2026 at 10:26:30AM -0500, John Hill via dovecot wrote:
I have yet to update Debian due to this. I did install in a test site and spent the better part of a day getting it to work, hopefully.
For Debian, I'd recommend reading chapter 5.1.18 of our finde release notes for trixie. I have updated my mail server to trixie a few weeks ago and found the information the dovecot project gave about how to convert very helpful and understandeable. It took me about two hours to figure out the changes, but my IMAP system also only has a handful of users. For everything of production value I'd strongly recommend to practise this upgrade with an offline clone to minimize downtime.
You cannot blame a software project for moving forward. If you want to see how software looks after keeping backwards compatibility for two decades, take a look at a random Windows system.
The dovecot 2.3 to 2.4 upgrade surely is not painless and definetely causes manual work and testing efforts that I'd rather not have had done, but I also experienced more painful transitions in the past.
That being said, I found the thread starting message disrespectful and unfriendly and would rather not read something like that again on the support mailing list of a free and open source software project.
Greetings Marc
--
Marc Haber | "I don't trust Computers. They | Mailadresse im Header Leimen, Germany | lose things." Winona Ryder | Fon: *49 6224 1600402 Nordisch by Nature | How to make an American Quilt | Fax: *49 6224 1600421
If you use system accounts, the migration is so easy.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :-) [How to ask smart questions: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]
On Sat, Jan 24, 2026, 18:27 John Hill via dovecot <dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
Yes there is a release note, and yes it includes extreme changes.
I have yet to update Debian due to this. I did install in a test site and spent the better part of a day getting it to work, hopefully.
In fairness Dovecot is free. They don't owe me anything. If opensource software is going to treat its users like this. I guess that could generate sales.
I am considering other options, before I upgrade to Debian 13 or maybe something altogether different.
--john
On 1/24/26 9:48 AM, Washington Odhiambo via dovecot wrote:
On Sat, Jan 24, 2026 at 4:11PM Curtis J Blank via dovecot <[1]dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote: I just did a Tumbleweed upgrade. then I had to fix dovecot. Nowarning
that dovecot was going to break what so ever. Below is all thethings I
had to fix. And then I could not read my email in Thunderbirdbecause
you changed: mail_location = mbox:~/mail:INBOX=/var/spool/mail/%u to mail_driver = mbox mail_path = ~/mail mail_inbox_path = /var/spool/mail/%{user} and the "%u" to "%{user}" was the showstopper. What a crock of BS! I spent 3 hours determining the problem andthen
fixing dovecot because you decided to make major changes for nogood
reason. It worked just fine the way it was. You could haveautomated the
changes by providing a utility that would make the changes thefirst
time it started up after the upgrade. All this ranting while you did not read the release announcement? Oh Lord of Mercy :-) -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' -\_(Tu)_/- :-) [How to ask smart questions: [2]http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]References
Visible links 1. mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org 2. http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
dovecot mailing list -- dovecot@dovecot.org To unsubscribe send an email to dovecot-leave@dovecot.org
dovecot mailing list -- dovecot@dovecot.org To unsubscribe send an email to dovecot-leave@dovecot.org
If you use system accounts, the migration is so easy.
Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' -\_(Tu)_/- :-) [How to ask smart questions: [1]http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html] On Sat, Jan 24, 2026, 18:27 John Hill via dovecot <[2]dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
Yes there is a release note, and yes it includes extreme changes.
I have yet to update Debian due to this. I did install in a test site
and spent the better part of a day getting it to work, hopefully.
In fairness Dovecot is free. They don't owe me anything. If opensource
software is going to treat its users like this. I guess that could
generate sales.
I am considering other options, before I upgrade to Debian 13 or maybe
something altogether different.
--john
On 1/24/26 9:48 AM, Washington Odhiambo via dovecot wrote:
> On Sat, Jan 24, 2026 at 4:11PM Curtis J Blank via dovecot
> <[1][3]dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
>
> I just did a Tumbleweed upgrade. then I had to fix dovecot. No
warning
> that dovecot was going to break what so ever. Below is all the
things I
> had to fix. And then I could not read my email in Thunderbird
because
> you changed:
>
> mail_location = mbox:~/mail:INBOX=/var/spool/mail/%u
> to
> mail_driver = mbox
> mail_path = ~/mail
> mail_inbox_path = /var/spool/mail/%{user}
>
> and the "%u" to "%{user}" was the showstopper.
>
> What a crock of BS! I spent 3 hours determining the problem and
then
> fixing dovecot because you decided to make major changes for no
good
> reason. It worked just fine the way it was. You could have
automated the
> changes by providing a utility that would make the changes the
first
> time it started up after the upgrade.
>
> All this ranting while you did not read the release announcement?
> Oh Lord of Mercy :-)
> --
> Best regards,
> Odhiambo WASHINGTON,
> Nairobi,KE
> +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223
> In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS.
> "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' -\_(Tu)_/- :-)
> [How to ask smart
> questions:
[2][4]http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]
>
> References
>
> Visible links
> 1. mailto:[5]dovecot@dovecot.org
> 2. [6]http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> dovecot mailing list -- [7]dovecot@dovecot.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to [8]dovecot-leave@dovecot.org
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- mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org
- mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org
- http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
- mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org
- http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
- mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org
- mailto:dovecot-leave@dovecot.org
- mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org
- mailto:dovecot-leave@dovecot.org
If you mean local users. Mine are all virtual. I think when I'm up to it, I have working configs on my test site, I'll upgrade it.
Dovecot s a VERY good product. --john
On 1/24/26 4:24 PM, Washington Odhiambo wrote:
If you use system accounts, the migration is so easy.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :-) [How to ask smart questions: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart- questions.html <http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html>]
On Sat, Jan 24, 2026, 18:27 John Hill via dovecot <dovecot@dovecot.org <mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org>> wrote:
Yes there is a release note, and yes it includes extreme changes. I have yet to update Debian due to this. I did install in a test site and spent the better part of a day getting it to work, hopefully. In fairness Dovecot is free. They don't owe me anything. If opensource software is going to treat its users like this. I guess that could generate sales. I am considering other options, before I upgrade to Debian 13 or maybe something altogether different. --john On 1/24/26 9:48 AM, Washington Odhiambo via dovecot wrote: > On Sat, Jan 24, 2026 at 4:11PM Curtis J Blank via dovecot > <[1]dovecot@dovecot.org <mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org>> wrote: > > I just did a Tumbleweed upgrade. then I had to fix dovecot. No warning > that dovecot was going to break what so ever. Below is all the things I > had to fix. And then I could not read my email in Thunderbird because > you changed: > > mail_location = mbox:~/mail:INBOX=/var/spool/mail/%u > to > mail_driver = mbox > mail_path = ~/mail > mail_inbox_path = /var/spool/mail/%{user} > > and the "%u" to "%{user}" was the showstopper. > > What a crock of BS! I spent 3 hours determining the problem and then > fixing dovecot because you decided to make major changes for no good > reason. It worked just fine the way it was. You could have automated the > changes by providing a utility that would make the changes the first > time it started up after the upgrade. > > All this ranting while you did not read the release announcement? > Oh Lord of Mercy :-) > -- > Best regards, > Odhiambo WASHINGTON, > Nairobi,KE > +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 > In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. > "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' -\_(Tu)_/- :-) > [How to ask smart > questions: [2]http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart- questions.html <http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html>] > > References > > Visible links > 1. mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org <mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org> > 2. http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html <http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html> > > > _______________________________________________ > dovecot mailing list -- dovecot@dovecot.org <mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org> > To unsubscribe send an email to dovecot-leave@dovecot.org <mailto:dovecot-leave@dovecot.org> _______________________________________________ dovecot mailing list -- dovecot@dovecot.org <mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org> To unsubscribe send an email to dovecot-leave@dovecot.org <mailto:dovecot-leave@dovecot.org>
- Curtis J Blank via dovecot:
I just did a Tumbleweed upgrade. then I had to fix dovecot. [... whining deleted ...]
If you choose to rely on a prepackaged Dovecot provided by openSUSE, which describe Tumbleweed as a "leading-edge" (their words, i.e. rolling) distribution, you need to discuss your problems with updating said package with the openSUSE people.
If you additionally choose to upgrade your production mail service without previously going through a suitable testing environment, that's entirely your personal fault, and no amount of whining will change that.
-Ralph
On 24/01/2026 14:10, Curtis J Blank via dovecot wrote:
I just did a Tumbleweed upgrade. then I had to fix dovecot. No warning that dovecot was going to break what so ever. Below is all the things I had to fix. And then I could not read my email in Thunderbird because you changed:
mail_location = mbox:~/mail:INBOX=/var/spool/mail/%u to mail_driver = mbox mail_path = ~/mail mail_inbox_path = /var/spool/mail/%{user}
and the "%u" to "%{user}" was the showstopper.
What a crock of BS! I spent 3 hours determining the problem and then fixing dovecot because you decided to make major changes for no good reason. It worked just fine the way it was. You could have automated the changes by providing a utility that would make the changes the first time it started up after the upgrade.
Hi Curtis
I understand the unexpected difficulty that you had to go through when you found the new version of Dovecot upgraded in your distro upgrade. But it has to be said that the 2.4 version has been a long time coming and is now at 2.4.2 and you can say many things, but the incompatible changes have been well known and publicized for a very long time now, I think probably years rather than months. If you're using Dovecot it would be best to keep an eye on announcements. Even if you hadn't noticed it, this didn't just come out of the blue.
I personally am still running the previous version on Fedora 42 and since the upgrade to 43 includes the new 2.4 I have made my own 2.3 rpms for Fedora 43 so that I can keep running it and then do the config conversion calmly and in a test environment before doing it for real, while still getting the new version of the distro. That strategy itself is not without risk though.
I can't blame distro packagers either. Some people are going to want the newest version, some people are going to be reticent about breaking their configurations and about the stabilization of the new version. You can't reallly please everyone.
The need for a configuration upgrade utility was probably clear to most people, but if it hasn't been done I think it is partly due to the difficultly of that task. it would have to cover many configuration parameters, not just the ones that you had to change in your case. Also some incompatible changes are not managed just through configuration. Depending on what features you currently use there could be some decisions to be taken too. I started to do some config migrations already on the previous installation for some of those features that were being deprecated in the new version just to hopefully smooth the final migration.
My guess is that so far no one has thought that it would be quicker to write a configuration utility than actually do the changes relevant to their own configuration. But that is the beauty of open source software. If you see a gap for something and you have the skills you can contribute something back and improve things for other people.
John
Hello,
it may be true the change was announced long time before, but me personally also did not notice and was quite surprised. If there is such a big compatibility change I would expoect major version number change (3.0) not a minor (2.4) which evokes some higher progress but not the configuration compatibility change.
I would also expect on such change if the software accepts also old config for some time and logs about deprecated config. Just to get prepared. I accept there could be reasons which did not allow authors to do it like that.
Marek
Odoslané pomocou bezpečného emailu Proton Mail.
sobota 24. januára 2026, 17:13, John Fawcett via dovecot <dovecot@dovecot.org> napísal/a:
On 24/01/2026 14:10, Curtis J Blank via dovecot wrote:
I just did a Tumbleweed upgrade. then I had to fix dovecot. No warning that dovecot was going to break what so ever. Below is all the things I had to fix. And then I could not read my email in Thunderbird because you changed:
mail_location = mbox:~/mail:INBOX=/var/spool/mail/%u to mail_driver = mbox mail_path = ~/mail mail_inbox_path = /var/spool/mail/%{user}
and the "%u" to "%{user}" was the showstopper.
What a crock of BS! I spent 3 hours determining the problem and then fixing dovecot because you decided to make major changes for no good reason. It worked just fine the way it was. You could have automated the changes by providing a utility that would make the changes the first time it started up after the upgrade.
Hi Curtis
I understand the unexpected difficulty that you had to go through when you found the new version of Dovecot upgraded in your distro upgrade. But it has to be said that the 2.4 version has been a long time coming and is now at 2.4.2 and you can say many things, but the incompatible changes have been well known and publicized for a very long time now, I think probably years rather than months. If you're using Dovecot it would be best to keep an eye on announcements. Even if you hadn't noticed it, this didn't just come out of the blue.
I personally am still running the previous version on Fedora 42 and since the upgrade to 43 includes the new 2.4 I have made my own 2.3 rpms for Fedora 43 so that I can keep running it and then do the config conversion calmly and in a test environment before doing it for real, while still getting the new version of the distro. That strategy itself is not without risk though.
I can't blame distro packagers either. Some people are going to want the newest version, some people are going to be reticent about breaking their configurations and about the stabilization of the new version. You can't reallly please everyone.
The need for a configuration upgrade utility was probably clear to most people, but if it hasn't been done I think it is partly due to the difficultly of that task. it would have to cover many configuration parameters, not just the ones that you had to change in your case. Also some incompatible changes are not managed just through configuration. Depending on what features you currently use there could be some decisions to be taken too. I started to do some config migrations already on the previous installation for some of those features that were being deprecated in the new version just to hopefully smooth the final migration.
My guess is that so far no one has thought that it would be quicker to write a configuration utility than actually do the changes relevant to their own configuration. But that is the beauty of open source software. If you see a gap for something and you have the skills you can contribute something back and improve things for other people.
John
dovecot mailing list -- dovecot@dovecot.org To unsubscribe send an email to dovecot-leave@dovecot.org
On Sun, Jan 25, 2026 at 2:47 PM Marek Greško via dovecot < dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
Hello,
it may be true the change was announced long time before, but me personally also did not notice and was quite surprised. If there is such a big compatibility change I would expoect major version number change (3.0) not a minor (2.4) which evokes some higher progress but not the configuration compatibility change.
I would also expect on such change if the software accepts also old config for some time and logs about deprecated config. Just to get prepared. I accept there could be reasons which did not allow authors to do it like that.
Marek
Every major release or point release always comes with a Release Announcement and if there are any breaking changes, they are always listed. Your expectations as stated are personal. The developers just do their thing as always. Before any upgrade/update, always refer to the Release Announcement!
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :-) [How to ask smart questions: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]
On Sun, Jan 25, 2026 at 2:47PM Marek Gresko via dovecot <[1]dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
Hello,
it may be true the change was announced long time before, but me
personally also did not notice and was quite surprised. If there is such
a big compatibility change I would expoect major version number change
(3.0) not a minor (2.4) which evokes some higher progress but not the
configuration compatibility change.
I would also expect on such change if the software accepts also old
config for some time and logs about deprecated config. Just to get
prepared. I accept there could be reasons which did not allow authors to
do it like that.
MarekEvery major release or point release always comes with a Release Announcement and if there are any breaking changes, they are always listed. Your expectations as stated are personal. The developers just do their thing as always. Before any upgrade/update, always refer to the Release Announcement!
Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' -\_(Tu)_/- :-) [How to ask smart questions: [2]http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]
References
Visible links
- mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org
- http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
Hello,
there was no offence just an opinion. But if you use some Linux distribution, which includes thousands of packages, do you really read release notes for every package before upgrade?
Marek
Odoslané pomocou bezpečného emailu Proton Mail.
nedeľa 25. januára 2026, 12:57, Washington Odhiambo via dovecot <dovecot@dovecot.org> napísal/a:
On Sun, Jan 25, 2026 at 2:47 PM Marek Greško via dovecot < dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
Hello,
it may be true the change was announced long time before, but me personally also did not notice and was quite surprised. If there is such a big compatibility change I would expoect major version number change (3.0) not a minor (2.4) which evokes some higher progress but not the configuration compatibility change.
I would also expect on such change if the software accepts also old config for some time and logs about deprecated config. Just to get prepared. I accept there could be reasons which did not allow authors to do it like that.
Marek
Every major release or point release always comes with a Release Announcement and if there are any breaking changes, they are always listed. Your expectations as stated are personal. The developers just do their thing as always. Before any upgrade/update, always refer to the Release Announcement!
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' ¯\(ツ)/¯ :-) [How to ask smart questions: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html] On Sun, Jan 25, 2026 at 2:47PM Marek Gresko via dovecot <[1]dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
Hello,
it may be true the change was announced long time before, but me personally also did not notice and was quite surprised. If there is such a big compatibility change I would expoect major version number change (3.0) not a minor (2.4) which evokes some higher progress but not the configuration compatibility change.
I would also expect on such change if the software accepts also old config for some time and logs about deprecated config. Just to get prepared. I accept there could be reasons which did not allow authors to do it like that.
Marek
Every major release or point release always comes with a Release Announcement and if there are any breaking changes, they are always listed. Your expectations as stated are personal. The developers just do their thing as always. Before any upgrade/update, always refer to the Release Announcement!
Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' -\(Tu)/- :-) [How to ask smart questions: [2]http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]
References
Visible links
- mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org
- http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
dovecot mailing list -- dovecot@dovecot.org To unsubscribe send an email to dovecot-leave@dovecot.org
On Sun, Jan 25, 2026 at 3:17 PM Marek Greško <marek.gresko@protonmail.com> wrote:
Hello,
there was no offence just an opinion. But if you use some Linux distribution, which includes thousands of packages, do you really read release notes for every package before upgrade?
Marek
Distro maintainers always warn of breaking changes. So, for example, you are NOT supposed to upgrade from Debian12 to Debian13 before you read the Release Announcement.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :-) [How to ask smart questions: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]
On Sun, Jan 25, 2026 at 3:17PM Marek Gresko <[1]marek.gresko@protonmail.com> wrote:
Hello,
there was no offence just an opinion. But if you use some Linux
distribution, which includes thousands of packages, do you really read
release notes for every package before upgrade?
MarekDistro maintainers always warn of breaking changes. So, for example, you are NOT supposed to upgrade from Debian12 to Debian13 before you read the Release Announcement.
Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' -\_(Tu)_/- :-) [How to ask smart questions: [2]http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]
References
Visible links
- mailto:marek.gresko@protonmail.com
- http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
On 2026-01-25, Marek Greško via dovecot <dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
there was no offence just an opinion. But if you use some Linux distribution, which includes thousands of packages, do you really read release notes for every package before upgrade?
For standard software which is just providing a library or some tool or something which doesn't need much in the way of configuration, of course not. On a workstation, if you've got some important software that you really rely on, you probably should. If you're working on a server and there's a major version update to software providing a more complex service like email, that would be a *really* good idea...
But if you use some Linux distribution, which includes thousands of packages, do you really read release notes for every package before upgrade?
If you're upgrading any user-configured *server* component that you depend on, and NOT reading the mailing list, documentation & release notes, that's NOT a Dovecot problem. or a Distro problem.
Re: communication:
Dovecot 2.4 was announced & release a long time ago. Along with the crystal-clear v2.3 EOL announcement -- effective **May 2025**,
https://dovecot.org/mailman3/archives/list/dovecot-news@dovecot.org/thread/3P45L76DOC3NKUNSSPIXQNKINGOCYH5K/'clear' from them does not mean ppl will like it. Was it a well-managed, clearly-documented, easy-to-implement transition? Nope. Or at least, not done as well as it could/should have been.
As for the Linux distros ... quite a few seem to be enjoying this 'fun'.
Fedora, e.g, made a choice to NOT release Dovecot v2.4 packages for Fedora 42, or v2.3 packages for Fedora 43; current availabilty is here
https://src.fedoraproject.org/rpms/dovecotIf you updated Fedora 42 -> 43, you were then 'forced' to deal with the immediately 'broken' Dovecot installation, requiring the v2.3 -> v2.4 manual config update process. In many cases, clearly not 'smooth' ...
Forcing such a known-breaking change on users for a distro-packaged server component IN CONJUNCTION with a Distro release was a poor release implementation choice. Treating server apps like desktop apps usually is. They were told, repeatedly; they chose not to agree. Or respond. Their distro, their rules ...
To this day,
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/Dovecot2.4soft-pedals the issue.
The solution here was to build own Dovecot 2.3 & 2.4 packages for Fedora 42 & 43 (or find another non-distro source). Then do the Fedora (or any other distro) upgrade ... independent of their 'forced' Dovecot version change.
I was reading documentation and converting my config step-by-step. There were a bunch of error messages to sort out. Most of them I could, but there are permission issues preventing the upgrade. I'm not an IT illiterate and maintaining servers for 20+ years. But this one gives me headaches. Again: I did RTFM. There was a recent post by Curtis, so my problems may be syntax related after all and not about permissions in any way.
So despite of reading release announcements and all sorts of documentations, it is still not straightforward. And I am not the only one according to the list.
I go with Marek. These changes would have provided enough a reason for a major version bump, not from 2.3 to 2.4. And it would have been good to indicate deprecated configuration options before or provide config backward compatibility or conversion. Not to break nearly every config as it was.
dr Tóth Attila, Radiológus, 06-20-825-8057 Attila Toth MD, Radiologist, +36-20-825-8057
2026.Január 25.(V) 12:54 időpontban Washington Odhiambo via dovecot ezt írta:
On Sun, Jan 25, 2026 at 2:47PM Marek Gresko via dovecot <[1]dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
Hello, it may be true the change was announced long time before, but me personally also did not notice and was quite surprised. If there issuch a big compatibility change I would expoect major version number change (3.0) not a minor (2.4) which evokes some higher progress but not the configuration compatibility change.
I would also expect on such change if the software accepts also old config for some time and logs about deprecated config. Just to get prepared. I accept there could be reasons which did not allow authorsto do it like that.
MarekEvery major release or point release always comes with a Release Announcement and if there are any breaking changes, they are always listed. Your expectations as stated are personal. The developers just do their thing as always. Before any upgrade/update, always refer to the Release Announcement!
Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' -\_(Tu)_/- :-) [How to ask smart questions: [2]http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]
References
Visible links
- mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org
- http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
dovecot mailing list -- dovecot@dovecot.org To unsubscribe send an email to dovecot-leave@dovecot.org
Again, to reiterate once more in this thread, 2.4 **is** major release.
The versioning scheme is generation.major.minor.patch, so 2.4.0.0 is the full version number for 2.4.0, we just drop the last .0 as it's not really a patch release.
Aki
On 26/01/2026 12:59 EET "Tóth Attila" via dovecot <dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
I was reading documentation and converting my config step-by-step. There were a bunch of error messages to sort out. Most of them I could, but there are permission issues preventing the upgrade. I'm not an IT illiterate and maintaining servers for 20+ years. But this one gives me headaches. Again: I did RTFM. There was a recent post by Curtis, so my problems may be syntax related after all and not about permissions in any way.
So despite of reading release announcements and all sorts of documentations, it is still not straightforward. And I am not the only one according to the list.
I go with Marek. These changes would have provided enough a reason for a major version bump, not from 2.3 to 2.4. And it would have been good to indicate deprecated configuration options before or provide config backward compatibility or conversion. Not to break nearly every config as it was.
dr Tóth Attila, Radiológus, 06-20-825-8057 Attila Toth MD, Radiologist, +36-20-825-8057
2026.Január 25.(V) 12:54 időpontban Washington Odhiambo via dovecot ezt írta:
On Sun, Jan 25, 2026 at 2:47PM Marek Gresko via dovecot <[1]dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
Hello, it may be true the change was announced long time before, but me personally also did not notice and was quite surprised. If there issuch a big compatibility change I would expoect major version number change (3.0) not a minor (2.4) which evokes some higher progress but not the configuration compatibility change.
I would also expect on such change if the software accepts also old config for some time and logs about deprecated config. Just to get prepared. I accept there could be reasons which did not allow authorsto do it like that.
MarekEvery major release or point release always comes with a Release Announcement and if there are any breaking changes, they are always listed. Your expectations as stated are personal. The developers just do their thing as always. Before any upgrade/update, always refer to the Release Announcement!
Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' -\_(Tu)_/- :-) [How to ask smart questions: [2]http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]
References
Visible links
- mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org
- http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
dovecot mailing list -- dovecot@dovecot.org To unsubscribe send an email to dovecot-leave@dovecot.org
dovecot mailing list -- dovecot@dovecot.org To unsubscribe send an email to dovecot-leave@dovecot.org
I'd like to give a feedback on the issue I was struggling with.
The online configuration converter helped me to sort out any remaining problems after manual adjustments. The permission problems probably arised because passwd wasn't defined properly and hence I guess it couldn't properly attach uid to a given user. Now that the config has been properly converted, things are running fine.
Thank you Aki for the online converter: it was quite useful. Pointed out some things I missed after reading documents.
Bugless conding: Dw.
dr Tóth Attila, Radiológus, 06-20-825-8057 Attila Toth MD, Radiologist, +36-20-825-8057
2026.Január 26.(H) 12:01 időpontban Aki Tuomi ezt írta:
Again, to reiterate once more in this thread, 2.4 **is** major release.
The versioning scheme is generation.major.minor.patch, so 2.4.0.0 is the full version number for 2.4.0, we just drop the last .0 as it's not really a patch release.
Aki
On 26/01/2026 12:59 EET "Tóth Attila" via dovecot <dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
I was reading documentation and converting my config step-by-step. There were a bunch of error messages to sort out. Most of them I could, but there are permission issues preventing the upgrade. I'm not an IT illiterate and maintaining servers for 20+ years. But this one gives me headaches. Again: I did RTFM. There was a recent post by Curtis, so my problems may be syntax related after all and not about permissions in any way.
So despite of reading release announcements and all sorts of documentations, it is still not straightforward. And I am not the only one according to the list.
I go with Marek. These changes would have provided enough a reason for a major version bump, not from 2.3 to 2.4. And it would have been good to indicate deprecated configuration options before or provide config backward compatibility or conversion. Not to break nearly every config as it was.
dr Tóth Attila, Radiológus, 06-20-825-8057 Attila Toth MD, Radiologist, +36-20-825-8057
2026.Január 25.(V) 12:54 időpontban Washington Odhiambo via dovecot ezt írta:
On Sun, Jan 25, 2026 at 2:47PM Marek Gresko via dovecot <[1]dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
Hello, it may be true the change was announced long time before, but me personally also did not notice and was quite surprised. If thereis such a big compatibility change I would expoect major version number change (3.0) not a minor (2.4) which evokes some higher progress but not the configuration compatibility change.
I would also expect on such change if the software accepts alsoold config for some time and logs about deprecated config. Just to get prepared. I accept there could be reasons which did not allow authors to do it like that.
MarekEvery major release or point release always comes with a Release Announcement and if there are any breaking changes, they are always listed. Your expectations as stated are personal. The developers just do their thing as always. Before any upgrade/update, always refer to the Release Announcement!
Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 In an Internet failure case, the #1 suspect is a constant: DNS. "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' -\_(Tu)_/- :-) [How to ask smart questions: [2]http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html]
References
Visible links
- mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org
- http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
dovecot mailing list -- dovecot@dovecot.org To unsubscribe send an email to dovecot-leave@dovecot.org
dovecot mailing list -- dovecot@dovecot.org To unsubscribe send an email to dovecot-leave@dovecot.org
On 25/01/2026 12:46, Marek Greško via dovecot wrote:
Hello,
it may be true the change was announced long time before, but me personally also did not notice and was quite surprised. If there is such a big compatibility change I would expoect major version number change (3.0) not a minor (2.4) which evokes some higher progress but not the configuration compatibility change.
I would also expect on such change if the software accepts also old config for some time and logs about deprecated config. Just to get prepared. I accept there could be reasons which did not allow authors to do it like that.
Marek
Hi Marek
I don't want to underestimate people's irritation and surprise about finding incompatible changes in Dovecot after upgrading a distro that includes 2.4. If I had done the same thing I would also be irritated, just maybe more with myself.
It's a good point about the major versioning, I am sure there is a logic behind why Dovecot CE did a minor version update and Dovecot Pro did a major one, linked to the amount of change that went into Dovecot Pro. For those using Dovecot CE the amount of change they see between 2.3 and 2.4 could have warranted a major release too. But now that can only be a lesson for the future.
Even if Dovecot CE had been released as 4.0 you would still find people who have the strategy of doing the upgrade and fixing things afterwards. Everyone has their own level of risk they are prepared to accept. I admit to using that strategy on my desktop (after a backup) and it has never let me down so far, but the risk is there.
When you have a production environment that cannot accept major down time, you become more risk-averse. It may not be possible to read the release notes of all packages updated in a distro upgrade, but based on the purpose of the server (web server, db server, mail server, dns server etc) I would certainly want to read release notes for the packages that provide the key services.
In any case as I recently found out breaking changes is not ust a problem related only to distro upgrades, even a simple package update without changing distro version can have potentially disasterous consequences (a dud version of mariadb distributed in the fedora 42 updates, that went into core dump at startup). So if you need to guarantee a service level in production, any changes will always go through a non production environment first. If you have a greater acceptance of risks, then you can do an in place upgrades reading the release notes of the key packages, or if you don't really mind about the risks you can use the strategy of upgrade and see what happens. No one strategy will fit all cases.
This may sound provocative, but the assumption that there is no risk in just hitting the upgrade button, because the developers have named the versions in a certain way, that if they changed the configuration they must have done it in a backward compatible way, or they did it gradually with deprecation notices over many releases (like mysql/mariadb, php, which have another release and update logic) or they provided an automatic migration script etc. just does not correspond with reality in some cases like this one.
John
On 25/01/2026 15:00 EET John Fawcett via dovecot
<[1]dovecot@dovecot.org> wrote:
On 25/01/2026 12:46, Marek Gresko via dovecot wrote:
Hello,
it may be true the change was announced long time before, but me
personally also did not notice and was quite surprised. If there is
such a big compatibility change I would expoect major version number
change (3.0) not a minor (2.4) which evokes some higher progress but
not the configuration compatibility change.
I would also expect on such change if the software accepts also old
config for some time and logs about deprecated config. Just to get
prepared. I accept there could be reasons which did not allow authors
to do it like that.
Marek
>
Hi Marek
I don't want to underestimate people's irritation and surprise about
finding incompatible changes in Dovecot after upgrading a distro that
includes 2.4. If I had done the same thing I would also be irritated,
just maybe more with myself.
It's a good point about the major versioning, I am sure there is a logic
behind why Dovecot CE did a minor version update and Dovecot Pro did a
major one, linked to the amount of change that went into Dovecot Pro.
For those using Dovecot CE the amount of change they see between 2.3 and
2.4 could have warranted a major release too. But now that can only be a
lesson for the future.As Dovecot CE is over 20 years old, the versioning is slightly different than what people assume.
For us 2.4 is major release, 2.4.1 is minor release. I understand that this is not what semver says, but thats how it is.
Aki
References
Visible links
- mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org
On 24/01/2026 14:10, Curtis J Blank wrote:
I just did a Tumbleweed upgrade. then I had to fix dovecot. No warning that dovecot was going to break what so ever.
Well, that tells us that you've been reading neither this mailinglist (which pointed out non-backwards-compatibility as the "upstream" 2.4 was announced in the first place) nor release notes like the ones for Fedora 43
https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora/latest/release-notes/sysadmin/#d...
which brought the 2.3-to-2.4 switch to those of my systems that *have* switched so far - note that that was a *major* version upgrade, no less.
Of course, Tumbleweed states that it doesn't even *have* clear versioning, much less any update steps being flagged as "major" or "risky" ones
https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Upgrade_Tumbleweed
to serve as a warning sign for you ...
Kind regards,
Jochen Bern Systemingenieur Binect GmbH
participants (12)
-
"Tóth Attila"
-
Aki Tuomi
-
Curtis J Blank
-
Jochen Bern
-
John Fawcett
-
John Hill
-
Marc Haber
-
Marek Greško
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pgnd
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Ralph Seichter
-
Stuart Henderson
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Washington Odhiambo