Move IMAP Accounts from Server to Server

Using imapsync by Gilles Lamiral

imapsync is a command-line tool for migrating IMAP mailboxes between servers. Purchased on 30.11.2018 for 60€ — reliable tool for migrating client email accounts (e.g. to cyon.ch).

Binary location: ~/bin/imapsync-1.977

The new IMAP account has to be created on the destination server before migrating the contents to it.

Migration checklist
  1. Erfrage die lokale Konfiguration beim Kunden
  2. Neue E-Mail-Adresse beim neuen Hoster anlegen
  3. Kunden den Zugang zum neuen Webmail erklären
  4. Domain umziehen und auf neuen Server zeigen lassen
  5. 48h Umzug abwarten
  6. Alle Mails vom alten Server per imapsync umziehen
  7. Neues E-Mail-Konto in den Programmen des Kunden einrichten

imapsync command

Always run with --dry first to verify everything copies over correctly. Remove the flag to actually start copying.

./imapsync_bin_Darwin \
  --host1 "source.host.com" \
  --user1 "user@example.com" \
  --password1 "password" \
  --host2 "dest.host.com" \
  --user2 "user@example.com" \
  --password2 "password" \
  --dry \
  --automap
  • --host1 / --host2 — source and destination IMAP server URLs
  • --user1 / --user2 — login usernames
  • --password1 / --password2 — login passwords
  • --dry — dry run, simulates without copying
  • --automap — automatically maps folder names between servers