doveadm

Dovecot mail server administration tool

TLDR

Show mailbox status

$ doveadm mailbox status -u [user@example.com] all '*'

List user mailboxes

$ doveadm mailbox list -u [user@example.com]

Search messages

$ doveadm search -u [user@example.com] mailbox INBOX subject "[test]"

Expunge deleted messages

$ doveadm expunge -u [user@example.com] mailbox Trash all

Force user reindex

$ doveadm index -u [user@example.com] INBOX

Show user quota

$ doveadm quota get -u [user@example.com]

Sync mailboxes

$ doveadm sync -u [user@example.com] [remote_host]

SYNOPSIS

doveadm [options] command [args]

doveadm is the administration tool for Dovecot IMAP/POP3 server. It provides commands for managing mailboxes, users, and server operations without directly manipulating mail storage.The tool handles tasks like mailbox maintenance, message search and manipulation, quota management, and replication control.

PARAMETERS

-u user

Target user for operation.

-A

Apply to all users.

-D

Enable debug output.

-v

Verbose output.

-f format

Output format (flow, pager, tab, table).

-o setting=value

Override configuration.

CONFIGURATION

/etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf

Main Dovecot configuration file controlling mail storage, authentication, and protocols.

COMMANDS

mailbox list/status/create/delete/rename: Mailbox managementsearch: Find messagesfetch: Retrieve message dataexpunge: Delete messagesindex: Reindex mailboxesquota: Quota operationssync: Dsync replicationuser: User information

CAVEATS

Requires proper Dovecot configuration. Some commands need root or dovecot user. Operations on large mailboxes can be slow. User must exist in Dovecot's user database.

HISTORY

doveadm was introduced in Dovecot 2.0 around 2010, replacing older administrative scripts. Dovecot itself was created by Timo Sirainen in 2002 as a secure, high-performance IMAP server. Doveadm unified various administrative tasks into a single, consistent interface.