doveadm

Show mailbox status

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

-u user

Target user for operation.

Apply to all users.

Enable debug output.

Verbose output.

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

Override configuration.

mailbox list/status/create/delete/rename: Mailbox management
search: Find messages
fetch: Retrieve message data
expunge: Delete messages
index: Reindex mailboxes
quota: Quota operations
sync: Dsync replication
user: User information

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.

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.

dovecot(1), dsync(1), postfix(1), mutt(1)