thunderbird

Open thunderbird

$ thunderbird

$ thunderbird -P [profile_name]

$ thunderbird --profile [path/to/profile/directory]

thunderbird [OPTIONS] [URL]

-P <profile> or --profile <profile>
    Starts Thunderbird with the specified user profile. If the profile does not exist, a new one may be created.

-p or --profile-manager
    Opens the Profile Manager, allowing you to choose, create, or delete user profiles before launching Thunderbird.

-no-remote
    Prevents Thunderbird from accepting or sending remote commands, useful for running multiple independent instances or debugging.

-compose <args>
    Opens a new message compose window with predefined recipients, subject, body, or attachments. Arguments are specified as a comma-separated list.

-url <URL>
    Opens the specified URL within Thunderbird, typically used for mailto: links or RSS feeds.

-safe-mode
    Starts Thunderbird in Safe Mode, temporarily disabling add-ons and hardware acceleration, useful for troubleshooting issues.

-v or --version
    Prints the Thunderbird version information to the console and exits.

-h or --help
    Displays a summary of command-line options and exits.

--new-instance
    Launches a new, separate instance of Thunderbird even if another instance is already running, bypassing the default single-instance behavior.

Thunderbird is a free, open-source, and cross-platform email, news, RSS, and chat client developed by the Mozilla Foundation. It offers robust features for managing multiple email accounts, including support for POP, IMAP, and SMTP protocols. Users benefit from its powerful message filtering, integrated search capabilities, and customizable interface through themes and extensions.

A key feature is its integration with the Lightning Calendar add-on, providing comprehensive calendar and task management functionalities directly within the client. Thunderbird is designed for security and privacy, incorporating features like phishing protection, digital signing, and message encryption (S/MIME and OpenPGP). Its extensibility via a vast library of add-ons allows users to tailor the software to their specific needs, from enhanced security to productivity tools. It's a widely used alternative to proprietary email clients on Linux systems.

Thunderbird can be resource-intensive, particularly with numerous email accounts, large mailboxes, or a significant number of installed add-ons. Profile corruption, while rare, can lead to data loss or application instability; regular backups of your profile directory are highly recommended.

Thunderbird stores all user data, settings, and mail in a profile directory. On Linux, this is typically located under ~/.thunderbird/. Each profile has a unique identifier (e.g., <random_string>.default), making it easy to manage multiple distinct user environments.

A significant strength of Thunderbird is its extensibility through add-ons (extensions, themes, and dictionaries). These can dramatically enhance functionality, provide new features, or alter the user interface, and are available from the Mozilla Add-ons website directly within the application or via a web browser.

Thunderbird originated from the Mozilla project, initially as a component of the Mozilla Application Suite (later SeaMonkey), and was formally released as a standalone product in 2004. Developed by the Mozilla Foundation, it shares much of its underlying code and heritage with the Firefox web browser, including the Gecko rendering engine. Over the years, its development has seen shifts, with the Mozilla Foundation stepping back from direct day-to-day development in favor of community and external contributions, though they continue to provide infrastructure and oversight. It has consistently remained a popular open-source choice for email, evolving with new features like the integrated calendar and improved security.

mail(1), evolution(1), firefox(1), mutt(1)