Universal IMAP Migration Tool (CLI)

A robust, interactive Bash wrapper for imapsync. This tool provides a user-friendly CLI menu to migrate email accounts between servers.

It handles background processing, logging, connection stability, and security automatically, so you don't have to memorize complex CLI flags.

🚀 Features

• Interactive Menu: No need to type long commands or CSV files. Just follow the prompts.
• Background Processing: Migrations run in the background (detached). You can close your terminal without killing the migration.
• Performance Optimized: Uses --useheader and --skipcrossduplicates for maximum speed (skips downloading full bodies if headers match).
• Live Monitoring: View real-time logs of active migrations without interrupting them.
• PID Tracking: Smart tracking system that knows exactly which migrations are running and which have finished.
• Secure & Self-Cleaning: Passwords are stored in temporary, permission-locked files (chmod 600) and are automatically deleted the moment the migration finishes or fails.

🛠️ Prerequisites

This tool requires imapsync to be installed on your system.

1. Install imapsync

Ubuntu / Debian:

cd /tmp/
wget https://imapsync.lamiral.info/dist2/imapsync.deb
sudo apt install ./imapsync.deb

CentOS / AlmaLinux / Rocky Linux / CloudLinux:

First, enable the EPEL repository (if not already enabled):

sudo dnf install epel-release

Then install imapsync:

sudo dnf install imapsync

2. Install optional utilities (Recommended)

The tool uses standard Linux commands (ps, grep, awk, tail). These are usually pre-installed. If you encounter issues viewing logs, ensure less is installed.

📥 Installation

Clone this repository or copy and paste the script into migration_tool.sh.

Make the script executable:

chmod +x migration_tool.sh

🖥️ Usage

Run the tool from your terminal:

./migration_tool.sh

The Main Menu

1. Start new migration:
   • Prompts for Source (Host1) and Destination (Host2) details.
   • Automatically validates credentials (--justlogin) before starting.
   • Starts the migration in the background and schedules immediate password cleanup.
2. View ACTIVE logs:
   • Shows a list of currently running migrations.
   • Select one to view its live progress.
   • Press q to return to the menu (does not stop the migration).
3. View HISTORY:
   • View logs of completed or failed migrations.
4. Delete old logs:
   • Cleans up the log directory.

⚙️ Technical Details (Flags Used)

This script applies the following imapsync optimizations by default:

• --useheader "Message-Id": Huge speed boost. Compares emails by Header ID instead of body size/content. Essential when migrating between different server types.
• --syncinternaldates: Preserves the original date/time of emails.
• --resyncflags: Preserves Read/Unread/Replied status.
• --skipcrossduplicates: Prevents checking across different folders (saves CPU).
• --delete2duplicates: Ensures the destination folder doesn't contain duplicates.

📂 File Structure

The script creates two hidden folders in its running directory:

• ./imapsync_logs/: Contains the output logs for every migration.
• ./.imapsync_secrets/: Temporarily stores password files and the active process tracker (cleaned up automatically).