Re: Ideas to obtain text file list of emails in an IMAP folder?

[Dan Purgert <dan@djph.net>]

Ron Leach wrote:
> List, good afternoon,
>
> Have any debian-user readers ever tried to create a list of all the 
> email messages stored in an IMAP folder?
>
> We run Dovecot as an IMAP server.  Email messages relating to 
> different projects/activities are held in different IMAP folders.  I'd 
> like to have a list, in a text file, of all the messages held in one 
> or other IMAP folder.  The best outcome would be a file listing each 
> message's From, To, Date, and Subject, and any order would do.  I only 
> need the list of messages, not the messages themselves.  The person 
> doing this would be the person whose mailbox it is, and would have the 
> IMAP passwords etc.
>
> [snip]

Do the same here (Dovecot + Postfix), not 100% certain if this'll match
your setup, but it should be pretty close.

ASSUMPTIONS BASED ON MY SETUP:
 | mailroot: /var/mail/vhosts/domain.tld
 | userdir: $mailroot/user
 | |-inbox: $userdir/cur
 | |-otherfolders: $userdir/directory/cur

In the inbox (or other folder), mails are referenced as long filenames
like -- 1464813605.M917021P29754.mailserver,S=49388,W=50440:2,d (not
that it matters, but it might be important to you).

And the headers are, well, standard.  So, we can pull the info out
pretty easily.  This is a terribad "I just wrote it right now" script,
but I think it covers what you want.  

It works here ... output looks like this:
 | Message: 1464237628.M592694P7866.[xxx],S=6188,W=6304:2,S
 | Subject: Re: Thanks
 | From: Peter 
 | Date: Wed, 25 May 2016 20:52:23 -0400
 | To: Dan Purgert <dan@djph.net>
 |
 | =================
 |
 | [next message ...]


HTH, and happy hacking :)

< - @ - @ - CUT HERE FOR SCRIPT - @ - @ ->
#!/bin/bash
########################################################################
#
#
#                       script: mlhdr   
#                           by: Dan Purgert
#                    copyright: 2016
#                      version: 0.1
#                         date: Fri Jun  3 11:33:44 EDT 2016
#                      purpose: Quick and dirty script to help fellow
#                             : hacker Ron Leach with getting email  
#                             : header information.
#
#                      license: GPL v2 (only)
#                prerequisites: User running this MUST(RFC2119) be a
#                             : member of sudoers (or root).
#                 installation: chmod +x and run via sudo/as root.  
#
#
########################################################################

if [[ $EUID -ne 0 ]]; then 
  printf "\nSorry, this script must be run as root.\n"
  exit 0
fi

if [[ $# = 0 ]] || [[ "$1" = "-h" ]] ; then
  printf "
  ------------
  mlhdr
  ------------ 
  
  This script is intended to grab the header information from emails in
  the listed directory.  

  Usage:
    mlhdr /path/to/mail/box [/output/file]
  
  Options:
    -h Print this help and exit"
  exit 0
fi

spinner() {
  local pid=$1
  local del=0.5
  local sp='/-\|'
  local n=${#sp}
  printf ' ' >&2
  while [ $(ps a | awk '{print $1}' | grep $pid) ] ; do
        printf '\b%s' "${sp:i++%n:1}" >&2
        sleep $del
  done
}

if [[ "$2" = '' ]]; then
  :
else
  exec 1>"$2"
fi

chk=$(echo "${1:(-3)}")
if [[ "$chk" = "cur" ]]; then
  dir="$1"
else
  dir="$1/cur"
fi

cd "$dir"

(
  for f in *; do
    printf "Message: $f\n"
    egrep '^From:|^To:|^Date:|^Subject:' "$f"
    printf "\n=================\n\n"
  done ) & spinner $!

#############################END#####################

-- 
Registered Linux user #585947
Github: https://github.com/dpurgert