# joeyates/imap-backup

Backup and Migrate IMAP Email Accounts

Repository: https://github.com/joeyates/imap-backup
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/imap-backup
Language: Ruby
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: imap, backup, ruby
Last push: 2026-03-30T14:41:16+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 78/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 74, release rhythm 70, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5197, "days_push": 156, "days_rel": 203, "gap_med": 4, "n_releases_24m": 10}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1703, forks 90 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:24.528950+00:00)

## What it is
imap-backup is a Ruby command-line tool for backing up and migrating IMAP email accounts. It downloads messages to local storage and can restore or transfer them to another IMAP account, running standalone without an email client.

## Use cases
- back up my gmail via imap to local disk
- migrate emails from one imap account to another
- scheduled incremental backup of my mailbox
- restore downloaded emails to a new server
- archive old email accounts before closing them

## When to choose
- you need a standalone, scriptable IMAP backup without a mail client
- you want restartable incremental backups of mailboxes
- you need to move mail between IMAP providers

## When to avoid
- you need a GUI backup solution
- you only use POP3 or Exchange-specific protocols without IMAP access

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: backup, email, cli
- domain: email, self-hosted
- platform: cli, cross-platform, ruby
- tags: imap, email-backup, email-migration, ruby-gem, backup, command-line

## Member repositories
- joeyates/imap-backup (main) score 78

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:24.528950+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:37:38.282176+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/joeyates/imap-backup (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:24.528950+00:00, sha 119976ed0d8e)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.