As an Emacs enthusiast, I’ve found Mu4e to be an excellent email client. While Emacs can send emails, it can’t fetch and sync them efficiently. Enter isync, the perfect companion to fill this gap.
Setting up this duo took some digging, so I’m sharing my configuration to save you time and headaches.
Here’s what my setup accomplishes:
- Syncs all mailboxes, excluding junk and notes.
- Renames “Sent Items” to “Sent” for simplicity.
- Encrypts your password on disk using GPG.
First, I recommend to install the latest version of isync, if you are on the Mac, use brew install isync --HEAD. Then, you’ll need to create an encrypted password file. In Emacs, run the epa-encrypt-file command.
Now, let’s dive into the heart of the setup. Here’s my .mbsyncrc configuration file:
# Petar account on Fastmail.
IMAPAccount petar
Host imap.fastmail.com
Port 993
AuthMechs LOGIN
User [email protected]
PassCmd "gpg -q --for-your-eyes-only --no-tty -d ~/.mbsync-password-petar.gpg"
TLSType IMAPS
TLSVersions +1.2
IMAPStore petar-remote
Account petar
# Petar Local.
MaildirStore petar-local
Path ~/Mail/Petar/
Inbox ~/Mail/Petar/Inbox
Trash ~/Mail/Petar/Trash/
SubFolders Verbatim
# Sync everything besides sent and junk.
Channel sync-petar-all
Far :petar-remote:
Near :petar-local:
Patterns * !"Sent Items" !"Junk Mail" !"Notes"
Expunge None
CopyArrivalDate yes
Sync All
Create Near
SyncState *
# Sync and rename the sent items
Channel sync-petar-sent
Far :petar-remote:"Sent Items"
Near :petar-local:Sent
Expunge None
CopyArrivalDate yes
Sync All
Create Near
SyncState *
Group petar
Channel sync-petar-all
Channel sync-petar-sent
With this setup, you’ll have all your email on disk, ready to use it in Emacs and Mu4e.