On a Mac, how can I restore the contents of a folder that didn't reappear after deleting inbox.msf?

Was it the inbox?

Do the messages appear when you sign in to webmail at your e-mail service provider's site?

To which archive are you referring? Do you have a back-up copy of your messages?

It wasn't the inbox—it was a folder.

Actually, the folder doesn't show up on the server… I'll check with my hosting provider, though I have my doubts. Thanks for reminding me.

The inbox is a folder too.

Was the folder a sub-folder of the inbox?

Yes, that's right. I organize all my emails into folders and subfolders. I was wondering if I could restore the emails from an archive on an external drive. But the question is: which file should I copy, and will I end up messing everythin

Every message folder in Thunderbird has two files: NAME and NAME.MSF. Copy NAME from your external drive to INBOX.sbd in your Thunderbird profile.

If you need help finding Thunderbird files, use the "Help" menu > Troubleshooting information > Profile folder > Show in [...].

You seem to have an IMAP account, so look in ImapMail for INBOX.sbd.

Re-start Thunderbird after you copy the file.

This process should work. If it does not, we can try another approach.

It was my idea, but I was afraid I'd mess everything up. I just did a backup of my hard drive just in case. Thanks