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Can I somehow configure Thunderbird to fetch mail from SSH?

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  • Last reply by usename87

I'd like to have Thunderbird fetch email from an mbox file on a remote server. Like ssh://server/home/user/mbox or alternatively mount the SSH directory and use a local path to mbox.

I'd like to have Thunderbird fetch email from an mbox file on a remote server. Like ssh://server/home/user/mbox or alternatively mount the SSH directory and use a local path to mbox.

Chosen solution

Apologies, I missed to add one link, here it is.

http://askubuntu.com/questions/301988/using-movemail-with-thunderbird-on-ubuntu

There are step by step instructions in the article. Note, a Movemail account can retrieve mail from the Unix mail spool file. This requires a working SMTP server which actually puts mail there.
I really doubt this works with a mail client's mbox file.

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All Replies (4)

You can create a Movemail account.

Account Actions - Add Other Account - Unix Mailspool (Movemail)

This support thread may help. Wrt accessing a spool file on a remote machine via SSH, you can mount it via SSH.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/ubuntu/how-to-mount-a-remote-folder-using-ssh-on-ubuntu/

I created a Unix Mailspool (Movemail) account, but where do I specify the path to my mbox file?

Chosen Solution

Apologies, I missed to add one link, here it is.

http://askubuntu.com/questions/301988/using-movemail-with-thunderbird-on-ubuntu

There are step by step instructions in the article. Note, a Movemail account can retrieve mail from the Unix mail spool file. This requires a working SMTP server which actually puts mail there.
I really doubt this works with a mail client's mbox file.

It seems I have misunderstood what a mbox file is. The server does indeed have a SMTP server (postfix), and the reason for the original question is that I want to avoid configuring a POP/IMAP server as well.

Your link provided me with the solution. Thanks!