How to set up Thunderbird with high-quality calendar, to-do app and address book
Background I am currently migrating from Windows to Linux/Ubuntu (finally). So I am a beginner in Linux (intermediate in Windows).
As part of this I need to replace my Microsoft Outlook. In Linux there are a few to choose from. For example: Evolution, KDE Kontact/KOrganizer and Thunderbird.
Aside from some compatibility issues with G-mail, I was overall happy with Outlook for the following reasons – which are also what I wish I could get out of, preferably one, or more, equivalent personal information manager programs (PIM) in Ubuntu:
- Calendar
- Absolutely ok. - Good overview and synchronization with other parts of Outlook - Stylish, useful and clear graphics
- Task function (To-do)
- Very good:
- Shown in all views (email, calendar) - Good time division: Today, tomorrow, this week, next week, month, etc. * Great possibilities for setting up and designing your tasks (in everything from designing quite complex projects to graphic outline and layout) - Completed tasks are saved automatically and are very easy to access in a separate window (to the left of current and upcoming tasks), where all tasks are also searchable through the search function at the top. Very useful when you need a history of various projects/tasks, etc., that you have completed. For me, absolutely crucial! - Good synchronization with the calendar: Shown, for example, at the bottom of the Calendar for each day. - Quite stylish, useful and clear graphics
- Contacts/Address Book
- Also quite ok - Synchronized with other parts. - Stylish, useful and clear graphics
- Quite ok, apart from the aforementioned synchronization problem with G-mail - I completely abandoned IMAP and switched to managing all email online, which is an obvious deterioration: G-mail online is not the world's most intuitive tool for someone who handles large amounts of email with the administration and control needs that this entails. - Plenty of settings - Quite ok synchronization. - Stylish, useful and clear graphics
The version of Ubuntu I'm using is 24.04. It comes with Thunderbird. But only as an email client (no calendar, no To-do app, no address book, etc.). Which was a bit of a disappointment. It's a full-fledged PIM that I need.
So to start with, I tried Evolution. I don't want to say that Evolution is bad, but it didn't work for my purposes - and in many respects felt quite outdated. Maybe it would be possible to get more out of it if you explored and tested it more, but after a couple of weeks of evaluation, I set my limit. But I really liked that it was synchronized with the calendar that is included by default in Ubuntu (and which is accessed from the bar at the top of the Desktop): Everything you put in Evolution is automatically put in the Ubuntu calendar, and vice versa. Great when you want to quickly access this kind of information.
Right now I'm investigating Thunderbird. So I already have the email client (not yet tested, but investigated in terms of settings, etc., etc.). For this I now need the other mentioned parts (especially calendar and To-do) – and get them to work as described above.
Since there are such a lot of add-ons/extensions for Thunderbird, I find it quite difficult to navigate and confusing to find out exactly which add-ons/ extensions could correspond to the expectations/requirements I have for those, which I hope to be able to get help with here.
Regarding the calendar, the searches I have conducted several times have suggested the extension "Lighting" (https://www-archive.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/lightning/download), but based on the information I have obtained so far, I am unsure/doubtful whether this extension (which, if I understand the matter correctly, is in principle equivalent to the stand-alone application "Sunbird") will meet the criteria I have listed above. Especially when it comes to the Task function.
So the question is: Which extensions, corresponding to my wishes/requirements, should I choose in terms of calendar, To-do, and address book?
Or are my criteria such that there are no such corresponding add-ons/extensions at all?
Or is it better to download some other version of Thunderbird where all of these are pre-installed (and which meets my criteria)?
Looking forward to any answers that may provide some clarity. :)
All Replies (4)
Calendar is built into every current version of TB, so references to Lightning are obsolete. TB supports CalDAV and CardDAV (syncing of network calendars and contacts), except MS calendars and contacts require the TbSync/Provider for Exchange ActiveSync add-ons. Google calendars and contacts are supported with the built-in options, except tasks require the Provider for Google add-on.
@ sfhowes
Many thanks for the quick response :)
A couple (two) follow-up questions (I should have been clearer in my description from the beginning, I hope you can overlook that):
1. Uninstall my current (possibly simplified version) of TB and download the new, complete one, with all functions included – or...?
As I previously described, my version of TB, as far as I can see, only has the email function installed (Spaces Toolbar is completely empty, no Calendar, no Address Book, no Tasks, etc. – and of course no email accounts either because I haven't added any yet – but all the other functions should, somehow, still be there – or?).
When checking in the Terminal, I find that the version of TB I am using is: “Mozilla Thunderbird 140.5.0esr” (which fully corresponds to the information in TB: “140.5.0esr(64-bit)”. If I check in more detail (Terminal: “snap info thunderbird”), I get, among much other information, the answer:
latest/stable: 140.5.0esr-2 2025-11-19 (877) 237MB - latest/candidate: 140.5.0esr-2 2025-11-21 (895) 237MB
Same result regardless of the method:
I have the latest version.
Still, I miss the above-mentioned features.
Do I have another, specially adapted – simplified – version of TB for Ubuntu, or have I missed something here?
If it is the case that I have a simplified version of TB - is it then the best option for me to use the version of Thunderbird that is available for download from Mozilla's website? And in that case, should I first completely uninstall the version of TB that is included in Ubuntu (i.e. the one I have right now and that I described above)? Ideally, I would like to install TB directly from the Terminal in Ubuntu, snap or Flatpak (I gues APT is out of the question), - as long as it is possible to get the same version, i.e. the full version that is downloaded from mozilla.net.
If instead it is the case that I have the full version of TB, what is the reason why I am missing the above-mentioned features - or perhaps rather, why these are not displayed in the Spaces Toolbar?
Some further thoughts – with a follow-up question regarding “Tasks”
When it comes to synchronizing with the cloud, I currently have no such needs, but if that were to change, it would be good to know the possibilities you describe. Thanks! :)
On the other hand, I plan to use TB for my mobile phones as well. However, this is a little further along as I will also make changes regarding the OS for these (to something alternative, for example "LineageOS" – to the extent that such an OS is compatible with TB, a question that I will certainly return to when the time comes).
When it comes to content (data) from Outlook, only the address book (contacts) will be transferred (if I remember correctly, there is a guide for this on Mozilla). Apart from the aforementioned address book (and emails from my email accounts, which are just a regular IMAP operation), my Thunderbird will start from scratch in everything else.
Mozilla provides a lot of information about TB and on the page: “Getting Started with the Thunderbird main window (Supernova and newer) it is clear that all the functions I am looking for above are included in the latest version of TB (which is the reason for my troubles mentioned above).
On the Calendar page there is also some useful information for new users about the calendar.
Most of this feels familiar and closely related to Outlook.
What I am missing (as far as I have gotten in my research so far) is a more in-depth review of Tasks. Tasks are indeed mentioned under the aforementioned “Calendar” but mostly in passing.
I will of course notice how Tasks works, in one way or another, after I get a working full version of TB, but it would be interesting to have some advance information about this. So, to the extent that there is such information, it would be great with a link to one or two pages that describe Tasks a little more in depth.
The fact that I return to Tasks so much is because my use of Tasks is far more frequent than the equivalent for Calendar. I would probably describe Task as a completely central function in my use of a PIM. This in turn may have to do with the fact that I use Tasks as if it were an app for more far-reaching tasks continuously over a longer period of time (months at times) up to projects (at least smaller projects).
Maybe there is a smoother way to solve this, now that I am switching to a new system. That is, some kind of program/app that is more adapted for projects - but that can still be synchronized with TB Calendar. In that case, it would be of great interest to receive tips and suggestions for one or more such possible solutions.
I recommend you keep the 140 ESR version to ensure compatibility with any add-ons you might need, such as TbSync.
Add a mail account and local calendar to show the complete set of features.
You can of course use the default local Personal Address Book, and add CardDAV address books such as Google or outlook.com (with TbSync).
Tasks are supported in local calendars, but not with CalDAV calendars; use the Provider add-on for Google tasks. I'm not familiar with other task apps that integrate with TB.
@ sfhowes
Thanks again for the lightning-fast reply :)
Ok. Then I'm starting to understand how it all works.
I have an email account that I use as a test account. With that added to TB, I got the desired functions in Space Toolbar :) Of course, not without some questions. One of which, which is quite basic, which I would like to clear up from the beginning. But I still intend to do a first quick review of the whole thing, test a bit and see what I come up with on my own, and then come back if needed. Otherwise, I think that the help available via Mozilla's support, as well as other support pages, will answer most of the questions...
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