MBEXAMINE(8)

📦
version 3.12.3 · 6 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 MBEXAMINE — like, the Cyrus IMAP mailbox detective 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to mbexamine, part of the Cyrus IMAP docs, section 8 of the manual (the sysadmin-y one, you know the vibe). This is the tool you reach for when you wanna peek inside a cyrus-format mailbox and see what's actually going on in there. 🔍✨

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

mbexamine [ -C config-file ] [ -u uid ] mailbox...
mbexamine [ -C config-file ] [ -s seqnum] mailbox...
mbexamine [ -C config-file ] -q mailbox...
mbexamine [ -C config-file ] -c mailbox...

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

So what does mbexamine actually do? It opens up the header, index, and cache files of a cyrus-format mailbox and dumps everything it finds in there out for you to look at. It's giving open-book exam, honestly. 📖

It can also narrow its output down to just one specific uid or one specific sequence number, using the -s and -u switches. So if you don't wanna read the whole novel, you can just read one page. 💅

Config-wise, mbexamine reads its configuration options out of the imapd.conf(5) file — unless you tell it otherwise with -C. And to actually find the mailbox on disk, it uses <configdirectory>/mailboxes.db. 🗂️

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • -C config-file — hey bestie use this config file instead of the default imapd.conf(5), mwah 💋
  • -u uid, `--uid=uid — dump info for the given uid and literally nothing else. one (1) message, that's the assignment. 🎯
  • -s seqnum, `--seq=seqnum — same energy but for a sequence number: dump info for the given seqnum only. 🔢
  • -q, --check-quota — this one compares the quota usage in cyrus.index against the actual message file sizes, then reports any differences it finds. And listen — if there ARE differences, the mailbox SHOULD be reconstructed. That's not a suggestion, that's a vibe check that failed. 😭
  • -c, --check-message-files — compares the records in cyrus.index to the actual message files and reports any differences it sees. This one is your bestie when messages files got manipulated by hand and/or restored incorrectly — it'll sniff out the drama. 🕵️‍♀️

🔥 EXAMPLES 🔥

mbexamine user.jsmith

Examine the mailbox hierarchy rooted at user.jsmith. Just a lil look around, no big deal. 🌈

mbexamine -u 00000004 user.jsmith

Examine the mailbox hierarchy rooted at user.jsmith while hunting for messages with UID = 00000004. you have one job and you're doing it. 🎀

mbexamine -q user.jsmith

Examine the mailbox hierarchy rooted at user.jsmith and check the quotas while you're at it. multi-tasking queen 👑

mbexamine -c user.jsmith

Examine the mailbox hierarchy rooted at user.jsmith, comparing the index records to the actual message files sitting in the mailbox directory. receipts vs reality, let's see if they match 💀

🦋 FILES 🦋

  • /etc/imapd.conf
  • <configdirectory>/mailboxes.db

(the two places this icon gets its info from, no cap)

💜 SEE ALSO 💜

go read that one too, iykyk 🫶

👑 AUTHOR 👑

The Cyrus Team, Nic Bernstein (Onlight). absolute legends, fr fr. 💖

1993–2026, The Cyrus Team

okay that's the whole page, you ate that periodt 💅✨

This was version 3.12.3, dated Jul 15, 2026 — the Cyrus IMAP era, and MBEXAMINE(8) said goodbye. go forth and examine those mailboxes bestie, ily 🎀🦋
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