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As far as I know, there is no native sync feature for the Mozilla Thunderbird email program. So what are some ways to achieve syncing emails, folder structure, and contacts between say a desktop office computer and a laptop?

Some thoughts and questions:

  1. If using IMAP for email accounts, will the emails and folder structures at least (and maybe contacts?) be synced between Thunderbird installations on different computers?
  2. Should the Thunderbird installation on the second computer be set up from scratch, or is it ok to copy over the Profile folder from the first computer?
  3. What about using a file sync program like SyncThing to keep the Thunderbird Profile folders on both computers in sync? Is this ok and a good idea, or could it cause consistency and collision issues?

Surely this is a common use case, so I wonder what solutions others have tried and what are the pitfalls to avoid.

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    Which folders are you trying to sync? The folders in the tree of the email account are on the server, locally you have a view of those folders. The folders only on your PC/Device are in the tree under local. But unless you explicitly move some emails to those folders they won't be used.
    – FluidCode
    Aug 4, 2022 at 21:00
  • @FluidCode Good point. It's the folders in the tree of the email accounts. I think local folders were also used at some point, and right now "Local folders" does not even show in Thunderbird for some reason. If folders are moved from local folders to a tree under an email account, will they get synced with the email server and other Thunderbird installations?
    – adatum
    Aug 5, 2022 at 20:36
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    "ill they get synced with the email server ...?" If you are connecting with IMAP yes. In that case everything in the account tree is just a view of what is on the server and if you copy in there something that was below "Local Folders" all the emails in there will be copied on the server.
    – FluidCode
    Aug 6, 2022 at 22:11

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Very short answer: Yes, this is exactly how it was meant to work.

  1. If using IMAP for email accounts, will the emails and folder structures at least (and maybe contacts?) be synced between Thunderbird installations on different computers?

IMAP only supports email messages and folders, so yes, they will be synced. What you have in Thunderbird will be mirrored to what you have on the server, and multiple installs of thunderbird will therefor all have the same emails and folders.

  1. Should the Thunderbird installation on the second computer be set up from scratch, or is it ok to copy over the Profile folder from the first computer?

You can copy your thunderbird folder and it will work. It might ask you to enter the password for the accounts once, but that's it. You will even copy the email already, so no need to sync those either.

  1. What about using a file sync program like SyncThing to keep the Thunderbird Profile folders on both computers in sync? Is this ok and a good idea, or could it cause consistency and collision issues?

You should not do that. Since you are using IMAP, just opening and let thunderbird sync is all you need to do.

  1. Is there a way to sync Thunderbird contacts on Android, either the native contacts or some other contact manager or email app?

IMAP does not support contacts, but if you have Exchange, it is possible to sync contacts too. Alternatively, Gmail + CardDav on recent versions of Thunderbird is a way to go.

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  • "IMAP does not support contacts, but if you have Exchange" Why exchange? Thunderbird has an export/import function for the address book. Many contacts will be redundant because Thunderbird automatically adds to the address book the addresses to which the user send an email.
    – FluidCode
    Aug 4, 2022 at 20:57
  • @FluidCode Yes, thunderbird has its own contact, but that is not synced in any way. An Exchange Server supports a serverside addressbook that is synced so that it remains the same on every device, despite if the client is thunderbird or not, and thus also works with android. PS. Office365 uses Exchange too.
    – LPChip
    Aug 4, 2022 at 20:59
  • an exchange server for the needs of a user to do things that are not so special is an overkill.
    – FluidCode
    Aug 4, 2022 at 21:02
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    Ah. I'm using an old version of ThunderBird because I rely on certain plugins, so seems that has changed in recent years. Yes, Gmail + CardDav is a way to go then.
    – LPChip
    Aug 6, 2022 at 7:31
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    While Thunderbird automatically recognizes Gmail CardDav address books, I have also found that CarDav address books from other email providers (including Zoho) can be added via Tools > Address Book > Add CardDav address book, then entering account details. So, much like IMAP is being used to sync emails and folders, CardDav seems to be the way to sync contacts. There are also Android apps, like DAVx5, for syncing CardDav contacts there. So the key with Thunderbird syncing info seems to be discovering supported standards that do the syncing. Thanks for pointing in the right direction!
    – adatum
    Aug 6, 2022 at 17:52

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