NAME

       unexpunge - Cyrus IMAP documentation

       Recover messages the user has (accidentally) deleted.

SYNOPSIS

          unexpunge [ -C config-file ] -l mailbox [ uid... ]
          unexpunge [ -C config-file ] -t time-interval [ -d ] [ -v ] [ -f flagname ] mailbox
          unexpunge [ -C config-file ] -a [ -d ] [ -v ] [ -f flagname ] mailbox
          unexpunge [ -C config-file ] -u [ -d ] [ -v ] [ -f flagname ] mailbox uid...

DESCRIPTION

       The  unexpunge  program  is  used to list or restore messages which have been deleted from a mailbox, but
       still reside in the Cyrus IMAP mail spool.

       This utility is only useful when the server is  configured  with  expunge_mode  set  to  delayed  in  its
       configuration file.

       unexpunge reads its configuration options out of the imapd.conf(5) file unless specified otherwise by -C.

OPTIONS

       -C config-file
              Use the specified configuration file config-file rather than the default imapd.conf(5).

       -l, --list
              List  the  expunged  messages  in  the  specified  mailbox  which  are  available for restoration.
              Optionally, only list the messages in the mailbox matching the UIDs in the space-separated list at
              the end of the command invocation.

       -t time-interval, --within-time-interval=time-interval
              Unexpunge messages which were expunged within the last time-interval  seconds.   Use  one  of  the
              trailing modifiers -- m (minutes), h (hours), d (days) or w (weeks) -- to specify a different time
              unit.

       -a, --all
              Restore all of the expunged messages in the specified mailbox.

       -u, --uids
              Restore  only  messages  matching  the  UIDs,  in a space-separated list at the end of the command
              invocation, in the specified mailbox.

       -d, --unset-deleted
              Unset the \Deleted flag on any restored messages.

       -f flagname, --set-flag=flagname
              Set the user flag \flagname on the messages restored, making it easier for the user(s) to find the
              restored messages and operate on them (in a batch).

       -v, --verbose
              Enable verbose output/logging.

EXAMPLES

          unexpunge -l user/john@example.org
          List the messages that are expunged and could be restored for mailbox user/john@example.org.

          unexpunge -u user/john@example.org 278787 278788
          Unexpunge two of these messages.

          mbexamine user/john@example.org
          Examine the mailbox for the two restored messages.

          unexpunge -u -d user.johnsmith 46908
          Unexpunge a select message based on its UID, clearing the \Deleted flag.

          unexpunge -a user.johnsmit.Trash
          Unexpunge all messages in a user's Trash, but leave them flagged \Deleted.

          unexpunge -a -f Flagged user.johnsmith.Trash
          The same, but setting user flag \Flagged to facilitate later bulk operations.

          unexpunge -t 24h -d -f Flagged user.johnsmith
          Unexpunge messages matching only a given time period.

          unexpunge -t 24h -d -f Flagged user/johnsmith
          The same command, supporting the unixhierarchysep: yes option in imapd.conf(5).

FILES

       /etc/imapd.conf

SEE ALSO

       imapd.conf(5)

AUTHOR

       The Cyrus Team, Nic Bernstein (Onlight), Jeroen van Meeuwen (Kolab Systems)

COPYRIGHT

       1993–2025, The Cyrus Team

3.10.1                                            Jan 22, 2025                                      UNEXPUNGE(8)