Where Does Cyrus IMAP Store Mail and Config?
Cyrus cyrus.conf and imapd.conf plus spool and metadata on Linux mail servers.
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Cyrus keeps service config in /etc/cyrus.conf and mailbox behavior in /etc/imapd.conf. Mail and metadata live under /var/spool/cyrus plus /var/lib/imap.
The split matters for backup. Copying spool without metadata loses flags and quotas. Database backend (skiplist or twoskip) stays inside those dirs.
Where Cyrus IMAP stores this, by platform
/etc/imapd.conf
Mailbox config (partition paths, admins, sieve dir). Service startup is /etc/cyrus.conf. Spool defaults to /var/spool/cyrus/mail/ with metadata in /var/lib/imap/. Check partition lines if mail lives elsewhere.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Cyrus mail stored?
Under the partition path in imapd.conf, usually /var/spool/cyrus/mail/ with user subfolders. Metadata beside it tracks seen state and quotas. Back up both together.
Which Cyrus files do I back up?
Both config files plus the spool and metadata trees. Sieve scripts live in the sieve dir named in imapd.conf. Stop services or snapshot cleanly before large copies.
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