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Where Does Mailspring Store Mail and Settings?

Mailspring data folders on Windows, macOS and Linux, the local mail cache, and safe reset routine.

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Mailspring follows Electron conventions, keeping settings and a local mail cache in the platform userData folder under its own name. The cache is what makes search instant and offline reading possible; the accounts themselves live on your mail servers.

That split decides what is safe to touch. Clearing the folder with the app closed fixes most sync corruption, and everything re-syncs on next launch. Drafts that never synced are the one thing at risk, so let the app finish syncing first.

Where Mailspring stores this, by platform

Windows
%appdata%\Mailspring

Settings plus the local mail cache in one tree. Deleting it with the app closed forces a clean re-sync, which resolves most stuck folders and search indexes.

macOS
~/Library/Application Support/Mailspring

Same role as Windows. Use Go to Folder in Finder, and quit Mailspring fully before clearing or copying anything.

Linux
~/.config/Mailspring

Follows the XDG config home. Snap builds keep their own tree, so check the snap root if this folder looks empty.

Frequently asked questions

Will clearing the Mailspring folder delete my email?

No. Mail lives on your providers servers and re-syncs on next launch. Only the local cache and sessions go away, which is exactly why clearing it fixes sync glitches.

Mailspring search shows stale results. What do I delete?

Quit Mailspring and delete the userData folder, then sign in again. The search index rebuilds from the fresh sync, which clears phantom and missing results alike.

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