Is there a terminal command that backs up the thunderbird address book?

I would like to create a cron entry for it. Please note that I want to back up my address book, not my entire profile.

Mozilla Address Book .mab

Open Thunderbird >

Mozilla Address Book .mab

Backup GUI Address Books

It is recommended that you regularly back up all of your Thunderbird application data, including mail files, address books, and account settings, so that you can restore your full profile(s) if this becomes necessary.

Additionally, you can sometimes create separate backups of all your address books by exporting them as LDIF files. This way, if your address books ever become corrupted, you will still have a separate backup that you can import into any Thunderbird profile. To do this, export each address book as an LDIF file using the procedure above, and then burn the LDIF files to a CD or save them to another storage location.

To export your address book:

Open Thunderbird > Tools - Address Book * In the Address Book window, select the address book that you want to export. * Go to the "Tools" menu and select "Export...". * Enter a name for the address book, select "LDIF" from the drop-down list, choose where on your computer you want to save the address book, and then click to save the file.

Backup GUI Address Books

Your address book stored in your profile to see where it is running:

Mozilla Address Book .mab

Backup GUI Address Books

To export your address book:

] sudo locate * .mab -> find something like abook.mab

Blockquote>

Mozilla Address Book .mab

Backup GUI Address Books

It is recommended that you regularly back up all of your Thunderbird application data, including mail files, address books, and account settings, so that you can restore your full profile(s) if this becomes necessary.

Additionally, you can sometimes create separate backups of all your address books by exporting them as LDIF files. This way, if your address books ever become corrupted, you'll still have a separate backup that you can import into any Thunderbird profile. To do this, export each address book as an LDIF file using the procedure above, and then burn the LDIF files to a CD or save them to another storage location.

To export your address book:

Open Thunderbird > Tools - Address Book * In the Address Book window, select the address book you want to export. * Go to the "Tools" menu and select "Export...". * Enter the address book name, select "LDIF" from the drop-down list, select where on your computer you want to save the address book, and then click to save the file.

Command-Line Address Book Backup

Your address book in your profile to see where it is running:

] sudo locate * .mab -> find something like abook.mab

Blockquote>

Mozilla Address Book .mab

Backup GUI Address Books

It is recommended that you regularly back up all of your Thunderbird application data, including mail files, address books, and account settings, so that you can restore your full profile(s) if this becomes necessary.

Additionally, you can sometimes create separate backups of all your address books by exporting them as LDIF files. This way, if your address books ever become corrupted, you'll still have a separate backup that you can import into any Thunderbird profile. To do this, export each address book as an LDIF file using the procedure above, and then burn the LDIF files to a CD or save them to another storage location.

To export your address book:

Open Thunderbird > Tools - Address Book * In the Address Book window, select the address book you want to export. * Go to the "Tools" menu and select "Export...". * Enter the address book name, select "LDIF" from the drop-down list, select where on your computer you want to save the address book, and then click to save the file.

Command-Line Address Book Backup

Your address book in your profile to see where it is running:

] sudo locate * .mab -> find something like abook.mab

Blockquote>

Mozilla Address Book .mab

Backup GUI Address Books

It is recommended that you regularly back up all of your Thunderbird application data, including mail files, address books, and account settings, so that you can restore your full profile(s) if this becomes necessary.

Additionally, you can sometimes create separate backups of all your address books by exporting them as LDIF files. This way, if your address books ever become corrupted, you'll still have a separate backup that you can import into any Thunderbird profile. To do this, export each address book as an LDIF file using the procedure above, and then burn the LDIF files to a CD or save them to another storage location.

To export your address book:

Open Thunderbird > Tools - Address Book * In the Address Book window, select the address book you want to export. * Go to the "Tools" menu and select "Export...". * Enter the address book name, select "LDIF" from the drop-down list, select where on your computer you want to save the address book, and then click to save the file.

Command-Line Address Book Backup

Your address book in your profile to see where it is running:

] sudo locate * .mab -> find something like abook.mab

Blockquote>

Mozilla Address Book .mab

Backup GUI Address Books

It is recommended that you regularly back up all of your Thunderbird application data, including mail files, address books, and account settings, so that you can restore your full profile(s) if this becomes necessary.

Additionally, you can sometimes create separate backups of all your address books by exporting them as LDIF files. This way, if your address books ever become corrupted, you'll still have a separate backup that you can import into any Thunderbird profile. To do this, export each address book as an LDIF file using the procedure above, and then burn the LDIF files to a CD or save them to another storage location.

To export your address book:

Open Thunderbird > Tools - Address Book * In the Address Book window, select the address book you want to export. * Go to the "Tools" menu and select "Export...". * Enter the address book name, select "LDIF" from the drop-down list, select where on your computer you want to save the address book, and then click to save the file.

Command-Line Address Book Backup

Your address book in your profile to see where it is running:

] sudo locate * .mab -> find something like abook.mab

Blockquote>

Mozilla Address Book .mab

Backup GUI Address Books

It is recommended that you regularly back up all of your Thunderbird application data, including mail files, address books, and account settings, so that you can restore your full profile(s) if this becomes necessary.

Additionally, you can sometimes create separate backups of all your address books by exporting them as LDIF files. This way, if your address books ever become corrupted, you'll still have a separate backup that you can import into any Thunderbird profile. To do this, export each address book as an LDIF file using the procedure above, and then burn the LDIF files to a CD or save them to another storage location.

To export your address book:

Open Thunderbird > Tools - Address Book * In the Address Book window, select the address book you want to export. * Go to the "Tools" menu and select "Export...". * Enter the address book name, select "LDIF" from the drop-down list, select where on your computer you want to save the address book, and then click to save the file.

Command-Line Address Book Backup

Your address book in your profile to see where it is running:

] sudo locate * .mab -> find something like abook.mab

Blockquote>

Mozilla Address Book .mab

Backup GUI Address Books

It is recommended that you regularly back up all of your Thunderbird application data, including mail files, address books, and account settings, so that you can restore your full profile(s) if this becomes necessary.

Additionally, you can sometimes create separate backups of all your address books by exporting them as LDIF files. This way, if your address books ever become corrupted, you'll still have a separate backup that you can import into any Thunderbird profile. To do this, export each address book as an LDIF file using the procedure above, and then burn the LDIF files to a CD or save them to another storage location.

To export your address book:

Open Thunderbird > Tools - Address Book * In the Address Book window, select the address book you want to export. * Go to the "Tools" menu and select "Export...". * Enter the address book name, select "LDIF" from the drop-down list, select where on your computer you want to save the address book, and then click to save the file.

Command-Line Address Book Backup

Your address book in your profile to see where it is running:

] sudo locate * .mab -> find something like abook.mab

Blockquote>

for something like this

Yo can use bash script. Check this link. There is a script to ensure your thunderbird directory is backed up. This folder should also contain your address book. The author also provides instructions for setting up this script as cron.

Note: The script creates a backup of your complete folder. You should configure this line

Tar zcf thunderb-mail-$(x).tgz ~roger/.thunderbird

for something like this

Tar zcf thunderb-mail-$(x).tgz ~/.thunderbird/youradressbookfilename.mab

And it will simply backup your address book file.

Yo can use bash script. Check this link. There is a script to ensure your thunderbird directory is backed up. This folder should also contain your address book. The author also provides instructions for setting up this script as cron.

Note: The script creates a backup of your complete folder. You should configure this line

Tar zcf thunderb-mail-$(x).tgz ~roger/.thunderbird

for something like this

Tar zcf thunderb-mail-$(x).tgz ~/.thunderbird/youradressbookfilename.mab

And it will simply backup your address book file.

Yo can use bash script. Check this link. There is a script to ensure your thunderbird directory is backed up. This folder should also contain your address book. The author also provides instructions for setting up this script as cron.

Note: The script creates a backup of your complete folder. You should configure this line

Tar zcf thunderb-mail-$(x).tgz ~roger/.thunderbird

for something like this

Tar zcf thunderb-mail-$(x).tgz ~/.thunderbird/youradressbookfilename.mab

And it will simply backup your address book file.

The article details how to create a backup copy of Thunderbird data and restore Thunderbird data from a backup. How to Recover Lost Thunderbird Profile and Find Lost Email Address in INBOX File, etc. Thunderbird is a free, fast, secure and easy-to-use cross-platform email client from Mozilla.

It is very popular among users; a large amount of data is collected in the Thunderbird profile, which can be lost in the event of a program failure, viruses or computer failure, as well as a banal reinstallation of Windows. How not to lose or restore Mozilla Thunderbird profile data if lost?

Content:

Thunderbird Profile Files

In the profile, Mozilla Thunderbird saves all the client's user settings, as well as passwords, address books, extensions and, in its own words, the email message files themselves. Unlike other email clients (such as Outlook), Thunderbird does not save all profile information in one file. This is a folder with a specific set of files and folders responsible for the operation of the email client and saving its data.

The Thunderbird profile is created during the first launch of the program and is saved by default in the folder:

C:\Users\ Username\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles

In our case, the folder with profile files is named q246yl6l.default, Where "q246yl6l" is an arbitrary set of characters generated by the program itself.

A Thunderbird user profile consists of a specific list of files and folders, such as:

• abook.mab/history.mab– files that contain the address book of the mail client;
• cert8.db/key3.db/secmod.db– database files of certificates and certificate keys;
• localstore.rdf– a file of the location and size of windows that are defined by the user;
• mailViews.dat– file of message viewing modes;
• panacea.dat– a mail folder cache file that displays the mail client folder tree;
• prefs.js– Mozills Thunderbird main configuration file;

and others.

In addition to these files, the profile folder contains a certain set of folders, among which two can be distinguished:

Mail– the folder in which POP3 mail accounts are stored by default, with the files for each account stored in a separate subdirectory.

ImapMail– the folder in which IMAP mail accounts are stored by default. Each account's files are also stored in a separate subdirectory here.

It is in these two folders that all user correspondence, incoming and outgoing messages are stored. Moreover, each mailbox folder has a separate *.msf file, with the same name that this folder has in the mail client itself and the online mailbox.

Backing up your Thunderbird data

Mozilla Thunderbird does not have built-in tools for creating a backup copy of user profile data or correspondence files. Therefore, if it is necessary to transfer a user profile to another computer or the computer or operating system fails for some reason, there are two options - use third-party software or create a manual backup of the profile.

For this:

How to restore Thunderbird data from backup

For this:

To make it easier to restore a backup copy of your Mozilla Thunderbird profile in case of loss, it is recommended to create an archive file (.zip or .rar) from a copy of the profile folder. In this case, restoring the profile will be reduced to restoring a single file, and not a folder with files. In particularly complex cases of data loss, after a complete analysis, the user will be able to search for it among those detected by the data recovery program by file name.

How to change where profile data is stored (profiles.ini file)

If you need to move your Thunderbird profile to another location or use a profile that is located in another folder or on another computer drive (for example, a previously created backup copy of the profile), then this is also feasible.

The path for storing Mozilla Thunderbird profile files is specified in the profiles.ini file, which is located in the folder:
C:\Users\ Username\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird

To change the location of the profile, open the file using a text editor profiles.ini and specify in it the new path to the Thunderbird profile folder. The path to the profile is indicated in the line Path=. After changing the path to the profile storage location, also change the value in the line IsRelative=1 on IsRelative=0. Save and close the file profiles.ini and then launch Thunderbird.

File profiles.ini with default data:

File profiles.ini with changes made to the location of the profile:

As mentioned above, all user correspondence is stored in encrypted form in files with the same names as mailbox folders. Such files are stored in the profile folder in subdirectories called Mail and ImapMail.

All information in such files is encrypted by the email client. But the addresses of mailboxes (email) to which messages were sent or received are not encrypted.
Therefore, if for some reason the user has irretrievably lost access to his Thunderbird profile, then by opening the necessary mailbox folder file using a text editor, you can find and restore the necessary emails in it.

For example, if you need to recover email addresses ending in “…@site” from the INBOX folder, then just enter “site” in the text editor’s search and it will display all detected addresses with that ending.

Thunderbird saves personal information such as messages, passwords and user preferences in a set of files called a "profile", which is stored in a separate location from the Thunderbird program files. While it is possible to have multiple profiles, most users just use the single default (see Using Multiple Profiles for more information).

Table of Contents

What is a profile?

In Thunderbird, the profile stores two main sets of items. First, it stores your local mail, and possibly copies of messages that reside on the mail server (depending on your account configuration). Second, it stores any changes you make while using Thunderbird (for example, changes to account settings and changes to the toolbar).

When you install Thunderbird it creates a profile called "default". This profile will be used automatically unless you invoke the Profile Manager and create a new profile.

Where is my profile stored?

Profile files are stored separately from the Thunderbird program files. The program files are static and do not change (except when you upgrade the Thunderbird application version). Because we store profile and program files separately, you can uninstall Thunderbird without losing your messages and settings, and if something goes wrong with a Thunderbird update your information will still be available. It also means that you don"t have to reinstall Thunderbird in order to delete your information or troubleshoot a problem.

Each profile is stored on your hard drive in a profile folder. The folder is named using the following convention:

.

"Where" " is eight digits randomly generated by Thunderbird and " " is the name you assigned to the profile. The location of the folder will vary according to the operating system (and whether or not you specified a non-default location when you created the profile):

Profile Location Summary

%APPDATA%\Thunderbird\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default\

• %APPDATA% is shorthand for the C:\Users\ \AppData\Roaming\C:\Documents and Settings\ \Application Data\ folder, which depends on your Windows user account name.

~/Library/Thunderbird/Profiles/xxxxxxxx.default/

• The tilde character (~) refers to the current user"s Home folder, so ~/Library is the /Macintosh HD/Users/ /Library folder.

~/.thunderbird/xxxxxxxx.default/

How to find your profile

1. Click on the menu button or menu bar.
2. From the Help menu, click Troubleshooting Information.
3. In the Application Basics section, Profile Folder Profile Directory, click on Show Folder Open FolderShow in FinderOpen Directory.
4. The Windows Explorer Mac Finder Files window will show the name of the profile as well as the path to it.

Finding your profile without opening Thunderbird

Thunderbird stores your profile folder in this location on your computer, by default:
C:\Users\ \AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\
Windows hides the AppData folder by default, but you can find your profile folder as follows:

1. From the Start Screen, click the Desktop tile. The Desktop view will open.
2. From the Desktop, hover in the lower right-hand corner to access the Charms.
3. Select the Search charm. The Search sidebar will open.
4. In the search box, type in:
   without pressing Enter. A list of profile folders will appear.
5. Click on the profile folder you wish to open (it will open in a window). If you only have one profile, its folder would have "default" in the name.

1. Click the Windows Start button. The Start menu will open.
2. In the Search box at the bottom of the Start menu, type:
   %APPDATA%\Thunderbird\Profiles\
   without pressing Enter. A list of profiles will appear at the top of the Start menu.
3. Click on the profile folder you wish to open (it will open in a window). If you only have a single profile, its folder would have "default" in the name.

1. Click the Finder icon in the dock. On the menu bar, click the Go menu, hold down the option or alt key and select Library .
2. Open the Thunderbird folder, and then the Profiles folder.
3. Your profile folder is within this folder. If you only have one profile, its folder would have "default" in the name.

1. (Ubuntu) Click the Places menu on the top right of the screen and select Home Folder. A File Browser window will appear.
2. Click the View menu and select Show Hidden Files if it isn't already checked.
3. Double click the folder marked .thunderbird . Your profile folder is within this folder. If you only have one profile, its folder would have "default" in the name.

Backing up a profile

To back up your profile, first close Thunderbird if it is open and then copy the profile folder to another location.

1. Locate your profile folder, as explained above.
2. Shut down Thunderbird.
3. Go to one level above your profile"s folder, i.e. to %APPDATA%\Thunderbird\Profiles\~/Library/Thunderbird/Profiles/~/.mozilla/Thunderbird/
4. Right-click Hold down the Ctrl key while you click on your profile folder (e.g. xxxxxxxx.default ), and select Copy .
5. Right-click Hold down the Ctrl key while you click the backup location (e.g. a USB-stick or a blank CD-RW disc), and select Paste item.

Restoring a profile backup

1. Shut down Thunderbird.
2. If your existing profile folder and profile backup folder have the same name, simply replace the existing profile folder with the profile backup, then start Thunderbird.

   Important: The profile folder names must match exactly for this to work, including the random string of 8 characters. If the names do not match or if you are restoring a backup to a different location, follow the steps below.

Restoring to a different location

If the profile folder names do not match or if you want to move or restore a profile to a different location, do the following:

1. Completely close Thunderbird, as explained above.
2. Use the Thunderbird Profile Manager to create a new profile in your desired location, then exit the Profile Manager.

   Note: If you just installed Thunderbird on a new computer, you can use the default profile that is automatically created when you first run Thunderbird, instead of creating a new profile.

3. Locate the backed up profile folder on your hard drive or backup medium (e.g., your USB-stick).
4. Open the profile folder backup (e.g., the xxxxxxxx.default backup).
5. Copy the entire contents of the profile folder backup, such as the mimeTypes.rdf file, prefs.js file, etc.
6. Locate and open the new profile folder as explained above and then close Thunderbird (if open).
7. Paste the contents of the backed up profile folder into the new profile folder, overwriting existing files of the same name.
8. Start Thunderbird.

Moving a profile

Occasionally, you might want to move a profile or tell Thunderbird to use a profile stored in another location.

Profile backup

To back up your profile, you need to close Thunderbird and copy the folder containing your profile to another location.

Close Thunderbird.
Locate your profile folder as shown above.
Go to the folder above your profiles folders %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Thunderbird\Profiles\
Right-click on the folder containing your profile (for example xxxxxxxx.default) and select Copy.
Right-click where you want to place the backup (such as a USB drive or a blank CD-RW disk) and select Paste.

Restoring a profile from a backup

Close Thunderbird.
If your current profile folder and the profile backup folder are named the same, then simply replace it with the profile backup folder, then launch Thunderbird.
Important: The names of the folders containing the profile must match, including a string of 8 random characters. If the names do not match or if you are restoring the backup to another location, then follow the instructions below.

Restoring a backup to another location

If the profile folder names do not match or you want to move or restore the profile to a different location, simply do the following:

Close Thunderbird completely.
Use the Thunderbird Profile Manager to create a new profile in the desired location. To launch Thunderbird Profile Manager run
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Thunderbird\thunderbird.exe -P.

Note: If you just installed Thunderbird on a new computer, you can use the standard profile that is automatically created when you launch Thunderbird for the first time.

Exit Thunderbird Profile Manager.
Locate the profile backup on your hard drive or other backup media (such as a USB drive).
Open the profile backup folder (for example, xxxxxxxx.default backup).
Copy the entire contents of the profile backup folder: mimeTypes.rdf, prefs.js files, bookmarkbackups folder and others.
Find and navigate to the new profile folder as shown above and close Thunderbird (if running).
Paste the contents of the profile backup folder into the new profile folder, overwriting existing files with the same name.
Launch Thunderbird.

Moving a profile

Sometimes you may want to move your profile or tell Thunderbird to use a profile stored elsewhere.

Close Thunderbird.
Move the profile folder to the desired location. for example on Windows XP, move the profile from C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default to D:\Stuff\MyMailProfile. (If you are restoring a profile backup, this step is not necessary. Just remember the current location of the profile you want to restore.)
Open the profiles.ini file in a text editor. This file is located in the Thunderbird application data folder:
On Windows 7/Vista/XP/2000 the path is %AppData%\Thunderbird\
On Windows 95/98/Me the path is usually C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Thunderbird\
On Linux the path is ~/.thunderbird/
On Mac OS X the path is ~/Library/Thunderbird/
In the profiles.ini file, find the line with the profile that you just moved. Enter the new profile location in the Path= parameter.
If you switch from a relative path to an absolute path, you may need to change the slope of the slashes. For example, on Windows, non-relative paths (absolute) use left-slashes, while relative paths use right-slashes. Change IsRelative=1 to IsRelative=0.
Save profiles.ini and restart Thunderbird.

Backup of mail messages is a way to protect your mail from loss. And if an accident occurs with your email client or computer, you can restore all your mail in 1 click.

MozillaThunderbird is a popular email client that many email users have chosen. However, the problem of lost mail messages has not escaped them either. The fact is that not a single email program, with the exception of highly professional ones, can boast of having such an important function in its interface as mail backup.

Thus, like all other email users, Mozilla Thunderbird users have to look for a solution to back up email messages and other information stored in their email client. If you are faced with a similar problem, then we hasten to please you: today there are a lot of simple and reliable solutions for copying popular email clients, including Mozilla Thunderbird mail.

http://www.handybackup.ru/email-backup.shtml

In order to choose the optimal solution, it is worth taking a closer look at the functionality of mail backup programs. Let's start, of course, with the function of choosing an email client. Your mail backup program must support Mozilla Thunderbird's copy feature, only then is it truly suitable for you. That is, it is important to clarify exactly how the backup program works with this particular email client. Ideally, the program should have a separate preset for Mozilla Thunderbird backup.

This means that the user simply needs to select the Mozilla Thunderbird backup option in the program menu and all data from this email client will be automatically backed up, including messages, addresses, contacts, calendars, settings and everything else.

In addition, the Mozilla Thunderbird mail backup program should be able to archive and encrypt Mozilla Thunderbird backups, because you do not want to lose the most valuable information in the process of saving it to media or transporting it to a remote server.

The issue of saving backup copies is also not unimportant. The integrity of the data ultimately depends on where you store Mozilla Thunderbird backups, because if they are lost, the data will have to be restored and it all depends on the reliability of your Mozilla Thunderbird backup program and the quality of the media.

In many cases, it is appropriate to save Mozilla Thunderbird backups to remote FTP servers or remote computers over a network. Although copying to optical discs such as CD, DVD, HD DVD, Blu-ray is also a good way. The main thing is not to copy Mozilla Thunderbird backups to your local hard drive, otherwise the backup loses all meaning.

As for the process of copying Mozilla Thunderbird mail itself, it should be carried out regularly according to a predetermined schedule. Only such copying can guarantee that not a single message will be lost as a result of a hard drive failure or other trouble. A good backup program has a flexible task scheduler with the ability to run a Mozilla Thunderbird mail backup task every day, week, month and many other features.