With the recent announcement that the Postbox email client will be discontinued (source), you may be considering a switch to a new email client. Here’s a straightforward guide to help you migrate smoothly.

Table of Contents

1) When Should You Switch?

If Postbox is still running well, you may not need to migrate immediately. However, if you rely on your email client for professional or time-sensitive communication, it’s wise to switch sooner to get ongoing support.

2) Prepare for the Migration

For IMAP accounts, your emails are already stored on the server, making them accessible in any IMAP-compatible client. However, Local mailboxes and archive mailboxes are stored only on your device. To safeguard these, use Mail Archiver to archive the emails before migrating.

You may also want to review all of your email accounts to find out which ones you still use. Archive emails with Mail Archiver from any unused accounts. This makes sure that the accounts are preserved while freeing up disk space.

3) Skip Export/Import for IMAP Accounts

Many email clients offer export and import options. But if you use IMAP, it’s best to avoid these. Add your accounts to the new client, which will automatically download your emails directly from the IMAP server. Export/import can be time-consuming and error-prone, often leading to lost or incomplete emails.

For a detailed look at the complexities of exporting emails, see:

4) Selecting the New Email Client

When choosing a new email client, consider the following features:

  • Clean and Intuitive Interface: Easy access to emails, folders, and settings.
  • Active Development: Ongoing updates to improve functionality and security.
  • Customization: Options to personalize the interface.
  • Customer Support: Responsive support for troubleshooting and bug fixes.
  • Labels and Tags: Capability to categorize and organize emails effectively.
  • Rules and Filters: Custom rules for automatic sorting, tagging, and archiving.
  • Smart Folders: Dynamic folders to group emails based on read, starred, or priority status.
  • Advanced Search: Powerful search capabilities to find emails by keyword, sender, recipient, attachments, or date.
  • Access to Attachments and Files: Easy access to all attachments in one view.
  • Snooze and Reminders: Options to remind you of important follow-ups.
  • Built-in Calendar and Task Integration: To manage appointments and to-do lists.
  • Email Scheduling: Schedule emails to be sent later.
  • Add-ons and Extensions: Compatibility with third-party tools.

I use rules to sort my emails. I would not trust automatic or AI sorting. Searching in Mail has been more miss than hit for me and I tend to use Mail Archiver for searching. I hate the reminders in Mail because Mail adds reminders on its own. I have my own task management (Redmine as bug tracker and Joplin for development tasks). SpamSieve is better than the built in spam filter in Mail so I'm happy that SpamSieve survived the plugin purge of Mail in Sonoma.

5) Test with a Small Account

Before fully committing, do a test run with a smaller email account. This will help you verify that the new client works smoothly and meets your needs. Testing with fewer emails is especially important if you are low on disk space. As a result, you may need to archive or delete emails from the old email client gradually.

6) Complete the Full Migration

  1. Backup your email data in the old client, just in case.
  2. Set up your accounts in the new client, ensuring that all emails sync and display consistently across devices.
  3. Remember, all emails should be on the server if you’re using IMAP. Therefore you can manage them across as many email clients as you want without needing to migrate everything all at once.

By following these steps, you’ll have a smooth migration to a new email client while keeping your email history and maintaining an organized workspace.