使用 Homebrew 安装 isync

项目链接

• 主页

命令和别名

• mbsync
• mbsync-get-cert
• mdconvert

项目历史

The project is hosted on SourceForge and identifies isync as the project name while explaining that mbsync is the executable name after major user-interface changes. The repository exposes early tags beginning at v0.1 and release branches from 0.9 onward, showing a project with old-school Unix mail roots.

The 1.x release line continued over many years, with SourceForge release directories showing 1.0.4 in 2008, 1.1.x in 2013-2015, 1.2.x in 2015-2017, 1.3.x in 2017-2021, 1.4.x in 2021, and 1.5.x in 2024-2025. The 1.5.0 release notes called out XDG base directory support while keeping old locations supported.

采用历史

isync became a standard tool for users who keep mail in local Maildir stores while reading or indexing mail with Unix tools. Package metadata shows it distributed by Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, Alpine, MacPorts, Nix, and openSUSE-family repositories, which matches its role as a portable infrastructure utility rather than an application-specific client.

Its adoption overlaps with notmuch, mu, mutt, neomutt, local mail search, and scripted backup workflows where a deterministic command-line synchronizer is easier to reason about than a full graphical mail client.

使用方式

A user writes an isyncrc or mbsyncrc file describing IMAP accounts, Maildir stores, channels, TLS/SASL authentication, and synchronization rules, then runs mbsync manually, from cron, or from a mail workflow hook.

The project emphasizes UID-based synchronization, one local state file per mailbox pair, safe operation while mailboxes are modified, TLS/SSL support, SASL authentication, and IMAP pipelining for speed.

为什么软件包爱好者会关心

isync is beloved package-manager material because it is small, scriptable, and composes with the rest of the Unix mail stack. The package name and executable-name mismatch is also a memorable bit of package trivia: install isync, run mbsync.

The 1.5.x move toward XDG paths is significant for dotfile and package users because it preserves old `~/.mbsyncrc` habits while allowing cleaner config placement under `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME`.

时间线

• 2008: SourceForge release files include isync 1.0.4.
• 2013: isync 1.1.0 was published in the SourceForge release tree.
• 2017: isync 1.3.0 appeared after the 1.2.x line.
• 2021: isync 1.4.0 was published.
• 2024: isync 1.5.0 added XDG-based default config and state locations while keeping old locations supported.
• 2025: isync 1.5.1 was published.

Related projects

• offlineIMAP and mailsync are named by the project as other mailbox synchronizers.
• Maildir, IMAP4, UIDPLUS, LITERAL+, TLS, SASL, and local mail tools such as mutt/neomutt and notmuch are part of the same practical ecosystem.

来源

• https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/isync
• https://isync.sourceforge.io/
• https://isync.sourceforge.io/mbsync.html
• https://sourceforge.net/p/isync/isync/ci/master/tree/
• https://sourceforge.net/projects/isync/files/isync/
• https://sourceforge.net/projects/isync/files/isync/1.5.0/