Yahoo Mail IMAP Export

⚠️ SAFETY WARNING: This tool moves and deletes emails. Always:

• Test on a small folder first
• Ensure you have backups
• Review the code before running
• Use at your own risk

Overview

Export Yahoo Mail accounts with 100K+ emails using the folder rotation strategy to bypass IMAP limitations.

The Problem

Yahoo Mail's IMAP has hard limits:

• Regular server: 10,000 visible messages
• Export server: 100,000 visible messages
• Web interface: Shows all messages (uses different API)

The Solution

Move messages in batches to smaller folders, download, clear, repeat:

INBOX (132K) → export1 (8999) → download → clear
             → export2 (8999) → download → clear
             → export3 (8999) → download → clear
             → ... repeat until empty

⚠️ Destructive Operations

This strategy uses IMAP MOVE which:

• Moves emails from INBOX to temporary folders
• Deletes emails from temporary folders after download

Data Loss Risk: If the script fails between MOVE and download, emails may be lost. The script includes safeguards, but bugs or network failures can occur.

Safety Recommendations

1. Test first: Run on a small folder (e.g., "Test" with 100 emails)
2. Use Yahoo's backup: Export via Yahoo's web interface first as backup
3. Monitor closely: Don't leave running unattended initially
4. Check counts: Verify message counts match before/after each cycle
5. Have backups: Yahoo Mail may have its own backup/restore

Files Included

• purge_cycle.py - Main export script (DESTRUCTIVE - moves/deletes emails)
• move_to_exports.py - Move-only script for testing
• pre_filter.py - Rule-based email filtering
• build_embeddings.py - Vector embeddings with Ollama
• triage_emails.py - LLM-based email triage

Configuration Required

Before running, edit the scripts to set:

• Your Yahoo email address
• Your app password (generate at login.yahoo.com)
• Your base directory path
• VIP senders and search terms (in pre_filter.py)

Manual Usage (Recommended)

Instead of automated cron, run manually first:

python3 purge_cycle.py

Review the output, verify counts, then continue.

Automated Usage (Advanced)

Only after testing manually:

# Run every 15 minutes (adjust as needed)
openclaw cron create \
  --name "email-purge-cycle" \
  --every 15m \
  --message "Run: python3 purge_cycle.py" \
  --session isolated

Key Insights

1. MOVE command works, COPY+DELETE loses messages
2. Always use seq 1:N (sequence numbers shift after MOVE)
3. Batch size: 8,999 (Yahoo errors at 10,000)
4. Export server FETCH is slow - use regular server for download

Performance

• ~3-4 hours per 8,999 messages
• ~60 hours total for 132K messages

License

MIT-0 - See LICENSE file