offlineimap smart backup synchronization = bidirectional synchronization without deleting any messages

[proxym]

Offlineimap does bidirectional synchronization, but it is not smart,
it's has not any options to configure behavior for deleting messages.

I just want to do bidirectional synchronization without deleting
anything ALWAYS. How can I get it with offlineimap?

There is an option:
realdelete = no
#Setting realdelete = yes will Really Delete email from the server.
#Otherwise "deleting" a message will just remove any labels and
#retain the message in the All Mail folder.
It is not what I want. I don't want anything to being deleted.

1) In case of deleting some or all messages in remote repository, I
want that they will be restored from local repository. Messages must
not be deleted from local repository in case they are deleted from
remote repository.

2) In case of deleting some or all messages in local repository, I
want that they will be restored from remote repository. Messages must
not be deleted from remote repository in case they are deleted from
local repository.

3) Modification and synchronization of modified messages in any Draft
folder can be allowed. But not THE DELETION.

I use MAILDIR as local repository and GMAIL IMAP as remote repository.

There are many blogs in the Internet which tells that you can use
offlineimap to backup email messages from Gmail, BUT IT IS LIE. There
is no option in offlineimap, which enable even real non-smart backup
without deletion of somewhere deleted messages (without simple
synchronization).

I know that offlineimap is writen on python script language, and also
it support insertion of python scripts in config file (i use it to add
conversion of directory names to UTF-8). Is it possible to add
functional, which I want, by insertion some python script, or patch to
offlineimap must be writed?

Please give me already working solution to this BIG PROBLEM of
deleting messages while synchronization, which is inadmissible for me.
E.g I know that I can copy synchronized messages to other folder (not
within local maildir repository) and then do replacement of duplicate
files to hard links by `hardlink` command, but it is very ugly and I
think that it will be some problems with messages IDs in case of
deletion message with some ID and then adding some other message with
same ID.

I already using `hardlink` within local maildir repository. In this
case there is no problem with IDs, because all IDs are correct within
maildir, which is normally synchronized with remote imap server.

> Luc
> Posted September 7, 2012 at 8:09 am | Permalink
>
> Hi,
>
> I would like to know what will happen in case gmail suddenly deletes all my mails (happened with other webservice).
> Since OfflineIMAP is actually doing a sync (not a backup), I suspect everything will be deleted from my localrepository too.
>
> Second case (google could delete something, but I could also do something stupid…): what will happen if I accidentally delete a mail in my remoterepository (webmail account), will it also be deleted locally ?
>
> Third case: what will happen if I accidentally delete my local repository, or a single mail in it, will it also be deleted in my remote depository (webmail).
>
> I really would want to use it as a backup, not a local sync. Meaning, I could rely on it if something is deleted somewhere. Is that possible ?