What is (and isn't) synced
On the mail provider (IMAP/SMTP)
Section titled “On the mail provider (IMAP/SMTP)”After Primail applies a change and the provider accepts it, another client that opens the same mailbox can see:
- Message bodies, subjects, and participants (they live at the host)
- Many read/unread and folder/flag updates
- Provider-side Drafts if some other client stored them there
Primail’s own composer drafts are local cache rows. Do not assume they exist on IMAP.
Local to this Mac (not a Primail cloud)
Section titled “Local to this Mac (not a Primail cloud)”These are stored in the app data directory / preferences and do not roam through a Primail account:
- Pin, snooze, set-aside, and thread detach/merge overrides
- Smart-folder queries, icons, and order
- Signatures and templates
- Account display name, color, sidebar layout, role, and control scope
- Local scheduled sends and outbox rows
- Search index
- Activity log and
command_log - MCP/CLI have no roaming token metadata (there are no MCP tokens)
Settings → Sync → Status and Force resync are not present. Use Settings → Support → Resync mailboxes to refresh IMAP.
Credentials
Section titled “Credentials”Passwords and OAuth refresh material stay in this Mac’s Keychain after a successful add. They are not uploaded as ciphertext to a Primail host. A new device must add accounts again.
Optional future
Section titled “Optional future”Optional iCloud configuration sync is accepted direction. It is not a current Settings path and it will not become a mandatory Primail signup.
Why mail content is not copied to a Primail server
Section titled “Why mail content is not copied to a Primail server”The product rule is unchanged: IMAP is the source of truth; the local database is a rebuildable cache; Primail servers are not a second mailbox. Because configuration cloud sync is not shipping, there is also no metadata replica to inspect.