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-rw-r--r--CHANGELOG.md18
-rw-r--r--CLAUDE.md10
-rw-r--r--README.md25
-rwxr-xr-xassets/mailsync.sh102
4 files changed, 154 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e09e176..e50b2da 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -11,7 +11,23 @@ point at which they are stable.
## [Unreleased]
-Nothing yet.
+### Added
+
+- **`assets/mailsync.sh`**, the reference sync command, moved here from the
+ companion `mailctl` project. It never belonged there: `mailctl` does not call
+ it, while qtmaildir runs it as a subprocess and depends on how it behaves.
+ Symlink it into `~/bin` rather than copying, so one script serves both cron
+ and the application.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **The sync log pane stayed empty**, listed as a known limitation since 0.1.0.
+ The reference `mailsync.sh` redirected all its output to a log file, so the
+ subprocess printed nothing for the pane to show. It now writes to both.
+- **A failed sync reported success.** That script ended in an unconditional
+ `exit 0`, so qtmaildir could not tell a clean sync from a broken one: it
+ cleared the unsynced-changes count either way, and would have quit on a
+ sync-on-exit that had not synced anything. It now exits with the real status.
## [0.7.0] - 2026-08-04
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 694852f..9eb21a4 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -75,6 +75,16 @@ combined `thread:a or thread:b` query rather than one query per thread.
The only escape hatch is `general/notmuch_config`, pointing at an alternate notmuch config.
Per-account subdirectories *are* configured, since notmuch does not model accounts at all.
+**The sync script lives here, in `assets/mailsync.sh`.** It moved from the
+companion `mailctl` project, which documents that it never calls it: the script
+is `mbsync` plus `notmuch new` with a lock, and qtmaildir is the only thing that
+runs it programmatically. Two properties exist for this application's sake and
+must survive any edit. It **prints to stdout as well as its log file**, because
+`MailSync` shows what the command prints and a self-redirecting script leaves
+the pane empty; and it **exits with the real status**, because a `0` from a
+failed sync makes qtmaildir report success, clear the unsynced-changes count,
+and quit on a sync that never happened.
+
**Every user-facing string is translatable.** Wrap UI text in `tr()`, including strings
that are only ever shown in passing: status bar messages, tooltips, dialog prose,
completion descriptions. Query syntax itself is not user-facing text — notmuch keywords
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ec4c22a..a726a24 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -137,6 +137,7 @@ identity.
[sync]
; Optional. Omit and the Sync button disables itself with a tooltip.
+; assets/mailsync.sh is the reference implementation; see "The sync command".
; command = /home/you/bin/mailsync.sh
; Section names use a dot, not a slash: QSettings treats "/" as its own
@@ -269,6 +270,30 @@ set is valid.
Every change goes on the undo stack, so `Ctrl+Z` reverses a mistyped tag.
+## The sync command
+
+qtmaildir does not fetch mail. `[sync] command` names a script it runs as a
+subprocess, and `assets/mailsync.sh` is the reference implementation: `mbsync -a`
+followed by `notmuch new`, under a `flock` so a cron timer and a click here
+cannot run two `mbsync` processes over one Maildir.
+
+```bash
+ln -s "$PWD/assets/mailsync.sh" ~/bin/mailsync.sh
+```
+
+A symlink rather than a copy, so the same script serves cron and the running
+application and there is only one of it to edit.
+
+Two things any replacement has to get right, both learned the hard way:
+
+- **Print to stdout as well as any log file.** qtmaildir shows what the command
+ prints. A script that redirects its own output to a log leaves the sync pane
+ empty, which is what the previous version of this one did.
+- **Exit non-zero when the sync failed.** qtmaildir believes the exit status:
+ it reports success, clears the unsynced-changes count, and will quit on it
+ during a sync-on-exit. The previous version ended in an unconditional
+ `exit 0`, so a failed `mbsync` was indistinguishable from a clean run.
+
## Unsynced changes
Tagging changes the notmuch index at once, but the mail store only learns about
diff --git a/assets/mailsync.sh b/assets/mailsync.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..ee918b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/assets/mailsync.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# mailsync.sh - fetch mail and reindex it.
+#
+# Copyright (C) 2026 Danilo M. <danix@danix.xyz>
+#
+# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 as
+# published by the Free Software Foundation.
+#
+# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+# Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+#
+# Runs mbsync followed by notmuch new, under a lock so a cron timer and a
+# click in qtmaildir cannot run two mbsync processes over one Maildir.
+#
+# Two audiences, which is what shapes the output handling below: a cron or
+# systemd timer, which wants a log file it can read afterwards, and
+# qtmaildir, which runs this as a subprocess and shows what it prints.
+# Output therefore goes to BOTH, and the exit status is real.
+
+# Defensive: don't rely on cron/systemd/whatever invokes this to have
+# set these correctly. Explicit beats inferred, especially after the
+# HOME-not-set failure we hit once already. Fall back to the invoking
+# user's home from passwd rather than a hardcoded path.
+export HOME="${HOME:-$(getent passwd "$(id -u)" | cut -d: -f6)}"
+export GNUPGHOME="${GNUPGHOME:-$HOME/.gnupg}"
+
+LOCKFILE="/tmp/mbsync.lock"
+LOGFILE="$HOME/.local/state/mailsync.log"
+MAX_LOG_BYTES=$((10 * 1024 * 1024)) # rotate past 10MB, see note below
+
+mkdir -p "$(dirname "$LOGFILE")"
+
+exec 200>"$LOCKFILE"
+if ! flock -n 200; then
+ # Both streams again: a caller that skipped because the cron run holds
+ # the lock needs to be told, not left with silence and an error code.
+ msg="$(date -Iseconds) === SKIPPED: previous run still in progress ==="
+ echo "$msg" >> "$LOGFILE"
+ echo "$msg" >&2
+ exit 1
+fi
+
+# Simple rotation: if the log's gotten big, keep the last run's worth
+# and move the rest aside rather than letting it grow forever.
+if [ -f "$LOGFILE" ] && [ "$(stat -c%s "$LOGFILE" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)" -gt "$MAX_LOG_BYTES" ]; then
+ mv "$LOGFILE" "${LOGFILE}.1"
+fi
+
+# Statuses are written to files rather than shell variables because the
+# block below is piped into tee, which puts it in a subshell: a variable
+# assigned in there is gone by the time the parent reads it.
+STATUS_DIR="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$STATUS_DIR"' EXIT
+
+START_TS="$(date -Iseconds)"
+{
+ echo "===== RUN START: $START_TS ====="
+
+ # Timestamp every line of mbsync/notmuch output as it streams,
+ # rather than only marking run boundaries, this is what actually
+ # lets you tell which errors are from which run at a glance.
+ mbsync -a 2>&1 | while IFS= read -r line; do
+ echo "$(date '+%H:%M:%S') $line"
+ done
+ echo "${PIPESTATUS[0]}" > "$STATUS_DIR/mbsync"
+
+ notmuch new 2>&1 | while IFS= read -r line; do
+ echo "$(date '+%H:%M:%S') $line"
+ done
+ echo "${PIPESTATUS[0]}" > "$STATUS_DIR/notmuch"
+
+ END_TS="$(date -Iseconds)"
+ MBSYNC_STATUS="$(cat "$STATUS_DIR/mbsync")"
+ NOTMUCH_STATUS="$(cat "$STATUS_DIR/notmuch")"
+ if [ "$MBSYNC_STATUS" -eq 0 ] && [ "$NOTMUCH_STATUS" -eq 0 ]; then
+ echo "===== RUN END: $END_TS status=OK ====="
+ else
+ echo "===== RUN END: $END_TS status=FAILED mbsync=$MBSYNC_STATUS notmuch=$NOTMUCH_STATUS ====="
+ fi
+# tee, not a plain redirect. Appending only to the log left every caller
+# that runs this as a subprocess with nothing to show: qtmaildir's sync
+# pane was empty for exactly this reason. Cron still gets its log.
+} 2>&1 | tee -a "$LOGFILE"
+
+MBSYNC_STATUS="$(cat "$STATUS_DIR/mbsync" 2>/dev/null || echo 1)"
+NOTMUCH_STATUS="$(cat "$STATUS_DIR/notmuch" 2>/dev/null || echo 1)"
+
+# Report the real outcome. The old unconditional "exit 0" meant a caller
+# could not distinguish a clean sync from a failed one, so qtmaildir's
+# sync-on-exit prompt would report success over a sync that had not
+# happened, which is precisely the case that loses work.
+if [ "$MBSYNC_STATUS" -ne 0 ]; then
+ exit "$MBSYNC_STATUS"
+fi
+exit "$NOTMUCH_STATUS"