My question is why not use IMAP?

▲ subhobroto 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

That's what they used to do: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48708270

The OP had posted a detailed reply here as well, that they since deleted - I think because they didn't want to deal with all the pushback here.

	▲	ltiger 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		[dead]

▲ ltiger 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

It actually does use IMAP! The app connects directly to Google's IMAP servers via SSL straight from your machine.

I intentionally chose a local IMAP pipeline over the official Gmail API because of platform gatekeeping. To use the API for this, Google forces independent developers into a "Restricted Scope" tier, which requires an annual $15,000+ third-party security assessment.

Going the local IMAP route lets me bypass that completely while keeping user data 100% local and secure.

▲ kbelder an hour ago | parent [-]

I don't like how somebody is flagging/downvoting all your comments. This is about your product; it's highly relevant, whatever somebody might think about it.

▲ mmh0000 29 minutes ago | parent [-]

I don't think it's just "somebody"; I think it's a lot of bodies. I'm downvoting him too because he vibe-coded a super simple "app", then is trying to sell it here as some life-saving tool .

My main complaints:

- Why is this $30?

- Why is it Windows/Mac only?

- Why is it Gmail only when it's using IMAP?

But what really irks me is that you know you can do this exact thing with like two Linux CLI commands?

  ``` 
  $ offlineimap -c <configfile with credentials>
  $ mae export --maildir=test/fixtures/simple --output-dir=test/tmp_output
  ```

[1] https://github.com/mrtazz/mae

	▲	ltiger a few seconds ago \| parent [-]
		[flagged]