Use your communications archive¶
msgvault keeps email, chat, meetings, calendars, and contacts on your own hardware. These guides help you bring data in, find what matters, and maintain the archive through the browser, terminal, CLI, or an agent.
Upgrading to 0.21?
The 0.21.0 changelog lists the new capabilities. Read the upgrade notes before opening an existing archive with the new version.
Start an archive¶
- Install msgvault.
- Choose a source and follow its sync or import guide.
- Open the Web UI or TUI to browse your messages.
- Create a backup before making substantial changes.
Google OAuth setup is needed for Google-backed sources. Local imports and other providers have their own requirements. To understand the product first, read the archive lifecycle or the project's origin.
Find messages and files¶
| Your question | Guide |
|---|---|
| Who sent this, and when? | Keyword search and filters |
| How do I search by meaning? | Semantic and hybrid search |
| How do I search inside attachments? | Document indexing |
| Which model settings should I use? | Recommended configuration |
| What does my archive contain? | Analytics and SQL queries |
| How can an AI assistant use it? | MCP and agent skills |
Keep track of people¶
People and profiles explains observed identities, durable profiles, contact activity, and relationship curation. Start there to connect addresses and handles, maintain contacts, or set up optional profile automation. Use accounts and collections to organize sources and limit an archive view.
Maintain and operate the archive¶
| Your task | Guide |
|---|---|
| Run on a NAS or server | Remote deployment |
| Understand the background daemon | Daemon migration |
| Verify stored mail | Archive verification |
| Hide duplicate copies | Deduplication |
| Remove mail from a provider | Deletion staging and execution |
| Prepare a message draft for review | Mail drafts, Beeper drafts, and local chat drafts |
| Keep a recoverable copy | Backup and restore |
| Take data elsewhere | Exporting |
| Diagnose a problem | Troubleshooting and FAQ |
Reference and development¶
- CLI reference: commands and flags.
- Configuration: settings, defaults, and file locations.
- HTTP API: integration contracts and authentication.
- Architecture: responsibilities, data flow, and limits.
- Development: building, testing, and contributing.