For example if you have a Gmail POP account it would create a subdirectory in Mail. It requires Thunderbird 8.0 or later.Īll of the messages for an account are stored in a subdirectory named after the mail server. It runs user studies on how Thunderbird is used, and is used to submit answers to surveys. Not clear what it caches other than system font data but some Firefox add-on developers delete the equivalent file in a Firefox profile while developing add-ons. Precompiled startup cache stored in a startupCache.4.little file. Used if you added additional search provider such as DuckDuckGo to OpenSearch. 'app cache' according to the More About add-on. It's typically called 'smart mailboxes -1'ĭump files (*.dmp) created by the crash reporter smart mailboxes for Unified Folders/Smart Folders (virtual folders). Feeds or News & Blogs for RSS subscriptions and feeds Local Folders mail storage (including Global Inbox) They're normally named after the mail server so if you had a Gmail POP account it would use a subdirectory Mainly used for the optional userChrome.css and userContent.css files.Īnother directory used by personas (light weight themes). Used by the optional disk cache added in Thunderbird 3.0 It may not exist as the settings for where attachments should be stored are frequently ignored. Used when attachments aren't stored in the folder or the desktop. However, the profile switcher extension will let you switch profiles. Thunderbird does not let you switch profiles without exiting, unlike Outlook Expresses identities. Thunderbird doesn't delete a profile when uninstalling, upgrading or re-installing (it is stored in a directory outside of your program directory), but to avoid any risk of accidentally affecting or deleting it as a side effect of an update it is a good idea to back it up before taking such actions. It is a good idea to periodically backup your profile to a safe location. You can also use the Profile Manager to create a profile wherever you want (but don't create it in the Thunderbird program directory) or to delete or rename one. The first time you start Thunderbird it will automatically create a profile in a default location if it does not already exist. A profile can contain one or more account for mail, RSS, news, etc. Thunderbird stores all personal data such as messages, address books and configuration settings in an OS folder called the profile. See also Profile folder - Firefox and Profile folder - SeaMonkey. This article is about Thunderbird's profile folder.

How to organize files and folders