Files and folders in the profile - Thunderbird

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Revision as of 15:31, 11 March 2008 by Alice Wyman (talk | contribs) (added OS after .parentlock (Mac OS X) parent.lock (Windows) xul.mfasl (Linux) XUL.mfl (Windows) and XUL FastLoad File (Mac OS X) and a few other edits)
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This article is a supplement to Profile folder - Thunderbird and provides more detail about files in the Thunderbird profile folder.

Files

None of these files should be read-only. If they are that might be a side effect of dragging and dropping or backing up files to removable media, and then using them to restore your profile.

Name Description
.autoreg Temporary empty file that signals a change in the installed extensions.
.parentlock (Mac OS X) See parent.lock
abook.mab Personal Address Book
blocklist.xml Added list of dangerous extensions.
cert8.db Security certificates
compatibility.ini Stores version and path of the application this profile was last used with. When the profile is loaded with an application of a different version/path, the XPCOM components registration process is triggered. This file is automatically generated and can safely be deleted.
components.ini Lists extension folders with XPCOM components. Replaced with extensions.ini in Thunderbird 1.5 and above.
compreg.dat Lists registered XPCOM components. Automatically regenerated whenever XPCOM registration process is triggered.
cookies.txt Cookies RSS cookies - Thunderbird
cookies.sqlite Cookies used by Lightning extension
downloads.rdf Download history. Can be deleted to resolve slow downloads or program hangs (Bug 159107)
extensions.cache Lists installed extensions, their IDs, and the folders they are installed to, along with their last-modify time. It is used, for example, to register extensions installed by dropping a folder into one of known install locations. This file is automatically regenerated and can be deleted to resolve various issues.
extensions.ini Lists folders of installed extensions and themes. The file is automatically generated by nsExtensionManager and is used by low-level code to detect chrome packages and XPCOM components provided by installed addons. It can be deleted to resolve various issues.
extensions.rdf Installed extension information. It can be deleted to remove "ghost" entries from the extension list [1] and to resolve various other issues.
filterlog.html Message filter log. If filter logging is enabled its stored in the accounts directory.
history.mab Collected addresses
hostinfo.dat in News Contains all the newsgroups available for the current server
junklog.html Junk mail log for that account
key3.db Key database
localstore.rdf Toolbar and window layout and size/position settings. It can be deleted to resolve various issues.
localstore-safe.rdf Special version of localstore.rdf used in Safe Mode to set toolbars and window customizations to defaults. [2]
lock (Linux) See parent.lock
mailviews.dat Defines your current message view (you can customize it)
menuedit.rdf Used by MenuEdit extension
mimeTypes.rdf Action to perform when downloading certain types of files. Can be deleted to reset download actions.
msgFilterRules.dat in ImapMail, Mail, News Message filters
nsmail.eml, nsmail.tmp, nsmail.html Temporary files created when sending a message.
nstmp Thunderbird creates a nstmp temporary file when compacting a folder. You should not see it (or nstmp-1, nstmp-2 etc.) unless Thunderbird was interrupted while compacting.
panacea.dat Mail folder cache
parent.lock (Windows) Marker showing that the current profile is in use. Can be deleted to unlock the profile.
persdict.dat Personal spelling dictionary
permissions.sqlite Used by Lightning extension
popstate.dat in Mail Keeps track of which messages have been left on the POP3 server
prefs.js All preferences. See: Modify Thunderbird settings
secmod.db Security module database
signons.txt Encrypted saved passwords, requires key3.db to work
storage.sdb Internal calendar data (in SQLite format) if you use the Lightning extension
training.dat Custom training for Junk Mail Controls
tmprules.dat Temporary file used when modifying message filters.
user.js
(does not exist by default)
User-set overriding preferences
userChrome.css in chrome
(does not exist by default)
User-set CSS to change the way the application looks
userContent.css in chrome
(does not exist by default)
User-set CSS to change the way webpages look
userChrome.js in chrome
(does not exist by default)
User-set JavaScript to change the way the application works
virtualfolders.dat Saved Search folder settings
xpti.dat Lists registered XPCOM interfaces. Automatically regenerated whenever XPCOM registration process is triggered.
XPC.mfl A cache file for components (XPC)
xul.mfasl (Linux) See XUL.mfl file
XUL.mfl (Windows) Cached user interface data. Can be deleted to resolve various issues.
File location changed in Thunderbird 1.5. [3]
XUL FastLoad File (Mac OS X) See XUL.mfl

Files without specific names

Name Description
(number).s Obsolete. It used to be used for saving passwords. The "(number).s" value was specified by the signon.SignonFileName preference.
*. in ImapMail, Mail, and News Mbox files. They are text files that contain all of the messages for that folder.
*.mab other than abook.mab and history.mab User-created or imported address books.
*.msf in ImapMail, Mail, and News Index files for mail messages.
*.rc in News Subscribed groups.

Files outside the profile folder

Name Description
pluginreg.dat Registration of plugin MIME types. It's located in the "Thunderbird" folder containing the profiles.
profiles.ini Keeps track of the profile folder location. It's located in the "Thunderbird" folder containing the profiles. It can be edited to point to a moved profile folder. If deleted, profiles.ini will be regenerated along with a new default profile folder upon program restart.
registry.dat Obsolete. Keeps track of profile folder location in previous Thunderbird versions. It's located in the "Thunderbird" folder containing the profiles.

You can store messages outside of the profile by configuring Thunderbird to store an accounts directory outside of the profile. If you do that you need to move the directories yourself, modifying the preferences in prefs.js just tells Thunderbird where to look for the files.