OfflineIMAP + systemd timer

I use mutt to manage my emails and access them from the terminal. To sync the mails between the IMAP server and mutt I use OfflineIMAP.

To regularly check for new mails I use a systemd timer. The necessary files can be found in the official repository.

Let's clone the repository first and copy all necessary files to /etc/systemd/user.

cd /tmp
git clone --depth 1 git@github.com:OfflineIMAP/offlineimap.git  # a shallow copy is enough
cd offlineimap/contrib/systemd
sudo cp *.{service,timer} /etc/systemd/user/
systemctl --user daemon-reload
cd /tmp && rm -rf /tmp/offlineimap

By default the update interval of the timer is set to 15min. I preferred an update interval of 5 min, which can be easily accomplished.

$ systemctl --user edit offlineimap-oneshot.timer

In this file values can be overwritten as such:

[Timer]
OnUnitInactiveSec=5min

Finally it's time to enable and start the timer.

$ systemctl --user enable offlineimap-oneshot.timer # autostart at boot
$ systemctl --user start offlineimap-oneshot.timer  # start now

Let's check if the timer is up and running. systemctl --user status offlineimap-oneshot.timer should show that it is up and running and tell how many time is left until the next run:

● offlineimap-oneshot.timer - Offlineimap Query Timer
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/user/offlineimap-oneshot.timer; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
    Drop-In: /home/dotcs/.config/systemd/user/offlineimap-oneshot.timer.d
             └─override.conf
     Active: active (waiting) since Wed 2020-04-01 16:27:20 CEST; 8min ago
    Trigger: Wed 2020-04-01 16:37:34 CEST; 1min 55s left
   Triggers: ● offlineimap-oneshot.service