Relation of filesystem to Cyrus mailbox structure

[Rick Kunkel]

Heya folks,

Is there any documentation on how Cyrus mailboxes are "structured", as 
relative to the file system?  Man.  That's a poorly worded question, but I 
can't seem to find the best way to say it...

I'm used to dealing with mbox mailboxes until very recently.  The one 
thing that mbox format has going for it is that it's really conrete, for 
lack of a better word.  The file in /var/mail/username is the user's 
inbox;  No internal database or whatever.  Other folders work similarly.

Where I've been stuck recently is trying to figure out things like how to 
manipulate mailboxes by using the file system.  Maybe this isn't really 
practical using mdir.

Here's the latest:  I have a user that we migrated from mbox.  She has her 
inbox folder, which migrated fine.  Then she has a couple of other folder, 
which migrated fine.  Then she has folders within folders, and those 
refuse to show up, and it won't let her subscribe to them.  Here's how it 
they're in the filesystem:

/var/mail/j/user/janedoe   <-- Inbox: Migrated fine
/var/mail/j/user/janedoe/folder1  <-- Also migrated fine
/var/mail/j/user/janedoe/folder1/folderA  <-- I can't get to show

I don't think the user really NEEDS the folder called folder1 above, but 
wants the folders inside of it.  So I tried to move folderA back one level 
so that it was sitting inside the /var/mail/j/user/janedoe folder, but 
that doesn't work.  I figured I had to run a reconstruct command, but no 
avail there either.

I guess the fundamental question here are these:

- If I make changes to the file system, how do I get these reflected in 
Cyrus mailbox views?

- Is this even a good idea, or something to be avoided, and done another 
way?

- Is there any documentation on how the Cyrus internal database on 
mailboxes, quotas, and subscriptions "work"?

Thanks,

Rick Kunkel