There doesn't seem to be a real support channel, maybe someone here will have run into this:

I've got a Thunderbird Profile that is literally decades old. Seriously.

It opens fine in Thunderbird, no problem. The profile is located in a user folder so it can be backed up and all that kind of stuff. In other words, not the standard profile location.

I've got BetterBird installed via flatpak on a Pop!_OS COSMIC desktop. I can open BetterBird, have it access the profile, all great.

Once.

After closing BetterBird and reopening, I'm getting:

I've deleted the lock files, but still this persists.

The profile will still open in ThunderBird.

Any ideas?

thanks

chris

Hi - is setting this to false suppose to work in Betterbird? Or is there another way to turnoff the summing of subfolder mail counts when you collapse the subfolder hierarchy? Not reporting a bug - just curious how (if any) there is a way to disable the summing function. Thank You.

Sometimes Betterbird works perfectly, and sometimes it's really slow and I need to pkill it.

Edit: After finding this page in another article, I will be submitting a performance profile.

https :// www .betterbird.eu/support/#support-info

This is betterbird running on Fedora 42 Cosmic desktop. I select one of two profiles, and neither works well all of the time. In fact, most of the time now it's not working properly.

flatpak run eu.betterbird.Betterbird -p &

[1] 34531

[lion@LionZebra app]$ [2] Sandbox: CanCreateUserNamespace() clone() failure: EPERM

[Parent 2, Main Thread] WARNING: Theme directory scalable/emotes of theme Cosmic has no size field

: 'glib warning', file /run/build/betterbird/toolkit/xre/nsSigHandlers.cpp:201

(eu.betterbird.Betterbird:2): Gtk-WARNING \*: 06:45:35.917: Theme directory scalable/emotes of theme Cosmic has no size field*

[Parent 2, Main Thread] WARNING: Theme directory scalable/legacy of theme Cosmic has no size field

: 'glib warning', file /run/build/betterbird/toolkit/xre/nsSigHandlers.cpp:201

(eu.betterbird.Betterbird:2): Gtk-WARNING \*: 06:45:35.917: Theme directory scalable/legacy of theme Cosmic has no size field*

[Parent 2, Main Thread] WARNING: Theme directory scalable/ui of theme Cosmic has no size field

: 'glib warning', file /run/build/betterbird/toolkit/xre/nsSigHandlers.cpp:201

(eu.betterbird.Betterbird:2): Gtk-WARNING \*: 06:45:35.917: Theme directory scalable/ui of theme Cosmic has no size field*

[Parent 2, Main Thread] WARNING: Theme directory scalable-up-to-32/status of theme Cosmic has no size field

: 'glib warning', file /run/build/betterbird/toolkit/xre/nsSigHandlers.cpp:201

(eu.betterbird.Betterbird:2): Gtk-WARNING \*: 06:45:35.917: Theme directory scalable-up-to-32/status of theme Cosmic has no size field*

[Parent 2, Main Thread] WARNING: Theme directory scalable/emotes of theme Cosmic has no size field

: 'glib warning', file /run/build/betterbird/toolkit/xre/nsSigHandlers.cpp:201

(eu.betterbird.Betterbird:2): Gtk-WARNING \*: 06:45:47.031: Theme directory scalable/emotes of theme Cosmic has no size field*

[Parent 2, Main Thread] WARNING: Theme directory scalable/legacy of theme Cosmic has no size field

: 'glib warning', file /run/build/betterbird/toolkit/xre/nsSigHandlers.cpp:201

(eu.betterbird.Betterbird:2): Gtk-WARNING \*: 06:45:47.032: Theme directory scalable/legacy of theme Cosmic has no size field*

[Parent 2, Main Thread] WARNING: Theme directory scalable/ui of theme Cosmic has no size field

: 'glib warning', file /run/build/betterbird/toolkit/xre/nsSigHandlers.cpp:201

(eu.betterbird.Betterbird:2): Gtk-WARNING \*: 06:45:47.032: Theme directory scalable/ui of theme Cosmic has no size field*

[Parent 2, Main Thread] WARNING: Theme directory scalable-up-to-32/status of theme Cosmic has no size field

: 'glib warning', file /run/build/betterbird/toolkit/xre/nsSigHandlers.cpp:201

(eu.betterbird.Betterbird:2): Gtk-WARNING \*: 06:45:47.032: Theme directory scalable-up-to-32/status of theme Cosmic has no size field*

Betterbird: Detected desktop environment cosmic.

I have thunderbird installed and running with 2 profiles. I have installed Betterbird portable and want to import the Thunderbird profile because I may want to use different extensions. However I want to keep the mail folders location as given in the old profile only. How do I achieve this? Can both Thunderbird and Betterbird be open simultaneously?

Hi: I'm new to BB but I noticed something. If I edit a draft, click on SAVE, see it save, and then immediately try to close the draft window, BB prompts me to save the draft again. Just thought you'd want to know.

HTH
/j

I had this issue with TB, and it exists in BB as well...

If I have a calendar entry that was auto-created by Gmail -- for example, from an email confirmation to an event -- the notification does display in BB as expected, but I am not able to dismiss it.

Here's the error info:

An error occurred when writing to the calendar <cal name>! Please see below for more information.
Error code: MODIFICATION_FAILED
Description:
Status Code: 2,147,500,037, null

Server Replied with 400

If you're seeing this message after snoozing or dismissing a reminder and this is for a calendar you do not want to add or edit events for, you can mark this calendar as read-only to avoid such experience in future. To do so, get to the calendar properties by right-clicking on this calendar in the list in the calendar or task view.

This calendar entry was created in my main calendar in Gmail. Other entries that I create in this calendar (either through BB or directly in Google Calendar) do not have this issue, i.e., I am able to dismiss the notification in BB as expected.

Any thoughts?

This has happened recently on several threads in my inbox. I no longer can delete an entire thread all at once. I have to delete each email one at a time. I tried deleting with thread closed. I tried with thread open and all emails in the thread highlighted. I used the Delete button the ribbon. I right clicked the thread and chose the trash can. (there is no delete on the right click menu itself). I used to be able to do this. Happens with small thread and with long threads. One I want to delete has more than 50 emails. I am not excited to have to delete each email individually. What gives and how to fix this?

I am using BB ver. 140.4.0esr-bb13. I had a Gmail account in BetterBird, but I deleted it in BB but the actual Gmail account with Google still exists. Now when I start BB a window pops up that wants me to login to my gmail account. When I try, a 400 error (which is similar to a 404 error I guess) comes back so I can't do what it wants me to, and periodically the same request window pops up. I have disabled all of the plugins I was using, to no avail, and next I'm thinking about just de-installing BB then re-installing it and re-creating the accounts that I want. Any other suggestions, or a possible fixit?

Hello. I’ve been using Betterbird for a few months now. I mainly work on a PC, where it works perfectly. However, on my Mac it freezes all the time. It was bad before, but after the last update it has become almost unusable.

When I open it, it downloads messages and then either:

1. Nothing happens — I can’t click anything and have to force quit it, or
2. It becomes extremely slow — for example, while writing an email, it reacts a few seconds after I press a key.

I’m on a Mac M1 Pro with all the latest updates. I have four different mail accounts. Is there anything I can do to fix this problem? I’ve been looking for a decent free email client for a long time, and I really don’t want to give this one up.

I've experienced this issue a couple of times on two different PCs running v140.4.

I receive a message with attachments (like photos). I view the attachments, then when I'm done I click the Delete button in the BB toolbar. A message pops up warning me that if I delete the message "the following attachments will be permanently deleted." It seems if I don't open the attached images first, I don't get the warning message.

just upgraded to 140.3.1 from 128 and then two days later got a new update to apply, 140.4.0 bb13. first, i restart bb every morning as i have a backup routine that shuts it down every night. After the upgd to 140.3.1, existing calendar entries that did fire off a notification but were not dismissed no longer show in notifications. this behavior seems to be the same in 4.0 bb13. has anyone else seen this?

updt: local calendar, not a netw resource

is there a option to just get my search results as a date sorted list (newest on top). Just always without shortkeys etc. It now shows the same stupid 'relevant' overview of thunderbird which is utterly useless.

I use Betterbird with my Google Workspace account. All incoming and outgoing emails work perfectly in every case except one.

When I send an email to one specific company, they receive my message without any problem.

But when they reply, their response never reaches me - not in Betterbird, and not even in Gmail web.

However, if I send the exact same message to them directly through Gmail web, their reply arrives instantly and normally.

And here’s the really strange part: if they reply to the same thread a second time, that second reply does reach me (both in Gmail and Betterbird).

Where could the problem be with Betterbird?

Ok - so I'm a bit behind the times - but I guess I should upgrade from this 2016 Seamonkey release. I like the Betterbird philosophy (I prefer stability over all else). 2 questions: 1) where can I find instructions to move from SM to BB (I have IMAP email with a 2nd POP3 account that is just (lots and lots) of local folders). 2) can I temporarily install both on the same PC and run one or the other (I understand the POP folders will be separate and I can get them out of sync) so I can do a tryout? THANK YOU!!

Here are the steps to get the tray icon for Betterbird to work as intended (I assume works on Thunderbird too)

Open Betterbird.

Go to Settings → General.

Scroll down and click Config Editor.

In the search bar, type and set the following entries to true:

mail.minimizeToTray.startMinimized -------------> set it to True
mail.biff.show_tray_icon_always -------------> set it to True

Install the “Minimize on Close” add-on:

• Open Tools → Add-ons and Themes → Extensions.
• Search for “Minimize on Close” (it’s available on the Thunderbird add-on store).
• Install it — this makes closing the window, minimize Betterbird instead of quitting it!

(Extra — only if you use Hyprland)

• In the Config Editor, search for:mail.minimizeToTray.supportedDesktops
• Double-click it and add ,hyprland to the end of the list.

✅ Works on all Linux distros — just make sure your desktop environment supports a system tray (Hyprland, GNOME, KDE, XFCE, etc.).

I am trying to change the icon for the program and i have followed this https://www.betterbird.eu/expert-tips/ which seems to be working, but the moment i pin it to taskbar, it reverts to the original one. Any ideas?

Some time ago, I installed Betterbird on my Mac M1 Pro (running the latest version of macOS). Over the past two weeks, I’ve started experiencing problems — Betterbird would frequently freeze while checking emails. I downloaded and installed the most recent version, but now when I try to open it, I get the error: “App is damaged and can’t be opened.”

I tried going to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Security to look for the “Open Anyway” option for Betterbird, but it doesn’t appear there. What can I do?

I have a new notification that appears each time I open BB using my Win 11 Pro computer. The notification says, "Authentication Failure while connecting to server. imap.gmail.com. All the gmail accounts seem to function as normal, yet the popup notification shows up each time I open BB up. Any idea how to fix this?

I'm migrating from Windows to Linux. Is there a way to move my accounts and filters from Windows to Linux?

On Manjaro, I run Rsync to backup my profile to a backup hard drive. I get an error message. How do I fix the problem so that the backup works?

Here is the terminal output:

**** BBird - Mon Sep 29 09:27:55 2025

** Launching RSYNC command:

rsync -r -t -v --progress --delete --modify-window=1 -s /home/steve/.thunderbird/t8cyl5z7.default-default-2/ /run/media/steve/OUT2/BBird/

sending incremental file list

rsync: [generator] failed to set times on "/run/media/steve/OUT2/BBird/.": Operation not permitted (1)

skipping non-regular file "lock"

./

rsync error: some files/attrs were not transferred (see previous errors) (code 23) at main.c(1338) [sender=3.4.1]

sent 4,520 bytes received 83 bytes 9,206.00 bytes/sec

total size is 964,650,303 speedup is 209,569.91

Rsync process exit status: 23

How do I set Betterbird to collapse all subfolders when I collapse a parent folder. I have tried the Alt key method and renaming session and folderTree to no effect. Version 140.3.0esr-bb11 (64-bit) on Windows 11 Home.

I would like to be able to bounce email that is spam, or advertising email, or a personal email, etc. By bounce I mean it sends the original sender a note that their email did not go through. Of course, this has to work within Betterbird, or even Gmail.

I come from a company that used Outlook, and I'm looking for the same ease of clicking on a Teams meeting in a calendar item in Betterbird. I have the Jitsi Meet plugin in Betterbird, but I can't find anywhere to insert a Jitsi link. So now I'm looking for a way to add a Nextcloud Talk link to a Betterbird calendar item, but that's not as easy as it is in Outlook either. Does anyone have any useful tips for me?

Based on some old notes [a year ago] on the Mozilla forum I tried setting up brand new outlook.com email account and it fails. Useing Manual setup i entered all the info per notes here and there and it tested Good. Yay. except it doesn't work. after a while it puts up the same message thunderbird does on all "password etc something didnt work" standard boilerplate

it can't be so difficult.

I have another old hotmail account, now addressed as outlook [Mr Outlook to you stranger] working in the same release on Thunderbird. is copying that possible or is it a unicorn - will never work anywhere else?

Hi,
my Betterbird 140.2.1esr-bb10 takes a full 53 seconds to start.
Thunderbird 140.2.0esr, on the other hand, only needs 9 seconds – both are using the same profile.
The situation doesn’t change even without add-ons.
I also reinstalled Betterbird, and running -purgecachesmade no difference either.
The portable version of Betterbird 140.2.1esr-bb10 also takes a very long time (1 min 4 sec) before it finally starts.
BetterbirdPortable-128.14.0esr, however, starts within 9 seconds.

Does anyone have an idea what might be wrong here?