This script downloads all the archives for a set of mailing lists so that you can maintain a local, searchable copy in a mail program like Thunderbird. The entire date range supplied will be combined into a single archive file.
The configuration is driven from a simple YAML file that specifies your mailman server as well as the lists and authentication (if needed) to use.
The config file defaults to ~/lists.yaml and can be overridden as needed.
The working directory defaults to ~/mail-archives where all the archives downloaded are kept for the application to keep track of what was already downoladed avoiding email duplication. If you need to redownload some archives simply delete the files from this directory.
The script should be safely re-runnable and will download incremental updates, only rebuilding the archive files if necessary.
Be sure you have ruby installed
which ruby
Copy the lists.yaml file in your home dir
cp lists.yaml ~/
Edit it accordingly to the mailing-lists you want to download
Run the download script with the "--verbose" parameter
./mailman-download --verbose
This script has only been tested on Thunderbird, inspired by the following blog post - http://johnpoelstra.com/importing-mailing-list-archives-to-thunderbird/
After running this script, you will need to restart Thunderbird and the archives will show up under your local folders.
Enjoy!