IMAP setup in Thunderbird: step by step

You can read mail straight from the dashboard, but once you have ten mailboxes or more it is easier to collect them in one desktop mail client over IMAP. Any client works: Thunderbird, Apple Mail, Outlook, eM Client, phone apps. Below: the connection settings, a step-by-step setup, and the errors people trip over most.

When you need IMAP, and when you do not

If you have one mailbox and just need a confirmation code, the dashboard is quicker: the message is right there and the code is highlighted in its own chip for copying. If the mailbox has been handed to someone else, webmail at /mail is enough — they sign in with the mailbox address and its own password, without access to your dashboard.

IMAP earns its keep when you have many mailboxes and want them in one window, offline, searchable together.

Connection settings

Every Mailcraft mailbox lives on one IMAP server. The settings are identical for any mailbox on any domain:

Field	Value
Server type	IMAP
Host	mail.mailcraft.org
Port	993
Encryption	SSL/TLS
Authentication	Normal password
Username	the full mailbox address
Password	from the mailbox card in the dashboard

Two things account for most failed connections:

One host for every domain. Do not substitute imap. plus your own domain name — no such server exists. Even though your address ends in a different domain, the server is still mail.mailcraft.org.

No outgoing server is needed. Mailboxes receive only; you cannot send from them. If your client insists on SMTP, leave it blank or point it at any existing server of your own — it has no bearing on receiving.

Setting up Thunderbird

1. Install Thunderbird if you do not have it.
2. In the account wizard enter a name (anything — only you see it), the full mailbox address and the password from the card.
3. Click Configure manually. This step matters: auto-detection does not work for our server and will fill in the wrong values.
4. Under incoming mail set: protocol IMAP, host mail.mailcraft.org, port 993, security SSL/TLS, authentication “normal password”, username the full address.
5. Click Re-test, wait for the green tick, then Done.

The first messages sync within about 30 seconds. After that new mail arrives on its own.

When you have many mailboxes

Adding a hundred by hand is pointless. On the order page in your dashboard you can export the list in four formats:

• CSV with full wiring — address, password, host, port and encryption in separate columns. This is the one for bulk import.
• email:password — the most compact form, understood by most tooling.
• email | password | host:993 — the same plus server and port.
• addresses only — when you do not need passwords.

From there you have two routes: either your client can import a list of accounts (eM Client, some Thunderbird setups with add-ons), or you hand mailboxes out to people and tools one at a time from that same file.

Apple Mail, Outlook and phones

The settings are the same everywhere; only the path to the form differs:

• Apple Mail (macOS) — System Settings → Internet Accounts → Add → Other account → Mail account. Enter address and password, then set host and port manually on the second screen.
• Outlook — File → Add Account → Advanced options → Set up manually → IMAP.
• iPhone / Android — Mail → Add account → Other. When auto-configuration fails, enter host and port by hand.

If a client will not let you skip the outgoing server, put in the same mail.mailcraft.org and port 993 — sending still will not work, but the account will save and receiving will function.

Troubleshooting

“Could not connect” / timeout. Port 993 is blocked by your network — common on corporate and hotel Wi-Fi. Test from mobile data: if it works there, the network is the problem, not the mailbox.

“Authentication failed” / wrong password. Almost always a password copied with a stray space or line break. Copy it again with the copy button on the mailbox card and paste. The second cause is a username containing only the part before the @ — it needs the full address.

A certificate warning. The server carries an ordinary Let’s Encrypt certificate and this warning should never appear. It means you are connecting somewhere else: check that the host field says exactly mail.mailcraft.org, not imap. plus your domain.

Connected, but no mail. Hit “Get messages” manually — clients sometimes skip enabling push on the first connection. If there is still nothing, the mailbox is simply empty: check in the dashboard whether the message arrived at all.

The message is in the dashboard but not in the client. It is most likely in the Junk folder. Make sure the client is subscribed to all folders, not just the inbox: in Thunderbird, right-click the account → Subscribe.

What to know about the password

A mailbox password can be changed through webmail at /mail. That has a consequence: after the change, access belongs only to whoever knows the new password. The original buyer still sees the mailbox in their list but can no longer open it, and the old password stops working in the mail client.

This is deliberate — it is what makes handing a mailbox to someone else a real transfer. But if you are distributing mailboxes to a team and want to keep access, tell them not to change the password.

FAQ

Can I send mail?
No. The service receives only — a property of the service, not a tier limit.

One host for all my domains?
Yes, mail.mailcraft.org for any mailbox on any domain.

Does POP3 work?
Use IMAP. It leaves messages on the server, so one mailbox can be open in a client and in the dashboard at the same time.

How much mail is stored?
A mailbox has a 24 MB quota on Mass and Standard, 30 MB on Premium. For confirmation codes that lasts a long time.

How long does a mailbox live?
As long as its domain’s registration; the storefront shows this as “Permanent”. While the domain keeps being renewed, the mailbox and your configured connection keep working.

Further reading

• How to sign up for ChatGPT with a separate email — a typical case where IMAP helps.
• How to sign up for Stripe with a separate email.
• Temp mail vs a rented mailbox — why rent at all when temp mail exists.
• Plans and pricing.