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Gromox

COMMS
Velocity2.5

Groupware server backend with MAPI, IMAP and EWS support

gromox.com ↗

Gromox keeps closing the gap with Exchange one protocol surface at a time — this round it's IMAP flags and Outlook for Mac.

groupwareexchange-compatibilityewsimapmail-server
◆Current state
Gromox ships a numbered release roughly monthly, each a mix of Exchange-protocol enhancements and fixes across emsmdb, EWS, IMAP, and the store layer. Version 3.10 makes midb synchronize IMAP message flags to and from the mailbox so they survive deletion of midb.sqlite3, adds IMAP keyword support, teaches EWS the Outlook-for-Mac smart response draft types, extends FindPeople and GetUserPhoto to personal contacts, and adds a short-TTL cache for recurring user ID and group membership lookups.
◆Where it's heading
The project is methodically completing Microsoft's protocol surface rather than building an alternative one. EWS went from partial handlers in 3.2 to the full meeting, delegate, and task surface in 3.6, and now picks up client-specific dialects like Outlook for Mac's draft types. IMAP is on the same path — keywords and colour categories in 3.8, IMAP4rev2 pieces, and now flag durability. Meanwhile the store layer keeps being split and cached for operability. The audience is clearly administrators migrating off Exchange or Kopano who need existing clients to behave unchanged.
◆Prediction
Expect IMAP4rev2 coverage to keep filling in and more client-specific EWS dialects to appear as particular Outlook builds are tested against it.

◆Recent moves

  1. 25d ago

    3.10 makes IMAP flags durable and teaches EWS Outlook for Mac's drafts

    IMAP message flags now synchronize between midb and the mailbox so they survive a midb.sqlite3 deletion, and IMAP keywords are supported. EWS gains Outlook-for-Mac smart response draft types and searches personal contacts in FindPeople and GetUserPhoto, while mysql_adaptor caches repeated user and group lookups. Continues the protocol-completion arc rather than turning it.

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  2. 1mo ago

    3.9 makes room bookings and EWS meetings properly actionable

    The meeting processor starts confirming auto-accepted bookings, handling cancellations, and permitting back-to-back room bookings, while EWS sends meetings with enough properties to be actionable rather than plain appointments. Calendaring parity work that follows directly from the 3.6 EWS build-out.

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  3. 2mo ago

    3.8 splits the Information Store per store and extends IMAP

    The Information Store gains a per-store split-process model, IMAP picks up custom per-message keywords and partial IMAP4rev2 support, and HTML/RTF conversion can hand off to Pandoc. A broad release touching both operability and client-facing protocol coverage.

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  4. 4mo ago

    3.7 fixes shared calendars, EWS fields and Thunderbird discovery

    A fixes-only release resolving lost appointments on shared calendars, a percent-complete scale mismatch between EWS and MAPI, and an AutoDiscover response that advertised OWA support and blocked Thunderbird from connecting. Client-compatibility repair rather than new surface.

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  5. 5mo ago

    3.6 lands the full EWS meeting, delegate and task surface

    ⚡ SPARK

    The release where EWS stopped being partial: task lifecycle, delegate management, calendar occurrence operations with timezones, full meeting invitation and cancellation flow, read receipts, and offline addressbook serving all land together. Everything since has been extending or refining this surface.

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  6. 6mo ago

    3.5 adds per-service listen directives and fixes notifications

    Adds per-service listen directives so services need not bind the wildcard address, and repairs async notification delivery in emsmdb including a use-after-free crash over RPCH. Deployment control plus notification reliability for Outlook clients.

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