[MacTUG] A fast way to speed up Mail.app

[Glenn Anderson]

A faster way to speed up Mail.app


UPDATE: A number of posters in the comments have pointed out that it  
is possible to run this command on just one line in the Terminal and  
to leave some of it out. See the comments if you are interested in  
more fancy ways to get the job done.

As everyone knows, it is possible to get quite a speed boost out of  
Mail.app by stripping all the bloat out of its Envelope index, an  
SQLite database Mail uses to store senders, recipients, subjects and  
so on.

In a past Hawk Wings tip , I suggested that quitting Mail, deleting  
the Envelope file and restarting Mail would force a rebuild that  
produces a leaner, faster email experience.

In October last year Dallas noticed a faster way to get the same  
result and posted it in the comments to that tip.

And there it remained until I noticed that Shaun Inman  (an  
iCelebrity and developer of Mint  which counts the peeps on Hawk  
Wings) had noticed it.

Here it is.

1. Quit Mail.

2. Open Terminal.

3. Type the following:

cd ~/Library/Mail
sqlite3 Envelope\ Index

An sqlite> prompt will appear.

At that prompt, type vacuum subjects;.

After a short delay, the prompt will return. Type Control-D to exit.

4. Restart Mail and enjoy the extra speed.
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