Cascading server search - preview build 2 (2026-10-06)

Personal preview build of an experimental improvement to message search, rebased onto upstream thunderbird-android main as of 2026-10-06.

What's different from upstream

• Empty search results show a message and a tappable prompt instead of a blank screen
• Server search cascades: current folder first, then the account's remaining folders, then all other accounts
• A status bar with a spinner shows what the search is doing (folder, account, counter, download progress)
• Lasting result messages: "No messages found on the server" / "Remote search failed"

Install
Download thunderbird-search-preview-2.apk on the phone and open it; Android asks once to allow installs from the browser. It installs as "Thunderbird Debug" next to the official app (separate app ID net.thunderbird.android.debug), so accounts have to be set up again in it.

Notes

• This is a debug build signed with a local debug key, built from the development branch. It is less tested than official releases, is not optimized, and receives no automatic updates
• Not an official Thunderbird release; Thunderbird is a trademark of MZLA Technologies
• Source: branch feature/cascading-server-search in this fork

Built with AI assistance (Claude).