Error when creating folders with spaces on GMail's IMAP server

[piyueh]

General informations

• system/distribution (with version): Arch Linux, kernel 5.11.1-arch1-1
• offlineimap version (offlineimap -V):
  • from offlineimap -V: offlineimap v7.3.0, imaplib2 v3.06, Python v3.9.2, OpenSSL 1.1.1j 16 Feb 2021
  • it's actually offlineimap3 commit 1e7ef9e with patches from BUG: Gmail FETCH error with synclabels enabled #55 and changes according to add version() to access __version__ for the python 3 version jazzband/imaplib2#15)
• Python version: 3.9
• server name or domain: gmail
• CLI options: -o -a test -c ${HOME}/config.test

Configuration file offlineimaprc

[general]
metadata = $HOME/offlineimap_tmp
accounts = test

[Account test]
localrepository = test-local
remoterepository = test-remote

[Repository test-local]
type = GmailMaildir
localfolders = $HOME/offlineimap_test
sep = .

[Repository test-remote]
type = Gmail
remoteuser = <account>
auth_mechanisms = XOAUTH2
oauth2_client_id = <id>
oauth2_client_secret = <secret>
oauth2_access_token = <token>
folderfilter = lambda folder: folder  == "Test ABC"

Logs, error

OfflineIMAP 7.3.0
  Licensed under the GNU GPL v2 or any later version (with an OpenSSL exception)
imaplib2 v3.06, Python v3.9.2, OpenSSL 1.1.1j  16 Feb 2021
Account sync test:
 *** Processing account test
 Establishing connection to imap.gmail.com:993 (test-remote)
 Creating folder Test ABC[test-remote]
 ERROR: While attempting to sync account 'test'
  CREATE command error: BAD [b'Could not parse command']. Data: b'HENK8 CREATE Test ABC\r\n'
 *** Finished account 'test' in 0:00
ERROR: Exceptions occurred during the run!
ERROR: While attempting to sync account 'test'
  CREATE command error: BAD [b'Could not parse command']. Data: b'HENK8 CREATE Test ABC\r\n'

Traceback:
  File "/usr/lib/python3.9/site-packages/offlineimap/accounts.py", line 298, in syncrunner
    self.__sync()
  File "/usr/lib/python3.9/site-packages/offlineimap/accounts.py", line 377, in __sync
    remoterepos.sync_folder_structure(localrepos, statusrepos)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.9/site-packages/offlineimap/repository/Base.py", line 349, in sync_folder_structure
    remote_repo.makefolder(remote_name)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.9/site-packages/offlineimap/repository/IMAP.py", line 816, in makefolder
    self.makefolder_single(folder_path)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.9/site-packages/offlineimap/repository/IMAP.py", line 839, in makefolder_single
    result = imapobj.create(foldername)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.9/site-packages/imaplib2/imaplib2.py", line 767, in create
    return self._simple_command('CREATE', mailbox, **kw)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.9/site-packages/imaplib2/imaplib2.py", line 1705, in _simple_command
    return self._command_complete(self._command(name, *args), kw)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.9/site-packages/imaplib2/imaplib2.py", line 1452, in _command_complete
    raise self.error('%s command error: %s %s. Data: %.100s' % (rqb.name, typ, dat, rqb.data))

Steps to reproduce the error

Step 1: create a test maildir

$ mkdir -p \
    $HOME/offlineimap_test/Test\ ABC/cur
    $HOME/offlineimap_test/Test\ ABC/new
    $HOME/offlineimap_test/Test\ ABC/tmp

Step 2: run offlineimap

$ offlineimap -o -a test -c ${HOME}/config.test

Description

When offlineimap tried to create a folder on GMail's IMAP server, and when that folder had spaces in its folder name, the creation failed.

Temporary solution

I have a workaround on my machine: wrapping folder names with double-quotes. However, I believe this workaround is not robust. If a folder name already has double-quotes in its name, I don't know if this workaround is going to work (though I doubt how many people have quotation marks in their folders' names). Here's my workaround:

Replace line 839 in repository/IMAP.py:

offlineimap3/offlineimap/repository/IMAP.py

Line 839 in 1e7ef9e

result = imapobj.create(foldername)

with

result = imapobj.create("\"{}\"".format(foldername))

[nicolas33]

This trick might be ok in usual python code. However, this requires to check how it's translated by imaplib2 and if this is IMAP-compliant.

[thekix]

Hi @piyueh !

please, could you try now?

Thanks a lot,
Best regards,
kix

[piyueh]

@thekix Yes, it works for me now! Thanks!