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Export & Import

Export and import commands let you save inboxes with their encryption keys for backup, sharing, or migrating between machines.

vsb export

Section titled “vsb export”

Export an inbox with its encryption keys to a JSON file.

Terminal window
vsb export [email-address] [flags]

Arguments

Section titled “Arguments”
ArgumentDescription
email-addressInbox to export (uses active inbox if omitted)

Flags

Section titled “Flags”
FlagDescription
--outOutput file path (default: <email>.json)

Examples

Section titled “Examples”
Terminal window
# Export active inbox
vsb export


# Export specific inbox
vsb export [email protected]


# Export to specific file
vsb export [email protected] --out backup.json

Output

Section titled “Output”
✓ Export complete

A security warning is displayed reminding you that the file contains private keys.

File Format

Section titled “File Format”

The export file is a JSON document containing:

{
  "version": 1,
  "emailAddress": "[email protected]",
  "inboxHash": "abc123",
  "expiresAt": "2024-01-16T14:30:00Z",
  "exportedAt": "2024-01-15T14:30:00Z",
  "keys": {
    "kemPrivate": "...",
    "kemPublic": "...",
    "serverSigPk": "..."
  }
}

vsb import

Section titled “vsb import”

Import an inbox from an export file.

Terminal window
vsb import <file> [flags]

Arguments

Section titled “Arguments”
ArgumentDescription
filePath to export file

Flags

Section titled “Flags”
FlagDescription
-l, --localSkip server verification
-f, --forceOverwrite if inbox already exists

Examples

Section titled “Examples”
Terminal window
# Import inbox
vsb import backup.json


# Import and overwrite existing
vsb import backup.json -f


# Skip server verification
vsb import backup.json -l

Output

Section titled “Output”
✓ Inbox verified: 5 emails


Import Complete


Address:  [email protected]
Expires:  720h0m0s


This inbox is now your active inbox.
Run 'vsb' to see emails.

Use Cases

Section titled “Use Cases”

Backup Before Deletion

Section titled “Backup Before Deletion”
Terminal window
# Export before deleting
vsb export [email protected] --out backup.json
vsb inbox delete [email protected] --force


# Later, restore if needed
vsb import backup.json

Share Between Machines

Section titled “Share Between Machines”
Terminal window
# On machine A: Export
vsb export [email protected] --out shared-inbox.json


# Transfer file securely (scp, encrypted email, etc.)
scp shared-inbox.json user@machine-b:~/


# On machine B: Import
vsb import ~/shared-inbox.json

CI/CD Persistent Inboxes

Section titled “CI/CD Persistent Inboxes”

Instead of creating new inboxes for each CI run, you can use a persistent inbox:

.github/workflows/test.yml
jobs:
  test:
    steps:
      - name: Import test inbox
        run: |
          echo '${{ secrets.TEST_INBOX_EXPORT }}' > inbox.json
          vsb import inbox.json -f


      - name: Run tests
        run: ./run-email-tests.sh

Team Testing

Section titled “Team Testing”

Share a test inbox with your team:

Terminal window
# Create and export a shared inbox
vsb inbox create --ttl 30d
vsb export --out team-test-inbox.json


# Store in secure location (password manager, encrypted vault)
# Team members import on their machines

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”