How to Back Up GoDaddy Email

GoDaddy offers Microsoft 365 and Professional Email powered by Titan, along with hosting-based email. Your backup method depends on which product holds your mailbox. For a copy you can move to another computer, mailmd is the recommended tool. It saves each message as a Markdown file and leaves the mailbox unchanged.

A backup is a separate copy of your messages. You can use it if messages are deleted or your account becomes unavailable. mailmd is a free, open-source tool that you run by entering commands on your computer. It connects to email through IMAP, a standard that lets email programs read messages stored on a mail server. GoDaddy also sells backup services for Microsoft 365 and Titan. Each service has its own coverage and schedule.

Identify your GoDaddy email product #

Before connecting a backup tool, check your GoDaddy account or email dashboard to see which email product you have. Microsoft 365 and Titan use different login methods, and GoDaddy’s backup services cover them differently.

GoDaddy’s Microsoft 365 Email Backup add-on advertises backups up to six times a day. Titan’s Email Backup takes automatic snapshots every 24 hours. Titan’s service covers messages, attachments, and folders, but excludes items such as contacts, calendars, and drafts. Review GoDaddy’s descriptions of Microsoft 365 backup and Titan backup to confirm which service matches your account.

Back up GoDaddy email with mailmd #

mailmd works with IMAP mailboxes, including GoDaddy Titan email. To connect to Microsoft 365, it uses Microsoft Graph, Microsoft’s service for accessing account data. This connection requires an OAuth app, a setup that lets you grant mailmd permission to read your account. Create the app in Microsoft Entra by following mailmd’s setup instructions.

Install mailmd, connect your mailbox, then run a sync to copy its messages. On Linux or macOS, or on Windows through Git Bash, install it manually with this command:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vincentsch/mailmd/main/install.sh | sh

Choose the connection command that matches your GoDaddy mailbox:

mailmd connect imap --email you@example.com
mailmd connect outlook --client-id YOUR_CLIENT_ID

Use the IMAP command for Titan or another IMAP mailbox. Some IMAP providers require an app password; mailmd tells you when you need one. For GoDaddy Microsoft 365, first set up your OAuth app, then use the Outlook command. Copy the messages with:

mailmd sync

The archive is saved under ~/mail/<account> on your computer. Find installation and account-connection details in the mailmd documentation.

What the mailmd backup contains #

mailmd saves each message as a Markdown file, with details such as the sender and date at the top. It converts HTML-formatted email into readable Markdown, saves attachments beside each message, and sorts folders and years into directories. With --keep-raw, it also saves each message’s original .eml file.

By default, spam and trash are left out. For Gmail over IMAP, mailmd copies All Mail, which includes archived messages. Choose what to copy with --folder or --exclude; --since is another option. The archive also includes an index.jsonl file listing messages for scripts.

mailmd only reads your mailbox. It requests permission to read, opens folders without changing them, and does not mark messages as read, move or delete them, or send mail. It also leaves files in the archive in place. If you later delete a message from the server, its local copy remains and is marked as deleted on the server.

Keep the copy current and protect it #

Run mailmd sync again to add new messages and update which messages are marked as read or starred. You can set your operating system to run mailmd sync --quiet on a schedule using a tool such as cron, systemd, launchd, or Task Scheduler. If a sync stops, saved files stay in place, and the next run continues.

The archive is on your computer, so include its folder in your regular computer backup. mailmd has no built-in search tool. You can open the files in an editor or search them with tools such as rg or grep. Your login details are stored outside the archive and only your user account can read them, but they are not encrypted. mailmd sends no usage data and does not use a mailmd server. You enter your password yourself, so a coding agent helping with setup cannot see it.

mailmd does not free up GoDaddy mailbox storage or restore messages to your mailbox. To reduce the storage your mailbox uses, delete messages from GoDaddy only after you confirm that the local copies exist and that you have a separate backup of the archive.

Other GoDaddy backup options #

For Microsoft 365, GoDaddy Email Backup provides recurring snapshots and a way to restore messages. Titan users can also use its separate backup service. These services let you restore messages through GoDaddy. Check what each service covers and its terms before relying on it. For a one-time Outlook export, GoDaddy explains how to export to a .pst file, which stores Outlook data. The export can omit older messages if Outlook has not downloaded them. See GoDaddy’s export instructions.