# Creating email backups

> Back up your email using an email client, JetBackup, full account backups or forwarders so you never lose important messages.

Source: https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/email/cpanel-email/creating-e-mail-backups-in-ruachost/

Backing up your e-mail is essential to protect your communication history and ensure you don’t lose important messages. Ruachost offers several ways to create and manage e-mail backups depending on your hosting plan and preferred tools.

## Why Back Up Your E-mail?

- Prevent data loss in case of accidental deletion.
- Protect against server or client-side corruption.
- Maintain an archive of important business or personal communications.
- Ensure compliance with record-keeping requirements.

## Methods for Backing Up E-mail

### 1. Use an E-mail Client for Local Backups

You can use an e-mail client such as **Mozilla Thunderbird**, **Microsoft Outlook**, or **Apple Mail** to create local copies of your messages.

Steps (example with Thunderbird):

1. Configure your e-mail account in Thunderbird using **IMAP**.
2. Create a **Local Folder** in Thunderbird.
3. Drag and drop messages or entire folders from your IMAP account into the Local Folder.

   - This saves a permanent copy on your computer, independent of the server.

### 2. Full Account Backups

If you generate a **full account backup** in your Ruachost panel (cPanel or Plesk), your e-mail is included.

- **cPanel**:

  - Backups include the `mail/` directory inside your home folder.
  - Each e-mail account has its own subdirectory with Inbox and Sent folders.

These files can be imported into an e-mail client (like Thunderbird with the ImportExportTools add-on) for easy viewing.

### 3. Automatic Backups with JetBackup

Every Ruachost hosting plan includes automatic backups with **JetBackup**, and your email is part of them:

- Restore a single email account or your whole mail directory from an earlier backup in cPanel.
- No setup needed. Backups run automatically.

See [Restoring files, email and databases using JetBackup](https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/cpanel/files/restoring-files-email-and-databases-using-jetbackup/).

### 4. E-mail Forwarders as a Backup Method

You can configure an **e-mail forwarder** to send a copy of all incoming messages to another e-mail address.

- This ensures you always have a duplicate copy stored elsewhere.
- To back up **sent mail**, configure your client to automatically BCC the backup address.