X-Git-Url: https://git.cworth.org/git?p=notmuch-wiki;a=blobdiff_plain;f=getting-started.mdwn;h=7cc7c31f4181225b67a4fb5598a08a07f3856828;hp=9a7f41da4f1d25dbfb2bf3827fbd50f06281560e;hb=f74f269a84d927c226418ff74d25daa779b5b854;hpb=138124f2351fe9e6fea35e2e4a1c51b13a2f1dde

diff --git a/getting-started.mdwn b/getting-started.mdwn
index 9a7f41d..7cc7c31 100644
--- a/getting-started.mdwn
+++ b/getting-started.mdwn
@@ -27,9 +27,9 @@ already have messages in this format.
 
 On Linux, the easiest way to install Notmuch is through your distribution's
 package repository. If you're installing Notmuch from a [git
-checkout](http://git.notmuchmail.org/git/notmuch) or a [source
-release](http://notmuchmail.org/releases/), please refer to the
-[INSTALL](http://git.notmuchmail.org/git/notmuch/blob/HEAD:/INSTALL) document.
+checkout](https://git.notmuchmail.org/git/notmuch) or a [source
+release](https://notmuchmail.org/releases/), please refer to the
+[INSTALL](https://git.notmuchmail.org/git/notmuch/blob/HEAD:/INSTALL) document.
 
 ## Configuration
 
@@ -69,11 +69,53 @@ interface|manpages]], or [[Notmuch Emacs interface|notmuch-emacs]].
 
 ## Converting Existing mbox to Maildir
 
+The [`mb2md`](http://batleth.sapienti-sat.org/projects/mb2md/) tool can be used
+to convert existing mbox files to Maildir.
+
+Beware that the source and destination directory options to `mb2md` are relative
+to the user's home directory, not relative to the current working directory.
+
 ## Delivering New Messages
 
+Notmuch itself does not receive messages. There is no IMAP or POP support. You
+will need to set up other tools, such as fetchmail, offlineimap, or mbsync, to
+receive the messages.
+
+There are two ways to deliver and index messages:
+
+* Use an external tool (such as offlineimap or mbsync) to deliver the messages
+  to your mail store, and run `notmuch new` to discover and index the newly
+  delivered messages (and any other changes in the mail store).
+
+* Use an external tool (such as fetchmail) receive the messages, and configure
+  the tool to use `notmuch insert` as a Mail Delivery Agent to deliver the
+  messages to your mail store and index them.
+
 ## Automation Via Hooks
 
-## Backing up and Restoring the Database
+Notmuch supports running [[user defined hooks|manpages/notmuch-hooks-5]] before
+or after certain commands. Hooks can be arbitrary executable programs or
+scripts. For example, if you always run your mail delivery tool first and
+`notmuch new` after that, you can run the tool from Notmuch `pre-new` hook, and
+simply run `notmuch new` to do both. If you always do some tagging after
+indexing of new messages, you may want to set up a `post-new` or `post-insert`
+hook to do that automatically.
+
+## Backing Up and Restoring the Database
+
+The Notmuch database contains a search index of your messages, along with all
+the tags you've added to your messages. The search index can be regenerated by
+indexing the messages again, but the tags will be lost if the database is
+lost. (If you have `maildir.synchronize_flags` configuration option enabled,
+also some of the tags can be regenerated from maildir flags.)
+
+To create a plain-text dump of the tags, run
+
+        notmuch dump --output=dump.txt
+
+To restore the tags from the dump, run
+
+        notmuch restore --input=dump.txt
 
 ## Removing Notmuch
 
@@ -81,6 +123,5 @@ Did not like it after all? All you need to do is remove the database and the
 configuration file. The database is stored in the `.notmuch` directory under
 your mail store. And your mail store is at `notmuch config get database.path`.
 
-Note that the database is where the tags are stored. Everything else can be
-regenerated by indexing again, but the tags will be lost when the database is
-removed. Use the `notmuch dump` command to create a backup of the tags.
+You may want to use the `notmuch dump` command to create a backup of any tags
+you've added before removing the database.