Destructive Actions

Destructive actions change your mailbox or future-mail behavior. Herald routes these through confirmations, progress reporting, read-only checks, and a serialized worker so you can see what is happening.

Overview

Delete, archive, unsubscribe, and hide-future-mail are available from Timeline. Sender/domain cleanup is handled by Timeline grouping, so bulk delete/archive uses the same selected-row model as normal reading.

Screen Anatomy

Area	What it shows
Confirmation status bar	Action description plus y confirm and n/Esc cancel.
Delete/archive progress	Current sender or message and completed/total request count.
Preview action line	u unsubscribe when available and h hide future mail.
Selection columns	Timeline selection markers that define bulk targets.
Read-only status	Diagnostic mode that blocks mutations.
Dry-run flag	[DRY RUN] when runtime mode avoids live mutation for supported cleanup paths.

Controls

Key	Context	Preconditions	Result
d / backspace	Timeline	Target exists, not read-only, not already deleting.	Opens delete confirmation.
D / shift+backspace	Timeline	Target exists, not read-only, not already deleting.	Queues deletion immediately without confirmation.
a / e	Timeline	Target exists, not read-only, not already deleting.	Opens archive confirmation or queues current preview email.
y / Y	Confirmation	Delete/archive/unsubscribe confirmation active.	Confirms the pending action.
n / N	Confirmation	Confirmation active.	Cancels the pending action.
esc	Confirmation	Confirmation active.	Cancels the pending action.
u	Timeline preview	Body includes List-Unsubscribe and not read-only.	Opens unsubscribe confirmation.
h / H	Timeline	Current sender exists.	Creates hide-future-mail behavior for the sender.
space	Timeline	Timeline list focused.	Selects bulk delete/archive targets.

Workflows

Delete Selected Timeline Groups

1. Open Timeline with 1.
2. Press G until sender or domain grouping is active.
3. Use space to select groups or messages.
4. Press d.
5. Read the confirmation text.
6. Press y only if the target is correct.

Use D only when you intentionally want to delete immediately without the confirmation step.

Archive Selected Timeline Groups

1. Group Timeline by sender or domain with G.
2. Select groups or messages.
3. Press a or e.
4. Confirm with y.
5. Watch progress in the status bar.

Unsubscribe From a Sender

1. Open a Timeline preview.
2. Confirm the action line includes unsubscribe.
3. Press u.
4. Read the confirmation.
5. Press y to run the unsubscribe method.

Hide Future Mail

1. Focus a sender row or open a preview.
2. Press h.
3. Herald saves backend behavior to hide matching future mail.

States

State	What happens
Confirmation active	Normal status is replaced until y, n, or esc.
Worker queue	Delete/archive requests are processed serially.
Retry	Connection errors can be retried with backoff.
Reconnecting	Status reports reconnecting during deletion work.
Archive	Message is moved through backend archive behavior and cache state updates.
Delete	Message is copied/moved toward Trash when possible, marked deleted, expunged, and removed from cache.
Unsubscribe unavailable	u does nothing unless the body has List-Unsubscribe.
Read-only diagnostic	Mutations are blocked, especially in All Mail only.
Dry-run	Status marks dry-run mode for supported cleanup paths.

Data And Privacy

Delete/archive operations mutate the configured IMAP mailbox and SQLite cache. Delete attempts Trash-folder semantics before expunging. Archive moves mail according to backend behavior. Unsubscribe may open a URL, copy a URL or mailto target, or perform a one-click unsubscribe method depending on header data. Hide-future-mail writes a local/backend rule for matching future mail.

Troubleshooting

If d, D, or e appears inactive, check for read-only folder mode, active deletion progress, or missing selection.

If deletion progress stalls, open logs with l after the UI is usable and check provider connectivity.

If unsubscribe opens a browser or copies a URL instead of silently completing, that behavior comes from the message’s unsubscribe header method.

If mail reappears after delete/archive, refresh with r and verify provider Trash/Archive semantics.

Screenshot Placeholders

Related Pages

• Cleanup via Timeline
• Timeline
• Rules and Automation
• Privacy and Security