mkuron
commented
2 years ago This is how it currently works: Calendars and address books require an extension (SOGo Connector or TbSync), which cannot automatically be installed. If you already have SOGo Connector installed, it will automatically configure contacts and calendars for Mailcow. If you have TbSync installed, it can be configured with just a few clicks.
I didn't know this until today, but recent Thunderbird versions support CardDAV. Looking at https://github.com/mozilla/releases-comm-central/blob/e6dbce863262e1c938a06c6c66d52d22bdcb24a7/mail/components/accountcreation/content/accountSetup.js I can see they have some kind of automatic setup mechanism. That is what you are seeing with GMail. Perhaps we can support that with Mailcow too?
Thunderbird asks for additional OAuth authentication
Thunderbird has a small list of providers for which it supports it, see https://github.com/mozilla/releases-comm-central/blob/master/mailnews/base/src/OAuth2Providers.jsm. More information at https://dovecot.org/list/dovecot/2021-June/122400.html. Dovecot has added OAuth2 support recently, but it's obviously not supported with Thunderbird.
It also shows "End-to-end" encryption.
That just takes you to the S/MIME and PGP screen in the account settings.
So in summary, the only thing we can try to do is support Thunderbird's new automatic DAV setup.
pReya
Summary
Connecting Thunderbird with a Google Mail account seems to offer more features than usual IMAP/SMTP and manual configuration of calendars-/contact-specific protocols.
Thunderbird asks for additional OAuth authentication - afterwards it detects calendars and address books and configures itself to make use of them. It also shows "End-to-end" encryption. What protocols are these? Proprietary?
Motivation
It would be nice to have open, standardized protocols to offer the same features as proprietary/walled-garden solutions and user experience.
Additional context
Add a new Google account to recent Thunderbird.