App will not start
Startup problems are rare but unsettling: your mail lives in this program, after all. The most important thing first: in almost every case the data is intact, and the mail additionally lives on the server. Keep calm, work top to bottom.
The simple explanations first
Section titled “The simple explanations first”After an update, the first launch takes longer. When a new version restructures or tidies up the database, it shows a small window such as Database Update or Database Maintenance with progress while doing so. On large mailboxes this can run several minutes. The window cannot be closed; let it work and do not force the app to quit from outside during this time.
Is the app already running? A second launch simply brings the window of the running app to the front. If a hung old process is still holding on to the database, the notice Database Locked appears. Then end all YouniqMail processes, on the Mac in Activity Monitor, on Windows in Task Manager, or sign out and back in. Restarting the machine clears this as well.
“Database Key Missing”
Section titled ““Database Key Missing””This dialog appears when the encrypted database exists but YouniqMail
can no longer find its key. Typical after reinstalling the operating
system, a reset keychain, a deleted settings file config.json, or
when the database file was copied over from another machine.
The dialog offers three paths:
- Enter Key…: paste the 64-character recovery key from setup and click Unlock. With it the database opens and everything is back. Hence the eternal advice to keep it safe.
- Reset Local Data: only if the key truly no longer exists. YouniqMail starts with an empty database: you set up your accounts again, and the mail returns from the server. Notes, rules, signatures, templates and PGP keys are lost without a backup. The app’s settings are kept.
- Quit: for instance to restore
config.jsonfrom a backup and then try again.
Master password prompt goes nowhere
Section titled “Master password prompt goes nowhere”After seven wrong entries, YouniqMail blocks further attempts for 30 seconds. The window counts the wait down and then enables the password field again; shortly before the pause it shows how many attempts are left. What applies when the password is forgotten is covered under Master password.
Window stays white or never appears
Section titled “Window stays white or never appears”- Quit completely once (macOS: Quit in the Dock menu or Cmd+Q; Windows: via Task Manager) and relaunch.
- After graphics driver updates: restart the machine. Rendering glitches after driver changes almost always resolve that way.
If nothing helps
Section titled “If nothing helps”If YouniqMail: Startup Error appears, the cause is in the message. The logs also record how far the launch got and where it failed. They are the basis of every support request. The log folder is reachable even without the app running; the path is in the linked article.
Reinstalling the app itself is harmless, by the way: it replaces only the program, not the data directory. Mail, settings and database stay put and are picked up by the next launch.