How To Move Thunderbird Profile To Ubuntu Based Linux Distros That Use Flatpak, From Windows

Windows - correct filepath and structure

C:/Users/NameHere/AppData/Roaming/Thunderbird/
        profiles.ini
        installs.ini
        Profiles/
          your_folder.default/

Linux with flatpak - correct filepath and structure

/home/your_user/.var/app/org.mozilla.Thunderbird/.thunderbird/
        your_folder.default/
        profiles.ini
          Default=your_folder.default
          Path=your_folder.default
        installs.ini

Steps

IMPORTANT: Thunderbird got a pretty big update recently, and I don't know if all distros of Linux will have the same filepath, but the INCORRECT support docs / videos for me showed to copy everything into ~/.thunderbird/, and that never worked. I fiddled with it for a few hours, and came up with the following steps

So if your filepath is just like the above, then my instructions should work. Otherwise, you might want to go read someone else's instructions.

1. Copy Thunderbird files to the Linux location above, with that specific file structure. Be sure to open profiles.ini, and modify it as I showed. And having come from Windows, what you see above was the only info that was in that file. And as you follow my steps, Thunderbird will override that file with the correct info you just changed, and add some extra stuff. Don't worry about it.
2. Open Thunderbird. This will make a completely different profile in /home/your_user/.var/app/org.mozilla.Thunderbird/.thunderbird/xxxxx.default-default/, as well as /home/your_user/.var/app/org.mozilla.Thunderbird/cache/thunderbird/xxxxx.default-default/
3. Close Thunderbird's prompt for a new account setup.
4. Go to the 3 dashes hamburger menu at top right > Help > More troubleshooting information. Click it.
5. First section is Application and basics > Profiles > about:profiles. Click that link.
6. Profile: default (yours) > Set as default profile.
7. Close Thunderbird.
8. Open it again, repeat steps 4-5.
9. Profile: default-default > Remove... This will delete the new and useless profile that was created in the 2 folders above when you opened Thunderbird. And I don't know about you, but I hate clutter, so I delete it.
10. Congratulations fren! You wonnered the internets!

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