How to verify POP3/IMAP traffic statistics for subscription in Plesk?

Gilson Siqueira

Updated January 20, 2026 14:11

kb: how-to Plesk for Linux ABT: Group B

Applicable to:

Plesk for Linux

Question

In the menu Subscriptions > example.com > Statistics (or just Statistics in Power User view), a big amount of POP3/IMAP traffic is shown.

Although, only one mail account is configured in the domains which belong to this subscription.

How to verify POP3/IMAP traffic statistics manually?

Answer

Note: the script takes mail statistics from /var/log/maillog* files. To make it showing statistics for the last month, adjust maillog rotation in /usr/local/psa/etc/logrotate.conf

When Dovecot is used as POP3/IMAP

Connect to the server using SSH.
Check if the utility bc is installed on the server:

# command -V bc
bc is /bin/bc

If the following output is returned, bc should be installed as per the following steps:

# command -V bc
/bin/command: line 2: command: bc: not found
- For RHEL-based operating systems (CentOS, RHEL, CloudLinux):
  
  # yum install bc
- For Debian and Ubuntu:
  
  # apt install bc
Download the script and make it executable:

# wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/plesk/kb-scripts/refs/heads/master/verify_pop3_imap_stats/verify_pop3_imap_stats.sh && chmod +x verify_pop3_imap_stats.sh
Execute the script:

# ./verify_pop3_imap_stats.sh

When Courier is used as POP3/IMAP server

Connect to the server via SSH.
Download the script and unpack it:

# wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/plesk/kb-scripts/refs/heads/master/verify-courier-imap-stats/courier-traffic.py && chmod +x courier-traffic.py
Run the script with desired start and end dates and a domain name, if required

# ./courier_traffic.py --start 15-08 --end 22-08 --domain example.com --unit MB /var/log/maillog

Note: To see all available options run the script with -h option: ./courier_traffic.py -h