diff --git a/src/bin/rebuild-db.rs b/src/bin/rebuild-db.rs
index 1906213..74cbcef 100644
--- a/src/bin/rebuild-db.rs
+++ b/src/bin/rebuild-db.rs
@@ -6,24 +6,34 @@ use mailparse::MailHeaderMap;
 use rusqlite::params;
 
 fn main() -> Result<()> {
-	let db = get_db()?;
-	let mut delete_mail = db.prepare("DELETE FROM mail WHERE mailbox = ?")?;
-	let mut save_mail = db.prepare("INSERT INTO mail VALUES (?,?,?)")?;
+	let mut db = get_db()?;
+	let tx = db.transaction()?;
+	{
+	let mut delete_mail = tx.prepare("DELETE FROM mail WHERE mailbox = ?")?;
+	let mut save_mail = tx.prepare("INSERT INTO mail VALUES (?,?,?,?)")?;
 	let mailboxes = env::args().skip(1).collect_vec();
 	for mailbox in mailboxes {
+		println!("reading {}..", mailbox);
 		let maildir = get_maildir(&mailbox)?;
 		delete_mail.execute(params![&mailbox])?;
 		let mut mails = Vec::new();
 		for x in maildir.list_cur() {
 			mails.push(x?);
 		}
+		println!("acquired {} mails", mails.len());
 		let mut mails = maildir.get_mails(&mut mails)?;
 		mails.sort_by_key(|x| x.date);
 		for mail in mails {
 			let headers = mail.get_headers();
-			let message_id = headers.get_all_values("Message-ID").join(" ");
-			save_mail.execute(params![&mailbox, mail.id.to_i64(), message_id])?;
+			let mut message_id = headers.get_all_values("Message-ID").join(" ");
+			if message_id.is_empty() {
+				message_id = format!("<{}_{}_{}@no-message-id>", mailbox, mail.id.uid_validity, mail.id.uid);
+			}
+			save_mail.execute(params![&mailbox, mail.id.to_i64(), message_id, mail.flags])?;
 		}
 	}
+	}
+	tx.commit()?;
+	db.execute("VACUUM", params![])?;
 	Ok(())
 }
diff --git a/src/bin/sync.rs b/src/bin/sync.rs
index d0ea789..7888c8d 100644
--- a/src/bin/sync.rs
+++ b/src/bin/sync.rs
@@ -64,45 +64,60 @@ fn sync(
 		remote.insert(mailbox, mails);
 	}
 
-	let mut have_mail = db.prepare("SELECT mailbox, uid FROM mail WHERE message_id = ?")?;
+	let mut have_mail = db.prepare("SELECT mailbox, uid, flags FROM mail WHERE message_id = ?")?;
 	let mut delete_mail = db.prepare("DELETE FROM mail WHERE mailbox = ? AND uid = ?")?;
 	let mut all_mail = db.prepare("SELECT uid, message_id FROM mail WHERE mailbox = ?")?;
-	let mut save_mail = db.prepare("INSERT INTO mail VALUES (?,?,?)")?;
+	let mut save_mail = db.prepare("INSERT INTO mail VALUES (?,?,?,?)")?;
 	let mut maildirs: HashMap<&str, Maildir> = names.iter().map(|&x| (x.name(), get_maildir(x.name()).unwrap())).collect();
 	let mut to_remove: HashMap<&str, _> = HashMap::new();
 	for &name in &names {
 		let mailbox = name.name();
-		let remote_mails = &remote[mailbox];
+		let remote_mails = remote.get_mut(mailbox).unwrap();
+		let resp = imap_session.examine(mailbox)?;
+		let uid_validity = resp.uid_validity.unwrap();
 
 		let mut to_fetch = Vec::new();
-		for message_id in remote_mails.keys() {
-			let (uid1, uid2, full_uid, ref _flags) = remote_mails[message_id];
-			let local = have_mail.query_map(params![message_id], |row| Ok((row.get::<_, String>(0)?, load_i64(row.get::<_, i64>(1)?))))?.map(|x| x.unwrap()).collect_vec();
-			if local.iter().any(|x| x.0 == mailbox && x.1 == full_uid) {
+		for (message_id, entry) in remote_mails.iter_mut() {
+			let (uid1, uid2, full_uid, remote_flags) = entry;
+			let local = have_mail.query_map(params![message_id], |row| Ok((
+				row.get::<_, String>(0)?,
+				load_i64(row.get::<_, i64>(1)?),
+				row.get::<_, String>(2)?
+			)))?.map(|x| x.unwrap()).collect_vec();
+			if let Some((_, full_uid, flags)) = local.iter().filter(|x| x.0 == mailbox && x.1 == *full_uid).next() {
+				let uid = (full_uid << 32) >> 32;
+				let local_s = flags.contains('S');
+				let local_u = flags.contains('U');
+				let remote_s = remote_flags.contains(&Flag::Seen);
+				if local_s && !remote_s {
+					imap_session.uid_store(uid.to_string(), "+FLAGS.SILENT (\\Seen)")?;
+					remote_flags.push(Flag::Seen);
+				} else if local_u && remote_s {
+					imap_session.uid_store(uid.to_string(), "-FLAGS.SILENT (\\Seen)")?;
+					remote_flags.remove(remote_flags.iter().position(|x| x == &Flag::Seen).unwrap());
+				}
 				continue;
 			}
 			if !local.is_empty() {
-				let (inbox, full_uid) = &local[0];
+				let (inbox, full_uid, flags) = &local[0];
 				let local_uid1 = (full_uid >> 32) as u32;
 				let local_uid2 = ((full_uid << 32) >> 32) as u32;
 				let local_id = gen_id(local_uid1, local_uid2);
-				let new_uid = MaildirID::new(uid1, uid2);
+				let new_uid = MaildirID::new(*uid1, *uid2);
 				let new_id = new_uid.to_string();
 				// hardlink mail
 				let maildir1 = &maildirs[&**inbox];
 				println!("hardlinking: {}/{} -> {}/{}", inbox, local_id, mailbox, new_id);
 				let name = maildir1.find_filename(&local_id).unwrap();
 				let maildir2 = &maildirs[mailbox];
-				maildir2.store_cur_from_path(&new_id, name)?;
-				save_mail.execute(params![mailbox, new_uid.to_i64(), message_id])?;
+				maildir2.store_cur_from_path(&new_id, flags, name)?;
+				save_mail.execute(params![mailbox, new_uid.to_i64(), message_id, flags])?;
 			} else if !name.attributes().iter().any(|x| *x == TRASH) { // do not fetch trashed mail
 				to_fetch.push(uid2);
 			}
 		}
 		if !to_fetch.is_empty() {
 			let maildir = &maildirs[mailbox];
-			let resp = imap_session.examine(mailbox)?;
-			let uid_validity = resp.uid_validity.unwrap();
 
 			let fetch_range = to_fetch.into_iter().map(|x| x.to_string()).join(",");
 			let fetch = imap_session.uid_fetch(fetch_range, "RFC822")?;
@@ -113,7 +128,8 @@ fn sync(
 				let id = gen_id(uid_validity, uid);
 				if !maildir.exists(&id) {
 					let mail_data = mail.body().unwrap_or_default();
-					maildir.store_cur_with_id(&id, mail_data)?;
+					let flags = imap_flags_to_maildir("".into(), mail.flags());
+					maildir.store_cur_with_id_flags(&id, &flags, mail_data)?;
 
 					let headers = parse_headers(&mail_data)?.0;
 					let mut message_id = headers.get_all_values("Message-ID").join(" ");
@@ -121,7 +137,7 @@ fn sync(
 						message_id = format!("<{}_{}_{}@no-message-id>", mailbox, uid_validity, uid);
 					}
 					let full_uid = ((uid_validity as u64) << 32) | uid as u64;
-					save_mail.execute(params![mailbox, store_i64(full_uid), message_id])?;
+					save_mail.execute(params![mailbox, store_i64(full_uid), message_id, flags])?;
 				} else {
 					println!("warning: DB outdated, downloaded mail again");
 				}
@@ -132,22 +148,8 @@ fn sync(
 			let (uid1, uid2, _, ref flags) = remote_mails[message_id];
 			let id = gen_id(uid1, uid2);
 			let _ = maildir.update_flags(&id, |f| {
-				let mut f = f.to_owned();
-				if flags.contains(&Flag::Seen) {
-					f.push('S');
-				} else {
-					f = f.replace('S', "");
-				}
-				if flags.contains(&Flag::Answered) {
-					f.push('R');
-				} else {
-					f = f.replace('R', "");
-				}
-				if flags.contains(&Flag::Flagged) {
-					f.push('F');
-				} else {
-					f = f.replace('F', "");
-				}
+				let f = f.replace('U', "");
+				let f = imap_flags_to_maildir(f, flags);
 				Maildir::normalize_flags(&f)
 			});
 		}
@@ -175,7 +177,8 @@ fn sync(
 			}
 			let maildir = &maildirs[mailbox];
 			let name = maildir.find_filename(&uid_name).unwrap();
-			maildirs[".gone"].store_new_from_path(&format!("{}_{}", mailbox, uid_name), name)?;
+			let _ = maildirs[".gone"].store_new_from_path(&format!("{}_{}", mailbox, uid_name), name);
+			// hardlink should only fail if the mail was already deleted
 			maildir.delete(&uid_name)?;
 			delete_mail.execute(params![mailbox, store_i64(uid)])?;
 		}
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index a3df0bb..31c62e5 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -52,7 +52,8 @@ pub fn get_db() -> Result<Connection> {
 	CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS mail(
 		mailbox STRING NOT NULL,
 		uid INTEGER NOT NULL,
-		message_id STRING NOT NULL
+		message_id STRING NOT NULL,
+		flags STRING NOT NULL
 	)", params![])?;
 
 	Ok(conn)
@@ -64,7 +65,7 @@ pub fn gen_id(uid_validity: u32, uid: u32) -> String {
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, Hash, PartialOrd, Ord)]
 pub struct MaildirID {
-	uid_validity: u32,
+	pub uid_validity: u32,
 	pub uid: u32,
 }
 
@@ -105,7 +106,8 @@ pub struct EasyMail<'a> {
 	mail: Option<ParsedMail<'a>>,
 	pub id: MaildirID,
 	pub flags: String,
-	from: SingleInfo,
+	from: Option<SingleInfo>,
+	from_raw: String,
 	pub subject: String,
 	pub date: DateTime<Local>,
 	pub date_iso: String,
@@ -117,10 +119,8 @@ impl EasyMail<'_> {
 			mail: None,
 			id: MaildirID::new(0, 0),
 			flags: "S".to_owned(),
-			from: SingleInfo {
-				display_name: None,
-				addr: String::new()
-			},
+			from: None,
+			from_raw: String::new(),
 			subject,
 			date: Local.from_utc_datetime(&NaiveDateTime::from_timestamp(0, 0)),
 			date_iso: "????-??-??".to_owned()
@@ -132,13 +132,17 @@ impl EasyMail<'_> {
 	}
 
 	pub fn from(&self) -> String {
-		let name = self.from.display_name.as_deref().unwrap_or_default();
-		if let Some(config) = CONFIG.get() {
-			if config.read().browse.show_email_addresses {
-				return format!("{} <{}>", name, self.from.addr);
+		if let Some(from) = self.from.as_ref() {
+			let name = from.display_name.as_deref().unwrap_or_default();
+			if let Some(config) = CONFIG.get() {
+				if config.read().browse.show_email_addresses {
+					return format!("{} <{}>", name, from.addr);
+				}
 			}
+			name.to_owned()
+		} else {
+			self.from_raw.clone()
 		}
-		name.to_owned()
 	}
 
 	pub fn get_header(&self, header: &str) -> String {
@@ -173,8 +177,10 @@ impl Eq for EasyMail<'_> {}
 impl Hash for EasyMail<'_> {
 	fn hash<H: std::hash::Hasher>(&self, state: &mut H) {
 		self.id.hash(state);
-		self.from.display_name.hash(state);
-		self.from.addr.hash(state);
+		if let Some(from) = self.from.as_ref() {
+			from.display_name.hash(state);
+			from.addr.hash(state);
+		}
 		self.subject.hash(state);
 	}
 }
@@ -326,7 +332,8 @@ impl MaildirExtension for Maildir {
 			let flags = maile.flags().to_owned();
 			let mail = maile.parsed()?;
 			let headers = mail.get_headers();
-			let from = addrparse(&headers.get_all_values("From").join(" "))?.extract_single_info().context("failed to extract from")?;
+			let from_raw = headers.get_all_values("From").join(" ");
+			let from = addrparse(&from_raw).map(|x| x.extract_single_info()).ok().flatten();
 			let subject = headers.get_all_values("Subject").join(" ");
 			let date = headers.get_all_values("Date").join(" ");
 			let date = dateparse(&date).map(|x|
@@ -337,6 +344,7 @@ impl MaildirExtension for Maildir {
 				flags,
 				id,
 				from,
+				from_raw,
 				subject,
 				date_iso: date.format("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M").to_string(),
 				date,
@@ -353,7 +361,8 @@ impl MaildirExtension for Maildir {
 			let flags = maile.flags().to_owned();
 			let mail = maile.parsed()?;
 			let headers = mail.get_headers();
-			let from = addrparse(&headers.get_all_values("From").join(" "))?.extract_single_info().context("failed to extract from")?;
+			let from_raw = headers.get_all_values("From").join(" ");
+			let from = addrparse(&from_raw).map(|x| x.extract_single_info()).ok().flatten();
 			let subject = headers.get_all_values("Subject").join(" ");
 			let date = headers.get_all_values("Date").join(" ");
 			let date = dateparse(&date).map(|x|
@@ -364,6 +373,7 @@ impl MaildirExtension for Maildir {
 				flags,
 				id,
 				from,
+				from_raw,
 				subject,
 				date_iso: date.format("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M").to_string(),
 				date,
@@ -534,3 +544,22 @@ pub fn parse_effect(effect: &str) -> Option<Effect> {
 fn default_unread_style() -> Style {
 	Effect::Reverse.into()
 }
+
+pub fn imap_flags_to_maildir(mut f: String, flags: &[Flag]) -> String {
+	if flags.contains(&Flag::Seen) {
+		f.push('S');
+	} else {
+		f = f.replace('S', "");
+	}
+	if flags.contains(&Flag::Answered) {
+		f.push('R');
+	} else {
+		f = f.replace('R', "");
+	}
+	if flags.contains(&Flag::Flagged) {
+		f.push('F');
+	} else {
+		f = f.replace('F', "");
+	}
+	f
+}