What is imap?
The 'imap' npm package is a client library for accessing email accounts via the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP). It allows you to connect to an IMAP server, authenticate, and perform various operations such as fetching emails, searching for messages, and managing mailboxes.
What are imap's main functionalities?
Connecting to an IMAP server
This code demonstrates how to establish a connection to an IMAP server using the 'imap' package. You need to provide your email credentials and server details.
const Imap = require('imap');
const imap = new Imap({
user: 'your-email@example.com',
password: 'your-password',
host: 'imap.example.com',
port: 993,
tls: true
});
imap.connect();
Fetching emails
This code demonstrates how to fetch the headers of the first 10 emails in the INBOX. It opens the INBOX, fetches the specified range of emails, and logs the headers to the console.
imap.once('ready', function() {
imap.openBox('INBOX', true, function(err, box) {
if (err) throw err;
const f = imap.seq.fetch('1:10', {
bodies: 'HEADER.FIELDS (FROM TO SUBJECT DATE)',
struct: true
});
f.on('message', function(msg, seqno) {
msg.on('body', function(stream, info) {
let buffer = '';
stream.on('data', function(chunk) {
buffer += chunk.toString('utf8');
});
stream.once('end', function() {
console.log('Parsed header: %s', buffer);
});
});
});
f.once('error', function(err) {
console.log('Fetch error: ' + err);
});
f.once('end', function() {
console.log('Done fetching all messages!');
imap.end();
});
});
});
Searching for emails
This code demonstrates how to search for unseen emails since a specific date. It opens the INBOX, performs the search, and fetches the results.
imap.once('ready', function() {
imap.openBox('INBOX', true, function(err, box) {
if (err) throw err;
imap.search(['UNSEEN', ['SINCE', 'May 20, 2020']], function(err, results) {
if (err) throw err;
const f = imap.fetch(results, { bodies: '' });
f.on('message', function(msg, seqno) {
console.log('Message #%d', seqno);
msg.on('body', function(stream, info) {
let buffer = '';
stream.on('data', function(chunk) {
buffer += chunk.toString('utf8');
});
stream.once('end', function() {
console.log('Parsed message: %s', buffer);
});
});
});
f.once('error', function(err) {
console.log('Fetch error: ' + err);
});
f.once('end', function() {
console.log('Done fetching all messages!');
imap.end();
});
});
});
});
Other packages similar to imap
node-imap
The 'node-imap' package is another IMAP client library for Node.js. It provides similar functionalities to the 'imap' package, such as connecting to an IMAP server, fetching emails, and managing mailboxes. It is known for its stability and comprehensive documentation.
imap-simple
The 'imap-simple' package is a wrapper around 'node-imap' that simplifies common IMAP operations. It provides a more user-friendly API for tasks like connecting to an IMAP server, searching for emails, and fetching messages. It is a good choice for developers who want to perform IMAP operations with less boilerplate code.
mail-listener2
The 'mail-listener2' package is designed for listening to incoming emails in real-time. It uses IMAP to connect to an email account and emits events when new emails arrive. This package is useful for applications that need to react to incoming emails immediately.
Description
node-imap is an IMAP client module for node.js.
This module does not perform any magic such as auto-decoding of messages/attachments or parsing of email addresses (node-imap leaves all mail header values as-is).
An upgrade guide from node-imap v0.7.x to v0.8.x can be found here.
Requirements
Installation
npm install imap
Examples
- Fetch the 'date', 'from', 'to', 'subject' message headers and the message structure of the first 3 messages in the Inbox:
var Imap = require('imap'),
inspect = require('util').inspect;
var imap = new Imap({
user: 'mygmailname@gmail.com',
password: 'mygmailpassword',
host: 'imap.gmail.com',
port: 993,
tls: true
});
function openInbox(cb) {
imap.openBox('INBOX', true, cb);
}
imap.once('ready', function() {
openInbox(function(err, box) {
if (err) throw err;
var f = imap.seq.fetch('1:3', {
bodies: 'HEADER.FIELDS (FROM TO SUBJECT DATE)',
struct: true
});
f.on('message', function(msg, seqno) {
console.log('Message #%d', seqno);
var prefix = '(#' + seqno + ') ';
msg.on('body', function(stream, info) {
var buffer = '';
stream.on('data', function(chunk) {
buffer += chunk.toString('utf8');
});
stream.once('end', function() {
console.log(prefix + 'Parsed header: %s', inspect(Imap.parseHeader(buffer)));
});
});
msg.once('attributes', function(attrs) {
console.log(prefix + 'Attributes: %s', inspect(attrs, false, 8));
});
msg.once('end', function() {
console.log(prefix + 'Finished');
});
});
f.once('error', function(err) {
console.log('Fetch error: ' + err);
});
f.once('end', function() {
console.log('Done fetching all messages!');
imap.end();
});
});
});
imap.once('error', function(err) {
console.log(err);
});
imap.once('end', function() {
console.log('Connection ended');
});
imap.connect();
- Retrieve the 'from' header and buffer the entire body of the newest message:
openInbox(function(err, box) {
if (err) throw err;
var f = imap.seq.fetch(box.messages.total + ':*', { bodies: ['HEADER.FIELDS (FROM)','TEXT'] });
f.on('message', function(msg, seqno) {
console.log('Message #%d', seqno);
var prefix = '(#' + seqno + ') ';
msg.on('body', function(stream, info) {
if (info.which === 'TEXT')
console.log(prefix + 'Body [%s] found, %d total bytes', inspect(info.which), info.size);
var buffer = '', count = 0;
stream.on('data', function(chunk) {
count += chunk.length;
buffer += chunk.toString('utf8');
if (info.which === 'TEXT')
console.log(prefix + 'Body [%s] (%d/%d)', inspect(info.which), count, info.size);
});
stream.once('end', function() {
if (info.which !== 'TEXT')
console.log(prefix + 'Parsed header: %s', inspect(Imap.parseHeader(buffer)));
else
console.log(prefix + 'Body [%s] Finished', inspect(info.which));
});
});
msg.once('attributes', function(attrs) {
console.log(prefix + 'Attributes: %s', inspect(attrs, false, 8));
});
msg.once('end', function() {
console.log(prefix + 'Finished');
});
});
f.once('error', function(err) {
console.log('Fetch error: ' + err);
});
f.once('end', function() {
console.log('Done fetching all messages!');
imap.end();
});
});
- Save raw unread emails since May 20, 2010 to files:
var fs = require('fs'), fileStream;
openInbox(function(err, box) {
if (err) throw err;
imap.search([ 'UNSEEN', ['SINCE', 'May 20, 2010'] ], function(err, results) {
if (err) throw err;
var f = imap.fetch(results, { bodies: '' });
f.on('message', function(msg, seqno) {
console.log('Message #%d', seqno);
var prefix = '(#' + seqno + ') ';
msg.on('body', function(stream, info) {
console.log(prefix + 'Body');
stream.pipe(fs.createWriteStream('msg-' + seqno + '-body.txt'));
});
msg.once('attributes', function(attrs) {
console.log(prefix + 'Attributes: %s', inspect(attrs, false, 8));
});
msg.once('end', function() {
console.log(prefix + 'Finished');
});
});
f.once('error', function(err) {
console.log('Fetch error: ' + err);
});
f.once('end', function() {
console.log('Done fetching all messages!');
imap.end();
});
});
});
API
Data types
-
MessageSource can be a single message identifier, a message identifier range (e.g. '2504:2507'
or '*'
or '2504:*'
), an array of message identifiers, or an array of message identifier ranges.
-
Box is an object representing the currently open mailbox, and has the following properties:
- name - string - The name of this mailbox.
- readOnly - boolean - True if this mailbox was opened in read-only mode. (Only available with openBox() calls)
- newKeywords - boolean - True if new keywords can be added to messages in this mailbox.
- uidvalidity - integer - A 32-bit number that can be used to determine if UIDs in this mailbox have changed since the last time this mailbox was opened.
- uidnext - integer - The uid that will be assigned to the next message that arrives at this mailbox.
- flags - array - A list of system-defined flags applicable for this mailbox. Flags in this list but not in
permFlags
may be stored for the current session only. Additional server implementation-specific flags may also be available. - permFlags - array - A list of flags that can be permanently added/removed to/from messages in this mailbox.
- persistentUIDs - boolean - Whether or not this mailbox has persistent UIDs. This should almost always be true for modern mailboxes and should only be false for legacy mail stores where supporting persistent UIDs was not technically feasible.
- messages - object - Contains various message counts for this mailbox:
- total - integer - Total number of messages in this mailbox.
- new - integer - Number of messages in this mailbox having the Recent flag (this IMAP session is the first to see these messages).
- unseen - integer - (Only available with status() calls) Number of messages in this mailbox not having the Seen flag (marked as not having been read).
-
ImapMessage is an object representing an email message. It consists of:
- Events:
- body(< ReadableStream >stream, < object >info) - Emitted for each requested body. Example
info
properties:
- which - string - The specifier for this body (e.g. 'TEXT', 'HEADER.FIELDS (TO FROM SUBJECT)', etc).
- size - integer - The size of this body in bytes.
- attributes(< object >attrs) - Emitted when all message attributes have been collected. Example
attrs
properties:
- uid - integer - A 32-bit ID that uniquely identifies this message within its mailbox.
- flags - array - A list of flags currently set on this message.
- date - Date - The internal server date for the message.
- struct - array - The message's body structure (only set if requested with fetch()). See below for an explanation of the format of this property.
- size - integer - The RFC822 message size (only set if requested with fetch()).
- end() - Emitted when all attributes and bodies have been parsed.
-
ImapFetch is an object representing a fetch() request. It consists of:
- Events:
- message(< ImapMessage >msg, < integer >seqno) - Emitted for each message resulting from a fetch request.
seqno
is the message's sequence number. - error(< Error >err) - Emitted when an error occurred.
- end() - Emitted when all messages have been parsed.
A message structure with multiple parts might look something like the following:
[ { type: 'mixed',
params: { boundary: '000e0cd294e80dc84c0475bf339d' },
disposition: null,
language: null,
location: null
},
[ { type: 'alternative',
params: { boundary: '000e0cd294e80dc83c0475bf339b' },
disposition: null,
language: null
},
[ { partID: '1.1',
type: 'text',
subtype: 'plain',
params: { charset: 'ISO-8859-1' },
id: null,
description: null,
encoding: '7BIT',
size: 935,
lines: 46,
md5: null,
disposition: null,
language: null
}
],
[ { partID: '1.2',
type: 'text',
subtype: 'html',
params: { charset: 'ISO-8859-1' },
id: null,
description: null,
encoding: 'QUOTED-PRINTABLE',
size: 1962,
lines: 33,
md5: null,
disposition: null,
language: null
}
]
],
[ { partID: '2',
type: 'application',
subtype: 'octet-stream',
params: { name: 'somefile' },
id: null,
description: null,
encoding: 'BASE64',
size: 98,
lines: null,
md5: null,
disposition:
{ type: 'attachment',
params: { filename: 'somefile' }
},
language: null,
location: null
}
]
]
The above structure describes a message having both an attachment and two forms of the message body (plain text and HTML).
Each message part is identified by a partID which is used when you want to fetch the content of that part (see fetch()).
The structure of a message with only one part will simply look something like this:
[ { partID: '1',
type: 'text',
subtype: 'plain',
params: { charset: 'ISO-8859-1' },
id: null,
description: null,
encoding: '7BIT',
size: 935,
lines: 46,
md5: null,
disposition: null,
language: null
}
]
Therefore, an easy way to check for a multipart message is to check if the structure length is >1.
Lastly, here are the system flags defined by RFC3501 that may be added/removed:
- \Seen - Message has been read
- \Answered - Message has been answered
- \Flagged - Message is "flagged" for urgent/special attention
- \Deleted - Message is marked for removal
- \Draft - Message has not completed composition (marked as a draft).
It should be noted however that the IMAP server can limit which flags can be permanently modified for any given message. If in doubt, check the mailbox's permFlags first.
Additional custom flags may be provided by the server. If available, these will also be listed in the mailbox's permFlags.
require('imap') returns one object: Connection.
Connection Events
-
ready() - Emitted when a connection to the server has been made and authentication was successful.
-
alert(< string >message) - Emitted when the server issues an alert (e.g. "the server is going down for maintenance").
-
mail(< integer >numNewMsgs) - Emitted when new mail arrives in the currently open mailbox.
-
expunge(< integer >seqno) - Emitted when a message was expunged externally. seqno
is the sequence number (instead of the unique UID) of the message that was expunged. If you are caching sequence numbers, all sequence numbers higher than this value MUST be decremented by 1 in order to stay synchronized with the server and to keep correct continuity.
-
uidvalidity(< integer >uidvalidity) - Emitted if the UID validity value for the currently open mailbox changes during the current session.
-
update(< integer >seqno, < object >info) - Emitted when message metadata (e.g. flags) changes externally.
-
error(< Error >err) - Emitted when an error occurs. The 'source' property will be set to indicate where the error originated from.
-
close(< boolean >hadError) - Emitted when the connection has completely closed.
-
end() - Emitted when the connection has ended.
Connection Properties
-
state - string - The current state of the connection (e.g. 'disconnected', 'connected', 'authenticated').
-
delimiter - string - The (top-level) mailbox hierarchy delimiter. If the server does not support mailbox hierarchies and only a flat list, this value will be falsey.
-
namespaces - object - Contains information about each namespace type (if supported by the server) with the following properties:
- personal - array - Mailboxes that belong to the logged in user.
- other - array - Mailboxes that belong to other users that the logged in user has access to.
- shared - array - Mailboxes that are accessible by any logged in user.
There should always be at least one entry (although the IMAP spec allows for more, it doesn't seem to be very common) in the personal namespace list, with a blank namespace prefix. Each property's array contains objects of the following format (with example values):
{ prefix: '',
delimiter: '/',
extensions: [
{ name: 'X-FOO-BAR',
params: [ 'BAZ' ]
}
]
}
Connection Static Methods
- parseHeader(< string >rawHeader[, < boolean >disableAutoDecode]) - object - Parses a raw header and returns an object keyed on header fields and the values are Arrays of header field values. Set
disableAutoDecode
to true to disable automatic decoding of MIME encoded-words that may exist in header field values.
Connection Instance Methods
Note: Message UID ranges are not guaranteed to be contiguous.
-
(constructor)([< object >config]) - Connection - Creates and returns a new instance of Connection using the specified configuration object. Valid config properties are:
- user - string - Username for plain-text authentication.
- password - string - Password for plain-text authentication.
- xoauth - string - Base64-encoded OAuth token for OAuth authentication for servers that support it (See Andris Reinman's xoauth.js module to help generate this string).
- xoauth2 - string - Base64-encoded OAuth2 token for The SASL XOAUTH2 Mechanism for servers that support it (See Andris Reinman's xoauth2 module to help generate this string).
- host - string - Hostname or IP address of the IMAP server. Default: "localhost"
- port - integer - Port number of the IMAP server. Default: 143
- tls - boolean - Perform implicit TLS connection? Default: false
- tlsOptions - object - Options object to pass to tls.connect() Default: (none)
- autotls - string - Set to 'always' to always attempt connection upgrades via STARTTLS, 'required' only if upgrading is required, or 'never' to never attempt upgrading. Default: 'never'
- connTimeout - integer - Number of milliseconds to wait for a connection to be established. Default: 10000
- authTimeout - integer - Number of milliseconds to wait to be authenticated after a connection has been established. Default: 5000
- socketTimeout - integer - The timeout set for the socket created when communicating with the IMAP server. If not set, the socket will not have a timeout. Default: 0
- keepalive - mixed - Configures the keepalive mechanism. Set to
true
to enable keepalive with defaults or set to object to enable and configure keepalive behavior: Default: true
- interval - integer - This is the interval (in milliseconds) at which NOOPs are sent and the interval at which
idleInterval
is checked. Default: 10000 - idleInterval - integer - This is the interval (in milliseconds) at which an IDLE command (for servers that support IDLE) is re-sent. Default: 300000 (5 mins)
- forceNoop - boolean - Set to
true
to force use of NOOP keepalive on servers also support IDLE. Default: false
- debug - function - If set, the function will be called with one argument, a string containing some debug info Default: (no debug output)
-
connect() - (void) - Attempts to connect and authenticate with the IMAP server.
-
end() - (void) - Closes the connection to the server after all requests in the queue have been sent.
-
destroy() - (void) - Immediately destroys the connection to the server.
-
openBox(< string >mailboxName[, < boolean >openReadOnly=false[, < object >modifiers]], < function >callback) - (void) - Opens a specific mailbox that exists on the server. mailboxName
should include any necessary prefix/path. modifiers
is used by IMAP extensions. callback
has 2 parameters: < Error >err, < Box >mailbox.
-
closeBox([< boolean >autoExpunge=true, ]< function >callback) - (void) - Closes the currently open mailbox. If autoExpunge
is true, any messages marked as Deleted in the currently open mailbox will be removed if the mailbox was NOT opened in read-only mode. If autoExpunge
is false, you disconnect, or you open another mailbox, messages marked as Deleted will NOT be removed from the currently open mailbox. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
-
addBox(< string >mailboxName, < function >callback) - (void) - Creates a new mailbox on the server. mailboxName
should include any necessary prefix/path. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
-
delBox(< string >mailboxName, < function >callback) - (void) - Removes a specific mailbox that exists on the server. mailboxName
should including any necessary prefix/path. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
-
renameBox(< string >oldMailboxName, < string >newMailboxName, < function >callback) - (void) - Renames a specific mailbox that exists on the server. Both oldMailboxName
and newMailboxName
should include any necessary prefix/path. callback
has 2 parameters: < Error >err, < Box >mailbox. Note: Renaming the 'INBOX' mailbox will instead cause all messages in 'INBOX' to be moved to the new mailbox.
-
subscribeBox(< string >mailboxName, < function >callback) - (void) - Subscribes to a specific mailbox that exists on the server. mailboxName
should include any necessary prefix/path. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
-
unsubscribeBox(< string >mailboxName, < function >callback) - (void) - Unsubscribes from a specific mailbox that exists on the server. mailboxName
should include any necessary prefix/path. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
-
status(< string >mailboxName, < function >callback) - (void) - Fetches information about a mailbox other than the one currently open. callback
has 2 parameters: < Error >err, < Box >mailbox. Note: There is no guarantee that this will be a fast operation on the server. Also, do not call this on the currently open mailbox.
-
getBoxes([< string >nsPrefix, ]< function >callback) - (void) - Obtains the full list of mailboxes. If nsPrefix
is not specified, the main personal namespace is used. callback
has 2 parameters: < Error >err, < object >boxes. boxes
has the following format (with example values):
{ INBOX:
{ attribs: [],
delimiter: '/',
children: null,
parent: null
},
Work:
{ attribs: [],
delimiter: '/',
children: null,
parent: null
},
'[Gmail]':
{ attribs: [ '\\NOSELECT' ],
delimiter: '/',
children:
{ 'All Mail':
{ attribs: [ '\\All' ],
delimiter: '/',
children: null,
parent: [Circular]
},
Drafts:
{ attribs: [ '\\Drafts' ],
delimiter: '/',
children: null,
parent: [Circular]
},
Important:
{ attribs: [ '\\Important' ],
delimiter: '/',
children: null,
parent: [Circular]
},
'Sent Mail':
{ attribs: [ '\\Sent' ],
delimiter: '/',
children: null,
parent: [Circular]
},
Spam:
{ attribs: [ '\\Junk' ],
delimiter: '/',
children: null,
parent: [Circular]
},
Starred:
{ attribs: [ '\\Flagged' ],
delimiter: '/',
children: null,
parent: [Circular]
},
Trash:
{ attribs: [ '\\Trash' ],
delimiter: '/',
children: null,
parent: [Circular]
}
},
parent: null
}
}
-
getSubscribedBoxes([< string >nsPrefix, ]< function >callback) - (void) - Obtains the full list of subscribed mailboxes. If nsPrefix
is not specified, the main personal namespace is used. callback
has 2 parameters: < Error >err, < object >boxes. boxes
has the same format as getBoxes above.
-
expunge([< MessageSource >uids, ]< function >callback) - (void) - Permanently removes all messages flagged as Deleted in the currently open mailbox. If the server supports the 'UIDPLUS' capability, uids
can be supplied to only remove messages that both have their uid in uids
and have the \Deleted flag set. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err. Note: At least on Gmail, performing this operation with any currently open mailbox that is not the Spam or Trash mailbox will merely archive any messages marked as Deleted (by moving them to the 'All Mail' mailbox).
-
append(< mixed >msgData, [< object >options, ]< function >callback) - (void) - Appends a message to selected mailbox. msgData
is a string or Buffer containing an RFC-822 compatible MIME message. Valid options
properties are:
- mailbox - string - The name of the mailbox to append the message to. Default: the currently open mailbox
- flags - mixed - A single flag (e.g. 'Seen') or an array of flags (e.g.
['Seen', 'Flagged']
) to append to the message. Default: (no flags) - date - Date - What to use for message arrival date/time. Default: (current date/time)
callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
All functions below have sequence number-based counterparts that can be accessed by using the 'seq' namespace of the imap connection's instance (e.g. conn.seq.search() returns sequence number(s) instead of UIDs, conn.seq.fetch() fetches by sequence number(s) instead of UIDs, etc):
-
search(< array >criteria, < function >callback) - (void) - Searches the currently open mailbox for messages using given criteria. criteria
is a list describing what you want to find. For criteria types that require arguments, use an array instead of just the string criteria type name (e.g. ['FROM', 'foo@bar.com']). Prefix criteria types with an "!" to negate.
-
The following message flags are valid types that do not have arguments:
- 'ALL' - All messages.
- 'ANSWERED' - Messages with the Answered flag set.
- 'DELETED' - Messages with the Deleted flag set.
- 'DRAFT' - Messages with the Draft flag set.
- 'FLAGGED' - Messages with the Flagged flag set.
- 'NEW' - Messages that have the Recent flag set but not the Seen flag.
- 'SEEN' - Messages that have the Seen flag set.
- 'RECENT' - Messages that have the Recent flag set.
- 'OLD' - Messages that do not have the Recent flag set. This is functionally equivalent to "!RECENT" (as opposed to "!NEW").
- 'UNANSWERED' - Messages that do not have the Answered flag set.
- 'UNDELETED' - Messages that do not have the Deleted flag set.
- 'UNDRAFT' - Messages that do not have the Draft flag set.
- 'UNFLAGGED' - Messages that do not have the Flagged flag set.
- 'UNSEEN' - Messages that do not have the Seen flag set.
-
The following are valid types that require string value(s):
- 'BCC' - Messages that contain the specified string in the BCC field.
- 'CC' - Messages that contain the specified string in the CC field.
- 'FROM' - Messages that contain the specified string in the FROM field.
- 'SUBJECT' - Messages that contain the specified string in the SUBJECT field.
- 'TO' - Messages that contain the specified string in the TO field.
- 'BODY' - Messages that contain the specified string in the message body.
- 'TEXT' - Messages that contain the specified string in the header OR the message body.
- 'KEYWORD' - Messages with the specified keyword set.
- 'HEADER' - Requires two string values, with the first being the header name and the second being the value to search for. If this second string is empty, all messages that contain the given header name will be returned.
-
The following are valid types that require a string parseable by JavaScript's Date object OR a Date instance:
- 'BEFORE' - Messages whose internal date (disregarding time and timezone) is earlier than the specified date.
- 'ON' - Messages whose internal date (disregarding time and timezone) is within the specified date.
- 'SINCE' - Messages whose internal date (disregarding time and timezone) is within or later than the specified date.
- 'SENTBEFORE' - Messages whose Date header (disregarding time and timezone) is earlier than the specified date.
- 'SENTON' - Messages whose Date header (disregarding time and timezone) is within the specified date.
- 'SENTSINCE' - Messages whose Date header (disregarding time and timezone) is within or later than the specified date.
-
The following are valid types that require one Integer value:
- 'LARGER' - Messages with a size larger than the specified number of bytes.
- 'SMALLER' - Messages with a size smaller than the specified number of bytes.
-
The following are valid criterion that require one or more Integer values:
- 'UID' - Messages with UIDs corresponding to the specified UID set. Ranges are permitted (e.g. '2504:2507' or '*' or '2504:*').
-
Note 1: For the UID-based search (i.e. "conn.search()"), you can retrieve the UIDs for sequence numbers by just supplying an array of sequence numbers and/or ranges as a criteria (e.g. [ '24:29', 19, '66:*' ]).
-
Note 2: By default, all criterion are ANDed together. You can use the special 'OR' on two criterion to find messages matching either search criteria (see example below).
criteria
examples:
- Unread messages since April 20, 2010: [ 'UNSEEN', ['SINCE', 'April 20, 2010'] ]
- Messages that are EITHER unread OR are dated April 20, 2010 or later, you could use: [ ['OR', 'UNSEEN', ['SINCE', 'April 20, 2010'] ] ]
- All messages that have 'node-imap' in the subject header: [ ['HEADER', 'SUBJECT', 'node-imap'] ]
- All messages that do not have 'node-imap' in the subject header: [ ['!HEADER', 'SUBJECT', 'node-imap'] ]
callback
has 2 parameters: < Error >err, < array >UIDs.
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fetch(< MessageSource >source, [< object >options]) - ImapFetch - Fetches message(s) in the currently open mailbox.
Valid options
properties are:
* **markSeen** - _boolean_ - Mark message(s) as read when fetched. **Default:** false
* **struct** - _boolean_ - Fetch the message structure. **Default:** false
* **envelope** - _boolean_ - Fetch the message envelope. **Default:** false
* **size** - _boolean_ - Fetch the RFC822 size. **Default:** false
* **modifiers** - _object_ - Fetch modifiers defined by IMAP extensions. **Default:** (none)
* **extensions** - _array_ - Fetch custom fields defined by IMAP extensions, e.g. ['X-MAILBOX', 'X-REAL-UID']. **Default:** (none)
* **bodies** - _mixed_ - A string or Array of strings containing the body part section to fetch. **Default:** (none) Example sections:
* 'HEADER' - The message header
* 'HEADER.FIELDS (TO FROM SUBJECT)' - Specific header fields only
* 'HEADER.FIELDS.NOT (TO FROM SUBJECT)' - Header fields only that do not match the fields given
* 'TEXT' - The message body
* '' - The entire message (header + body)
* 'MIME' - MIME-related header fields only (e.g. 'Content-Type')
**Note:** You can also prefix `bodies` strings (i.e. 'TEXT', 'HEADER', 'HEADER.FIELDS', and 'HEADER.FIELDS.NOT' for `message/rfc822` messages and 'MIME' for any kind of message) with part ids. For example: '1.TEXT', '1.2.HEADER', '2.MIME', etc.
**Note 2:** 'HEADER*' sections are only valid for parts whose content type is `message/rfc822`, including the root part (no part id).
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copy(< MessageSource >source, < string >mailboxName, < function >callback) - (void) - Copies message(s) in the currently open mailbox to another mailbox. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
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move(< MessageSource >source, < string >mailboxName, < function >callback) - (void) - Moves message(s) in the currently open mailbox to another mailbox. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err. Note: The message(s) in the destination mailbox will have a new message UID.
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addFlags(< MessageSource >source, < mixed >flags, < function >callback) - (void) - Adds flag(s) to message(s). callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
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delFlags(< MessageSource >source, < mixed >flags, < function >callback) - (void) - Removes flag(s) from message(s). callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
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setFlags(< MessageSource >source, < mixed >flags, < function >callback) - (void) - Sets the flag(s) for message(s). callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
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addKeywords(< MessageSource >source, < mixed >keywords, < function >callback) - (void) - Adds keyword(s) to message(s). keywords
is either a single keyword or an array of keywords. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
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delKeywords(< MessageSource >source, < mixed >keywords, < function >callback) - (void) - Removes keyword(s) from message(s). keywords
is either a single keyword or an array of keywords. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
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setKeywords(< MessageSource >source, < mixed >keywords, < function >callback) - (void) - Sets keyword(s) for message(s). keywords
is either a single keyword or an array of keywords. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
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serverSupports(< string >capability) - boolean - Checks if the server supports the specified capability.
Extensions Supported
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Gmail
-
Server capability: X-GM-EXT-1
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search() criteria extensions:
- X-GM-RAW - string - Gmail's custom search syntax. Example: 'has:attachment in:unread'
- X-GM-THRID - string - Conversation/thread id
- X-GM-MSGID - string - Account-wide unique id
- X-GM-LABELS - string - Gmail label
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fetch() will automatically retrieve the thread id, unique message id, and labels (named 'x-gm-thrid', 'x-gm-msgid', 'x-gm-labels' respectively)
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Additional Connection instance methods (seqno-based counterparts exist):
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setLabels(< MessageSource >source, < mixed >labels, < function >callback) - (void) - Replaces labels of message(s) with labels
. labels
is either a single label or an array of labels. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
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addLabels(< MessageSource >source, < mixed >labels, < function >callback) - (void) - Adds labels
to message(s). labels
is either a single label or an array of labels. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
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delLabels(< MessageSource >source, < mixed >labels, < function >callback) - (void) - Removes labels
from message(s). labels
is either a single label or an array of labels. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
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RFC2087
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RFC4315
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Server capability: UIDPLUS
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The callback passed to append() will receive an additional argument (the UID of the appended message): < integer >appendedUID.
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The callback passed to copy(), move(), seq.copy(), seq.move() will receive an additional argument (the UID(s) of the copied message(s) in the destination mailbox): < mixed >newUIDs. newUIDs
can be an integer if just one message was copied, or a string for multiple messages (e.g. '100:103' or '100,125,130' or '100,200:201').
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RFC4551
-
Server capability: CONDSTORE
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Connection event 'update' info may contain the additional property:
- modseq - string - The new modification sequence value for the message.
-
search() criteria extensions:
- MODSEQ - string - Modification sequence value. If this criteria is used, the callback parameters are then: < Error >err, < array >UIDs, < string >modseq. The
modseq
callback parameter is the highest modification sequence value of all the messages identified in the search results.
-
fetch() will automatically retrieve the modification sequence value (named 'modseq') for each message.
-
fetch() modifier:
- changedsince - string - Only fetch messages that have changed since the specified modification sequence.
-
The Box type can now have the following property when using openBox() or status():
- highestmodseq - string - The highest modification sequence value of all messages in the mailbox.
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Additional Connection instance methods (seqno-based counterparts exist):
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addFlagsSince(< MessageSource >source, < mixed >flags, < string >modseq, < function >callback) - (void) - Adds flag(s) to message(s) that have not changed since modseq
. flags
is either a single flag or an array of flags. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
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delFlagsSince(< MessageSource >source, < mixed >flags, < string >modseq, < function >callback) - (void) - Removes flag(s) from message(s) that have not changed since modseq
. flags
is either a single flag or an array of flags. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
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setFlagsSince(< MessageSource >source, < mixed >flags, < string >modseq, < function >callback) - (void) - Sets the flag(s) for message(s) that have not changed since modseq
. flags
is either a single flag or an array of flags. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
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addKeywordsSince(< MessageSource >source, < mixed >keywords, < string >modseq, < function >callback) - (void) - Adds keyword(s) to message(s) that have not changed since modseq
. keywords
is either a single keyword or an array of keywords. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
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delKeywordsSince(< MessageSource >source, < mixed >keywords, < string >modseq, < function >callback) - (void) - Removes keyword(s) from message(s) that have not changed since modseq
. keywords
is either a single keyword or an array of keywords. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
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setKeywordsSince(< MessageSource >source, < mixed >keywords, < string >modseq, < function >callback) - (void) - Sets keyword(s) for message(s) that have not changed since modseq
. keywords
is either a single keyword or an array of keywords. callback
has 1 parameter: < Error >err.
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RFC4731
-
RFC5256
TODO
Several things not yet implemented in no particular order:
- Support additional IMAP commands/extensions:
- NOTIFY (via NOTIFY extension -- RFC5465)
- STATUS addition to LIST (via LIST-STATUS extension -- RFC5819)
- QRESYNC (RFC5162)