mailparser

What is mailparser?

The mailparser npm package is a powerful tool for parsing email messages. It can handle various email formats and extract useful information such as headers, attachments, and the email body. This package is particularly useful for applications that need to process and analyze email content programmatically.

What are mailparser's main functionalities?

Parsing Email from a String

This feature allows you to parse an email from a raw string. The `simpleParser` function takes the raw email string and a callback function, and it returns a parsed email object containing various parts of the email such as headers, text, and attachments.

const { simpleParser } = require('mailparser');

const email = `From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Test email

This is a test email.`;

simpleParser(email, (err, parsed) => {
  if (err) {
    console.error(err);
  } else {
    console.log(parsed);
  }
});

Parsing Email from a Stream

This feature allows you to parse an email from a stream, such as a file stream. The `simpleParser` function can take a stream as input and parse the email content, making it useful for processing large email files.

const { simpleParser } = require('mailparser');
const fs = require('fs');

const emailStream = fs.createReadStream('path/to/email.eml');

simpleParser(emailStream, (err, parsed) => {
  if (err) {
    console.error(err);
  } else {
    console.log(parsed);
  }
});

Extracting Attachments

This feature allows you to extract attachments from an email. The parsed email object contains an `attachments` array, where each attachment object includes properties like `filename` and `content`.

const { simpleParser } = require('mailparser');

const email = `From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Test email

This is a test email with an attachment.`;

simpleParser(email, (err, parsed) => {
  if (err) {
    console.error(err);
  } else {
    parsed.attachments.forEach(attachment => {
      console.log(attachment.filename);
      console.log(attachment.content);
    });
  }
});

Other packages similar to mailparser

nodemailer

Nodemailer is a module for Node.js applications to allow easy email sending. While it focuses on sending emails rather than parsing them, it can be used in conjunction with mailparser for a complete email handling solution.

imap

The imap package is used to connect to and interact with IMAP email servers. It allows you to fetch emails from an IMAP server, which can then be parsed using mailparser. It is more focused on email retrieval rather than parsing.

mail-listener2

Mail-listener2 is a library for listening to incoming emails using IMAP. It can be used to monitor an email account and retrieve new emails, which can then be parsed using mailparser. It is useful for real-time email processing.

README

mailparser

Advanced email parser for Node.js. Everything is handled as a stream which should make it able to parse even very large messages (100MB+) with relatively low overhead.

Looking for a front-end solution?

mailparser is Node.js only library, so you can't use it reliably in the front-end or bundle with WebPack. If you do need a solution to parse emails in the front-end then use PostalMime.

Installation

First install the module from npm:

$ npm install mailparser

next import the mailparser object into your script:

const mailparser = require('mailparser');

Usage

See mailparser homepage for documentation and terms.

License

Licensed under MIT