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Class: Net::IMAP

Relationships & Source Files
Namespace Children
Modules:
Classes:
Exceptions:
Super Chains via Extension / Inclusion / Inheritance
Class Chain:
self, Protocol
Instance Chain:
self, SSL, OpenSSL, MonitorMixin, Protocol
Inherits: Protocol
  • Object
Defined in: lib/net/imap.rb,
lib/net/imap/authenticators.rb,
lib/net/imap/command_data.rb,
lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb,
lib/net/imap/deprecated_client_options.rb,
lib/net/imap/errors.rb,
lib/net/imap/fetch_data.rb,
lib/net/imap/flags.rb,
lib/net/imap/response_data.rb,
lib/net/imap/response_parser.rb,
lib/net/imap/sasl.rb,
lib/net/imap/sasl_adapter.rb,
lib/net/imap/search_result.rb,
lib/net/imap/sequence_set.rb,
lib/net/imap/stringprep.rb,
lib/net/imap/response_parser/parser_utils.rb,
lib/net/imap/sasl/anonymous_authenticator.rb,
lib/net/imap/sasl/authentication_exchange.rb,
lib/net/imap/sasl/client_adapter.rb,
lib/net/imap/sasl/external_authenticator.rb,
lib/net/imap/sasl/gs2_header.rb,
lib/net/imap/sasl/oauthbearer_authenticator.rb,
lib/net/imap/sasl/protocol_adapters.rb,
lib/net/imap/sasl/scram_algorithm.rb,
lib/net/imap/sasl/scram_authenticator.rb,
lib/net/imap/stringprep/nameprep.rb,
lib/net/imap/stringprep/saslprep.rb,
lib/net/imap/stringprep/trace.rb

Overview

IMAP implements Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) client functionality. The protocol is described in IMAP4rev1 [RFC3501] and IMAP4rev2 [RFC9051].

IMAP Overview

An IMAP client connects to a server, and then authenticates itself using either #authenticate or #login. Having authenticated itself, there is a range of commands available to it. Most work with mailboxes, which may be arranged in an hierarchical namespace, and each of which contains zero or more messages. How this is implemented on the server is implementation-dependent; on a UNIX server, it will frequently be implemented as files in mailbox format within a hierarchy of directories.

To work on the messages within a mailbox, the client must first select that mailbox, using either #select or #examine (for read-only access). Once the client has successfully selected a mailbox, they enter the “selected” state, and that mailbox becomes the current mailbox, on which mail-item related commands implicitly operate.

Sequence numbers and UIDs

Messages have two sorts of identifiers: message sequence numbers and UIDs.

Message sequence numbers number messages within a mailbox from 1 up to the number of items in the mailbox. If a new message arrives during a session, it receives a sequence number equal to the new size of the mailbox. If messages are expunged from the mailbox, remaining messages have their sequence numbers “shuffled down” to fill the gaps.

To avoid sequence number race conditions, servers must not expunge messages when no command is in progress, nor when responding to #fetch, #store, or #search. Expunges may be sent during any other command, including #uid_fetch, #uid_store, and #uid_search. The #noop and #idle commands are both useful for this side-effect: they allow the server to send all mailbox updates, including expunges.

UIDs, on the other hand, are permanently guaranteed not to identify another message within the same mailbox, even if the existing message is deleted. UIDs are required to be assigned in ascending (but not necessarily sequential) order within a mailbox; this means that if a non-IMAP client rearranges the order of mail items within a mailbox, the UIDs have to be reassigned. An IMAP client thus cannot rearrange message orders.

Examples of Usage

List sender and subject of all recent messages in the default mailbox
imap = Net::IMAP.new('mail.example.com')
imap.authenticate('PLAIN', 'joe_user', 'joes_password')
imap.examine('INBOX')
imap.search(["RECENT"]).each do |message_id|
  envelope = imap.fetch(message_id, "ENVELOPE")[0].attr["ENVELOPE"]
  puts "#{envelope.from[0].name}: \t#{envelope.subject}"
end
Move all messages from April 2003 from “Mail/sent-mail” to “Mail/sent-apr03”
imap = Net::IMAP.new('mail.example.com')
imap.authenticate('PLAIN', 'joe_user', 'joes_password')
imap.select('Mail/sent-mail')
if not imap.list('Mail/', 'sent-apr03')
  imap.create('Mail/sent-apr03')
end
imap.search(["BEFORE", "30-Apr-2003", "SINCE", "1-Apr-2003"]).each do |message_id|
  imap.copy(message_id, "Mail/sent-apr03")
  imap.store(message_id, "+FLAGS", [:Deleted])
end
imap.expunge

Capabilities

Most IMAP methods do not currently modify their behaviour according to the server’s advertised #capabilities. Users of this class must check that the server is capable of extension commands or command arguments before sending them. Special care should be taken to follow the #capabilities requirements for #starttls, #login, and #authenticate.

See #capable?, #auth_capable?, #capabilities, #auth_mechanisms to discover server capabilities. For relevant capability requirements, see the documentation on each IMAP command.

imap = Net::IMAP.new("mail.example.com")
imap.capable?(:IMAP4rev1) or raise "Not an IMAP4rev1 server"
imap.capable?(:starttls)  or raise "Cannot start TLS"
imap.starttls

if imap.auth_capable?("PLAIN")
  imap.authenticate "PLAIN", username, password
elsif !imap.capability?("LOGINDISABLED")
  imap. username, password
else
  raise "No acceptable authentication mechanisms"
end

# Support for "UTF8=ACCEPT" implies support for "ENABLE"
imap.enable :utf8 if imap.capable?("UTF8=ACCEPT")

namespaces  = imap.namespace if imap.capable?(:namespace)
mbox_prefix = namespaces&.personal&.first&.prefix || ""
mbox_delim  = namespaces&.personal&.first&.delim  || "/"
mbox_path   = prefix + %w[path to my mailbox].join(delim)
imap.create mbox_path

Basic IMAP4rev1 capabilities

IMAP4rev1 servers must advertise IMAP4rev1 in their capabilities list. IMAP4rev1 servers must implement the STARTTLS, AUTH=PLAIN, and LOGINDISABLED capabilities. See #starttls, #login, and #authenticate for the implications of these capabilities.

Caching CAPABILITY responses

IMAP automatically stores and discards capability data according to the the requirements and recommendations in IMAP4rev2 §6.1.1, §6.2, and §7.1. Use #capable?, #auth_capable?, or #capabilities to use this cache and avoid sending the #capability command unnecessarily.

The server may advertise its initial capabilities using the CAPABILITY ResponseCode in a PREAUTH or OK #greeting. When TLS has started (#starttls) and after authentication (#login or #authenticate), the server’s capabilities may change and cached capabilities are discarded. The server may send updated capabilities with an OK TaggedResponse to #login or #authenticate, and these will be cached by IMAP. But the TaggedResponse to #starttls MUST be ignored–it is sent before TLS starts and is unprotected.

When storing capability values to variables, be careful that they are discarded or reset appropriately, especially following #starttls.

Using IMAP4rev1 extensions

See the IANA IMAP4 capabilities registry for a list of all standard capabilities, and their reference RFCs.

IMAP4rev1 servers must not activate behavior that is incompatible with the base specification until an explicit client action invokes a capability, e.g. sending a command or command argument specific to that capability. Servers may send data with backward compatible behavior, such as response codes or mailbox attributes, at any time without client action.

Invoking capabilities which are unknown to IMAP may cause unexpected behavior and errors. For example, ResponseParseError is raised when unknown response syntax is received. Invoking commands or command parameters that are unsupported by the server may raise NoResponseError, BadResponseError, or cause other unexpected behavior.

Some capabilities must be explicitly activated using the #enable command. See #enable for details.

Thread Safety

IMAP supports concurrent threads. For example,

imap = Net::IMAP.new("imap.foo.net", "imap2")
imap.authenticate("scram-md5", "bar", "password")
imap.select("inbox")
fetch_thread = Thread.start { imap.fetch(1..-1, "UID") }
search_result = imap.search(["BODY", "hello"])
fetch_result = fetch_thread.value
imap.disconnect

This script invokes the FETCH command and the SEARCH command concurrently.

Errors

An IMAP server can send three different types of responses to indicate failure:

NO

the attempted command could not be successfully completed. For instance, the username/password used for logging in are incorrect; the selected mailbox does not exist; etc.

BAD

the request from the client does not follow the server’s understanding of the IMAP protocol. This includes attempting commands from the wrong client state; for instance, attempting to perform a SEARCH command without having SELECTed a current mailbox. It can also signal an internal server failure (such as a disk crash) has occurred.

BYE

the server is saying goodbye. This can be part of a normal logout sequence, and can be used as part of a login sequence to indicate that the server is (for some reason) unwilling to accept your connection. As a response to any other command, it indicates either that the server is shutting down, or that the server is timing out the client connection due to inactivity.

These three error response are represented by the errors NoResponseError, BadResponseError, and ByeResponseError, all of which are subclasses of ResponseError. Essentially, all methods that involve sending a request to the server can generate one of these errors. Only the most pertinent instances have been documented below.

Because the IMAP class uses Sockets for communication, its methods are also susceptible to the various errors that can occur when working with sockets. These are generally represented as Errno errors. For instance, any method that involves sending a request to the server and/or receiving a response from it could raise an Errno::EPIPE error if the network connection unexpectedly goes down. See the socket(7), ip(7), tcp(7), socket(2), connect(2), and associated man pages.

Finally, a DataFormatError is thrown if low-level data is found to be in an incorrect format (for instance, when converting between UTF-8 and UTF-16), and ResponseParseError is thrown if a server response is non-parseable.

What’s here?

  • Connection control

  • Server capabilities

  • Handling server responses

  • Core IMAP commands

    • for any state

    • for the “not authenticated” state

    • for the “authenticated” state

    • for the “selected” state

    • for the “logout” state

  • IMAP extension support

Connection control methods

  • .new: Creates a new IMAP client which connects immediately and waits for a successful server greeting before the method returns.

  • #starttls: Asks the server to upgrade a clear-text connection to use TLS.

  • #logout: Tells the server to end the session. Enters the “logout” state.

  • #disconnect: Disconnects the connection (without sending #logout first).

  • #disconnected?: True if the connection has been closed.

Server capabilities

  • #capable?: Returns whether the server supports a given capability.

  • #capabilities: Returns the server’s capabilities as an array of strings.

  • #auth_capable?: Returns whether the server advertises support for a given SASL mechanism, for use with #authenticate.

  • #auth_mechanisms: Returns the #authenticate SASL mechanisms which the server claims to support as an array of strings.

  • #clear_cached_capabilities: Clears cached capabilities.

    The capabilities cache is automatically cleared after completing #starttls, #login, or #authenticate.

  • #capability: Sends the CAPABILITY command and returns the #capabilities.

    In general, #capable? should be used rather than explicitly sending a CAPABILITY command to the server.

Handling server responses

Core IMAP commands

The following commands are defined either by the [IMAP4rev1] base specification, or by one of the following extensions: [IDLE], [NAMESPACE], [UNSELECT], [ENABLE], [MOVE]. These extensions are widely supported by modern IMAP4rev1 servers and have all been integrated into [IMAP4rev2]. NOTE: IMAP doesn’t support IMAP4rev2 yet.

Any state
  • #capability: Returns the server’s capabilities as an array of strings.

    In general, #capable? should be used rather than explicitly sending a CAPABILITY command to the server.

  • #noop: Allows the server to send unsolicited untagged #responses.

  • #logout: Tells the server to end the session. Enters the “logout” state.

Not Authenticated state

In addition to the commands for any state, the following commands are valid in the “not authenticated” state:

  • #starttls: Upgrades a clear-text connection to use TLS.

    Requires the STARTTLS capability.

  • #authenticate: Identifies the client to the server using the given SASL mechanism and credentials. Enters the “authenticated” state.

    The server should list "AUTH=#{mechanism}" capabilities for supported mechanisms.

  • #login: Identifies the client to the server using a plain text password. Using #authenticate is generally preferred. Enters the “authenticated” state.

    The LOGINDISABLED capability must NOT be listed.

Authenticated state

In addition to the commands for any state, the following commands are valid in the “authenticated” state:

  • #enable: Enables backwards incompatible server extensions. Requires the ENABLE or IMAP4rev2 capability.

  • #select: Open a mailbox and enter the “selected” state.

  • #examine: Open a mailbox read-only, and enter the “selected” state.

  • #create: Creates a new mailbox.

  • #delete: Permanently remove a mailbox.

  • #rename: Change the name of a mailbox.

  • #subscribe: Adds a mailbox to the “subscribed” set.

  • #unsubscribe: Removes a mailbox from the “subscribed” set.

  • #list: Returns names and attributes of mailboxes matching a given pattern.

  • #namespace: Returns mailbox namespaces, with path prefixes and delimiters. Requires the NAMESPACE or IMAP4rev2 capability.

  • #status: Returns mailbox information, e.g. message count, unseen message count, UIDVALIDITY and UIDNEXT.

  • #append: Appends a message to the end of a mailbox.

  • #idle: Allows the server to send updates to the client, without the client needing to poll using #noop. Requires the IDLE or IMAP4rev2 capability.

  • Obsolete #lsub: Replaced by LIST-EXTENDED and removed from IMAP4rev2. Lists mailboxes in the “subscribed” set.

    Note: Net::IMAP hasn’t implemented LIST-EXTENDED yet.

Selected state

In addition to the commands for any state and the “authenticated” commands, the following commands are valid in the “selected” state:

  • #close: Closes the mailbox and returns to the “authenticated” state, expunging deleted messages, unless the mailbox was opened as read-only.

  • #unselect: Closes the mailbox and returns to the “authenticated” state, without expunging any messages. Requires the UNSELECT or IMAP4rev2 capability.

  • #expunge: Permanently removes messages which have the Deleted flag set.

  • #uid_expunge: Restricts expunge to only remove the specified UIDs. Requires the UIDPLUS or IMAP4rev2 capability.

  • #search, #uid_search: Returns sequence numbers or UIDs of messages that match the given searching criteria.

  • #fetch, #uid_fetch: Returns data associated with a set of messages, specified by sequence number or UID.

  • #store, #uid_store: Alters a message’s flags.

  • #copy, #uid_copy: Copies the specified messages to the end of the specified destination mailbox.

  • #move, #uid_move: Moves the specified messages to the end of the specified destination mailbox, expunging them from the current mailbox. Requires the MOVE or IMAP4rev2 capability.

  • #check: Obsolete: removed from IMAP4rev2. Can be replaced with #noop or #idle.

Logout state

No IMAP commands are valid in the “logout” state. If the socket is still open, IMAP will close it after receiving server confirmation. Exceptions will be raised by IMAP commands that have already started and are waiting for a response, as well as any that are called after logout.

IMAP extension support

RFC9051: IMAP4rev2

Although IMAP4rev2 is not supported yet, IMAP supports several extensions that have been folded into it: ENABLE, IDLE, MOVE, NAMESPACE, SASL-IR, UIDPLUS, UNSELECT, STATUS=SIZE, and the fetch side of BINARY. Commands for these extensions are listed with the IMAP commands[rdoc-ref:Net::IMAP@Core+IMAP+commands], above.

The following are folded into IMAP4rev2 but are currently unsupported or incompletely supported by Net::IMAP: RFC4466 extensions, ESEARCH, SEARCHRES, LIST-EXTENDED, LIST-STATUS, LITERAL-, and SPECIAL-USE.

RFC2087: QUOTA
  • #getquota: returns the resource usage and limits for a quota root

  • #getquotaroot: returns the list of quota roots for a mailbox, as well as their resource usage and limits.

  • #setquota: sets the resource limits for a given quota root.

RFC2177: IDLE

Folded into IMAP4rev2 and also included above with Core IMAP commands.

  • #idle: Allows the server to send updates to the client, without the client needing to poll using #noop.

RFC2342: NAMESPACE

Folded into IMAP4rev2 and also included above with Core IMAP commands.

  • #namespace: Returns mailbox namespaces, with path prefixes and delimiters.

RFC2971: ID
  • #id: exchanges client and server implementation information.

RFC3516: BINARY

The fetch side of BINARY has been folded into IMAP4rev2.

  • Updates #fetch and #uid_fetch with the BINARY, BINARY.PEEK, and BINARY.SIZE items. See FetchData#binary and FetchData#binary_size.

NOTE: The binary extension the #append command is not supported yet.

RFC3691: UNSELECT

Folded into IMAP4rev2 and also included above with Core IMAP commands.

  • #unselect: Closes the mailbox and returns to the “authenticated” state, without expunging any messages.

RFC4314: ACL
  • #getacl: lists the authenticated user’s access rights to a mailbox.

  • #setacl: sets the access rights for a user on a mailbox

NOTE: DELETEACL, LISTRIGHTS, and MYRIGHTS are not supported yet.

RFC4315: UIDPLUS

Folded into IMAP4rev2 and also included above with Core IMAP commands.

RFC4959: SASL-IR

Folded into IMAP4rev2.

  • Updates #authenticate with the option to send an initial response.

RFC5161: ENABLE

Folded into IMAP4rev2 and also included above with Core IMAP commands.

  • #enable: Enables backwards incompatible server extensions.

RFC5256: SORT
RFC5256: THREAD
X-GM-EXT-1

X-GM-EXT-1 is a non-standard Gmail extension. See Google’s documentation.

  • Updates #fetch and #uid_fetch with support for X-GM-MSGID (unique message ID), X-GM-THRID (thread ID), and X-GM-LABELS (Gmail labels).

  • Updates #search with the X-GM-RAW search attribute.

  • #xlist: replaced by SPECIAL-USE attributes in #list responses.

NOTE: The OBJECTID extension should replace X-GM-MSGID and X-GM-THRID, but Gmail does not support it (as of 2023-11-10).

RFC6851: MOVE

Folded into IMAP4rev2 and also included above with Core IMAP commands.

  • #move, #uid_move: Moves the specified messages to the end of the specified destination mailbox, expunging them from the current mailbox.

RFC6855: UTF8=ACCEPT, UTF8=ONLY
  • See #enable for information about support for UTF-8 string encoding.

RFC7162: CONDSTORE
  • Updates #enable with CONDSTORE parameter. CONDSTORE will also be enabled by using any of the extension’s command parameters, listed below.

  • Updates #status with the HIGHESTMODSEQ status attribute.

  • Updates #select and #examine with the condstore modifier, and adds either a HIGHESTMODSEQ or NOMODSEQ ResponseCode to the responses.

  • Updates #search, #uid_search, #sort, and #uid_sort with the MODSEQ search criterion, and adds SearchResult#modseq to the search response.

  • Updates #thread and #uid_thread with the MODSEQ search criterion (but thread responses are unchanged).

  • Updates #fetch and #uid_fetch with the changedsince modifier and MODSEQ FetchData attribute.

  • Updates #store and #uid_store with the unchangedsince modifier and adds the MODIFIED ResponseCode to the tagged response.

RFC8438: STATUS=SIZE
  • Updates #status with the SIZE status attribute.

RFC8474: OBJECTID

References

[IMAP4rev1]

Crispin, M., “INTERNET MESSAGE ACCESS PROTOCOL - VERSION 4rev1”, RFC 3501, DOI 10.17487/RFC3501, March 2003, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3501>.

[IMAP-ABNF-EXT]

Melnikov, A. and C. Daboo, “Collected Extensions to IMAP4 ABNF”, RFC 4466, DOI 10.17487/RFC4466, April 2006, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4466>.

Note: Net::IMAP cannot parse the entire RFC4466 grammar yet.

[IMAP4rev2]

Melnikov, A., Ed., and B. Leiba, Ed., “Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) - Version 4rev2”, RFC 9051, DOI 10.17487/RFC9051, August 2021, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9051>.

Note: Net::IMAP is not fully compatible with IMAP4rev2 yet.

[IMAP-IMPLEMENTATION]

Leiba, B., “IMAP4 Implementation Recommendations”, RFC 2683, DOI 10.17487/RFC2683, September 1999, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2683>.

[IMAP-MULTIACCESS]

Gahrns, M., “IMAP4 Multi-Accessed Mailbox Practice”, RFC 2180, DOI 10.17487/RFC2180, July 1997, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2180>.

[UTF7]

Goldsmith, D. and M. Davis, “UTF-7 A Mail-Safe Transformation Format of Unicode”, RFC 2152, DOI 10.17487/RFC2152, May 1997, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2152>.

Message envelope and body structure

[RFC5322]

Resnick, P., Ed., “Internet Message Format”, RFC 5322, DOI 10.17487/RFC5322, October 2008, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5322>.

Note: obsoletes RFC-2822 (April 2001) and RFC-822 (August 1982).

[CHARSET]

Freed, N. and J. Postel, “IANA Charset Registration Procedures”, BCP 19, RFC 2978, DOI 10.17487/RFC2978, October 2000, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2978>.

[DISPOSITION]

Troost, R., Dorner, S., and K. Moore, Ed., “Communicating Presentation Information in Internet Messages: The Content-Disposition Header Field”, RFC 2183, DOI 10.17487/RFC2183, August 1997, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2183>.

[MIME-IMB]

Freed, N. and N. Borenstein, “Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) Part One: Format of Internet Message Bodies”, RFC 2045, DOI 10.17487/RFC2045, November 1996, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2045>.

[MIME-IMT]

Freed, N. and N. Borenstein, “Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) Part Two: Media Types”, RFC 2046, DOI 10.17487/RFC2046, November 1996, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2046>.

[MIME-HDRS]

Moore, K., “MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) Part Three: Message Header Extensions for Non-ASCII Text”, RFC 2047, DOI 10.17487/RFC2047, November 1996, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2047>.

[RFC2231]

Freed, N. and K. Moore, “MIME Parameter Value and Encoded Word Extensions: Character Sets, Languages, and Continuations”, RFC 2231, DOI 10.17487/RFC2231, November 1997, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2231>.

[I18n-HDRS]

Yang, A., Steele, S., and N. Freed, “Internationalized Email Headers”, RFC 6532, DOI 10.17487/RFC6532, February 2012, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6532>.

[LANGUAGE-TAGS]

Alvestrand, H., “Content Language Headers”, RFC 3282, DOI 10.17487/RFC3282, May 2002, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3282>.

[LOCATION]

Palme, J., Hopmann, A., and N. Shelness, “MIME Encapsulation of Aggregate Documents, such as HTML (MHTML)”, RFC 2557, DOI 10.17487/RFC2557, March 1999, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2557>.

[MD5]

Myers, J. and M. Rose, “The Content-MD5 Header Field”, RFC 1864, DOI 10.17487/RFC1864, October 1995, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1864>.

[RFC3503]

Melnikov, A., “Message Disposition Notification (MDN) profile for Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP)”, RFC 3503, DOI 10.17487/RFC3503, March 2003, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3503>.

IMAP Extensions

[QUOTA]

Melnikov, A., “IMAP QUOTA Extension”, RFC 9208, DOI 10.17487/RFC9208, March 2022, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9208>.

Note: obsoletes RFC-2087 (January 1997). Net::IMAP does not fully support the RFC9208 updates yet.

[IDLE]

Leiba, B., “IMAP4 IDLE command”, RFC 2177, DOI 10.17487/RFC2177, June 1997, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2177>.

[NAMESPACE]

Gahrns, M. and C. Newman, “IMAP4 Namespace”, RFC 2342, DOI 10.17487/RFC2342, May 1998, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2342>.

[ID]

Showalter, T., “IMAP4 ID extension”, RFC 2971, DOI 10.17487/RFC2971, October 2000, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2971>.

[BINARY]

Nerenberg, L., “IMAP4 Binary Content Extension”, RFC 3516, DOI 10.17487/RFC3516, April 2003, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3516>.

[ACL]

Melnikov, A., “IMAP4 Access Control List (ACL) Extension”, RFC 4314, DOI 10.17487/RFC4314, December 2005, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4314>.

[UIDPLUS]

Crispin, M., “Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) - UIDPLUS extension”, RFC 4315, DOI 10.17487/RFC4315, December 2005, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4315>.

[SORT]

Crispin, M. and K. Murchison, “Internet Message Access Protocol - SORT and THREAD Extensions”, RFC 5256, DOI 10.17487/RFC5256, June 2008, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5256>.

[THREAD]

Crispin, M. and K. Murchison, “Internet Message Access Protocol - SORT and THREAD Extensions”, RFC 5256, DOI 10.17487/RFC5256, June 2008, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5256>.

[RFC5530]

Gulbrandsen, A., “IMAP Response Codes”, RFC 5530, DOI 10.17487/RFC5530, May 2009, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5530>.

[MOVE]

Gulbrandsen, A. and N. Freed, Ed., “Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) - MOVE Extension”, RFC 6851, DOI 10.17487/RFC6851, January 2013, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6851>.

[UTF8=ACCEPT]
[UTF8=ONLY]

Resnick, P., Ed., Newman, C., Ed., and S. Shen, Ed., “IMAP Support for UTF-8”, RFC 6855, DOI 10.17487/RFC6855, March 2013, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6855>.

[CONDSTORE]
[QRESYNC]

Melnikov, A. and D. Cridland, “IMAP Extensions: Quick Flag Changes Resynchronization (CONDSTORE) and Quick Mailbox Resynchronization (QRESYNC)”, RFC 7162, DOI 10.17487/RFC7162, May 2014, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7162>.

[OBJECTID]

Gondwana, B., Ed., “IMAP Extension for Object Identifiers”, RFC 8474, DOI 10.17487/RFC8474, September 2018, <www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8474>.

IANA registries

For currently unsupported features:

Constant Summary

  • ALL =

    Mailbox attribute indicating that this mailbox presents all messages in the user’s message store. Implementations MAY omit some messages, such as, perhaps, those in Trash and Junk. When this special use is supported, it is almost certain to represent a virtual mailbox

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 218
    :All
  • ANSWERED =

    Flag indicating a message has been answered.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 33
    :Answered
  • ARCHIVE =

    Mailbox attribute indicating that this mailbox is used to archive messages. The meaning of an “archival” mailbox is server dependent; typically, it will be used to get messages out of the inbox, or otherwise keep them out of the user’s way, while still making them accessible

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 224
    :Archive
  • CRLF = Internal use only
    # File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2581
    "\r\n"
  • DELETED =

    Flag indicating a message has been marked for deletion. This will occur when the mailbox is closed or expunged.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 47
    :Deleted
  • DRAFT =

    Flag indicating a message is only a draft or work-in-progress version.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 50
    :Draft
  • DRAFTS =

    Mailbox attribute indicating that this mailbox is used to hold draft messages – typically, messages that are being composed but have not yet been sent. In some server implementations, this might be a virtual mailbox, containing messages from other mailboxes that are marked with the “Draft” message flag. Alternatively, this might just be advice that a client put drafts here

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 232
    :Drafts
  • ENABLE_ALIASES =

    Aliases for supported capabilities, to be used with the #enable command.

    # File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 723
    {
      utf8:          "UTF8=ACCEPT",
      "UTF8=ONLY" => "UTF8=ACCEPT",
    }.freeze
  • FLAGGED =

    A message flag indicating a message has been flagged for special or urgent attention.

    Also a mailbox special use attribute, which indicates that this mailbox presents all messages marked in some way as “important”. When this special use is supported, it is likely to represent a virtual mailbox collecting messages (from other mailboxes) that are marked with the “Flagged” message flag.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 43
    :Flagged
  • HASCHILDREN =

    Alias for HAS_CHILDREN, to match the IMAP spelling.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 183
    HAS_CHILDREN
  • HASNOCHILDREN =

    Alias for HAS_NO_CHILDREN, to match the IMAP spelling.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 185
    HAS_NO_CHILDREN
  • HAS_CHILDREN =

    The presence of this attribute indicates that the mailbox has child mailboxes. A server SHOULD NOT set this attribute if there are child mailboxes and the user does not have permission to access any of them. In this case, HasNoChildren SHOULD be used. In many cases, however, a server may not be able to efficiently compute whether a user has access to any child mailboxes. Note that even though the HasChildren attribute for a mailbox must be correct at the time of processing the mailbox, a client must be prepared to deal with a situation when a mailbox is marked with the HasChildren attribute, but no child mailbox appears in the response to the #list command. This might happen, for example, due to child mailboxes being deleted or made inaccessible to the user (using access control) by another client before the server is able to list them.

    It is an error for the server to return both a HasChildren and a HasNoChildren attribute in the same #list response. A client that encounters a #list response with both HasChildren and HasNoChildren attributes present should act as if both are absent in the #list response.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 136
    :Haschildren
  • HAS_NO_CHILDREN =

    The presence of this attribute indicates that the mailbox has NO child mailboxes that are accessible to the currently authenticated user.

    It is an error for the server to return both a HasChildren and a HasNoChildren attribute in the same #list response. A client that encounters a #list response with both HasChildren and HasNoChildren attributes present should act as if both are absent in the #list response.

    Note: the HasNoChildren attribute should not be confused with the NoInferiors attribute, which indicates that no child mailboxes exist now and none can be created in the future.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 149
    :Hasnochildren
  • JUNK =

    Mailbox attribute indicating that this mailbox is where messages deemed to be junk mail are held. Some server implementations might put messages here automatically. Alternatively, this might just be advice to a client-side spam filter.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 242
    :Junk
  • MARKED =

    The mailbox has been marked “interesting” by the server; the mailbox probably contains messages that have been added since the last time the mailbox was selected.

    If it is not feasible for the server to determine whether or not the mailbox is “interesting”, the server SHOULD NOT send either Marked or Unmarked. The server MUST NOT send more than one of Marked, Unmarked, and NoSelect for a single mailbox, and it MAY send none of these.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 160
    :Marked
  • NOINFERIORS =

    Alias for NO_INFERIORS, to match the IMAP spelling.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 179
    NO_INFERIORS
  • NONEXISTENT =

    The NonExistent attribute indicates that a mailbox name does not refer to an existing mailbox. Note that this attribute is not meaningful by itself, as mailbox names that match the canonical #list pattern but don’t exist must not be returned unless one of the two conditions listed below is also satisfied:

    1. The mailbox name also satisfies the selection criteria (for example, it is subscribed and the “SUBSCRIBED” selection option has been specified).

    2. “RECURSIVEMATCH” has been specified, and the mailbox name has at least one descendant mailbox name that does not match the #list pattern and does match the selection criteria.

    In practice, this means that the NonExistent attribute is usually returned with one or more of Subscribed, Remote, HasChildren, or the CHILDINFO extended data item.

    The client must treat the presence of the NonExistent attribute as if the NoSelect attribute was also sent by the server

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 105
    :Nonexistent
  • NOSELECT =

    Alias for NO_SELECT, to match the IMAP spelling.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 181
    NO_SELECT
  • NO_INFERIORS =

    Mailbox attribute indicating it is not possible for any child levels of hierarchy to exist under this name; no child levels exist now and none can be created in the future children.

    The client must treat the presence of the NoInferiors attribute as if the HasNoChildren attribute was also sent by the server

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 113
    :Noinferiors
  • NO_SELECT =

    Mailbox attribute indicating it is not possible to use this name as a selectable mailbox.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 117
    :Noselect
  • PORT = Internal use only
    # File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2582
    143
  • PlainAuthenticator = Internal use only
    # File 'lib/net/imap/authenticators.rb', line 32
    SASL::PlainAuthenticator
  • RECENT =

    Flag indicating that the message is “recent,” meaning that this session is the first session in which the client has been notified of this message.

    This flag was defined by IMAP4rev1 and is deprecated by IMAP4rev2.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 60
    :Recent
  • REMOTE =

    The mailbox is a remote mailbox.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 176
    :Remove
  • RESPONSE_ERRORS = Internal use only
    # File 'lib/net/imap/errors.rb', line 74
    Hash.new(ResponseError)
  • SEEN =

    Flag indicating a message has been read.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 30
    :Seen
  • SENT =

    Mailbox attribute indicating that this mailbox is used to hold copies of messages that have been sent. Some server implementations might put messages here automatically. Alternatively, this might just be advice that a client save sent messages here.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 248
    :Sent
  • SSL_PORT = Internal use only
    # File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2583
    993
  • STRFDATE =

    strftime/strptime format for an IMAP4 date, excluding optional dquotes. Use via the encode_date and decode_date methods.

    date            = date-text / DQUOTE date-text DQUOTE
    date-text       = date-day "-" date-month "-" date-year
    
    date-day        = 1*2DIGIT
                        ; Day of month
    date-month      = "Jan" / "Feb" / "Mar" / "Apr" / "May" / "Jun" /
                      "Jul" / "Aug" / "Sep" / "Oct" / "Nov" / "Dec"
    date-year       = 4DIGIT
    # File 'lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb', line 22
    "%d-%b-%Y"
  • STRFTIME =

    strftime/strptime format for an IMAP4 date-time, including dquotes. See the encode_datetime and decode_datetime methods.

    date-time       = DQUOTE date-day-fixed "-" date-month "-" date-year
                      SP time SP zone DQUOTE
    
    date-day-fixed  = (SP DIGIT) / 2DIGIT
                        ; Fixed-format version of date-day
    date-month      = "Jan" / "Feb" / "Mar" / "Apr" / "May" / "Jun" /
                      "Jul" / "Aug" / "Sep" / "Oct" / "Nov" / "Dec"
    date-year       = 4DIGIT
    time            = 2DIGIT ":" 2DIGIT ":" 2DIGIT
                        ; Hours minutes seconds
    zone            = ("+" / "-") 4DIGIT
                        ; Signed four-digit value of hhmm representing
                        ; hours and minutes east of Greenwich (that is,
                        ; the amount that the given time differs from
                        ; Universal Time).  Subtracting the timezone
                        ; from the given time will give the UT form.
                        ; The Universal Time zone is "+0000".

    Note that Time.strptime "%d" flexibly parses either space or zero padding. However, the DQUOTEs are not optional.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb', line 47
    '"%d-%b-%Y %H:%M:%S %z"'
  • SUBSCRIBED =

    The mailbox name was subscribed to using the #subscribe command.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 173
    :Subscribed
  • TRASH =

    Mailbox attribute indicating that this mailbox is used to hold messages that have been deleted or marked for deletion. In some server implementations, this might be a virtual mailbox, containing messages from other mailboxes that are marked with the Deleted message flag. Alternatively, this might just be advice that a client that chooses not to use the IMAP Deleted model should use as its trash location. In server implementations that strictly expect the IMAP Deleted model, this special use is likely not to be supported.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 258
    :Trash
  • UNMARKED =

    The mailbox does not contain any additional messages since the last time the mailbox was selected.

    If it is not feasible for the server to determine whether or not the mailbox is “interesting”, the server SHOULD NOT send either Marked or Unmarked. The server MUST NOT send more than one of Marked, Unmarked, and NoSelect for a single mailbox, and it MAY send none of these.

    # File 'lib/net/imap/flags.rb', line 170
    :Unmarked
  • VERSION =
    # File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 720
    "0.4.9.1"
  • XOauth2Authenticator = Internal use only
    # File 'lib/net/imap/authenticators.rb', line 35
    SASL::XOAuth2Authenticator

Class Attribute Summary

Class Method Summary

Instance Attribute Summary

Instance Method Summary

Constructor Details

.new(host, port: nil, ssl: nil, open_timeout: 30, idle_response_timeout: 5) ⇒ IMAP

Creates a new IMAP object and connects it to the specified #host.

Options

Accepts the following options:

port

Port number. Defaults to 993 when ssl is truthy, and 143 otherwise.

ssl

If true, the connection will use TLS with the default params set by OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext#set_params. If ssl is a hash, it’s passed to OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext#set_params; the keys are names of attribute assignment methods on SSLContext.

open_timeout

Seconds to wait until a connection is opened

idle_response_timeout

Seconds to wait until an IDLE response is received

See DeprecatedClientOptions.new for deprecated arguments.

Examples

Connect to cleartext port 143 at mail.example.com and recieve the server greeting:

imap = Net::IMAP.new('mail.example.com', ssl: false) # => #<Net::IMAP:0x00007f79b0872bd0>
imap.port          => 143
imap.tls_verified? => false
imap.greeting      => name: ("OK" | "PREAUTH") => status
status # => "OK"
# The client is connected in the "Not Authenticated" state.

Connect with TLS to port 993

imap = Net::IMAP.new('mail.example.com', ssl: true) # => #<Net::IMAP:0x00007f79b0872bd0>
imap.port          => 993
imap.tls_verified? => true
imap.greeting      => name: (/OK/i | /PREAUTH/i) => status
case status
in /OK/i
  # The client is connected in the "Not Authenticated" state.
  imap.authenticate("PLAIN", "joe_user", "joes_password")
in /PREAUTH/i
  # The client is connected in the "Authenticated" state.
end

Connect with prior authentication, for example using an SSL certificate:

ssl_ctx_params = {
  cert: OpenSSL::X509::Certificate.new(File.read("client.crt")),
  key:  OpenSSL::PKey::EC.new(File.read('client.key')),
  extra_chain_cert: [
    OpenSSL::X509::Certificate.new(File.read("intermediate.crt")),
  ],
}
imap = Net::IMAP.new('mail.example.com', ssl: ssl_ctx_params)
imap.port          => 993
imap.tls_verified? => true
imap.greeting      => name: "PREAUTH"
# The client is connected in the "Authenticated" state.

Exceptions

The most common errors are:

Errno::ECONNREFUSED

Connection refused by #host or an intervening firewall.

Errno::ETIMEDOUT

Connection timed out (possibly due to packets being dropped by an intervening firewall).

Errno::ENETUNREACH

There is no route to that network.

SocketError

Hostname not known or other socket error.

Net::IMAP::ByeResponseError

Connected to the host successfully, but it immediately said goodbye.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 874

def initialize(host, port: nil, ssl:  nil,
               open_timeout: 30, idle_response_timeout: 5)
  super()
  # Config options
  @host = host
  @port = port || (ssl ? SSL_PORT : PORT)
  @open_timeout = Integer(open_timeout)
  @idle_response_timeout = Integer(idle_response_timeout)
  @ssl_ctx_params, @ssl_ctx = build_ssl_ctx(ssl)

  # Basic Client State
  @utf8_strings = false
  @debug_output_bol = true
  @exception = nil
  @greeting = nil
  @capabilities = nil

  # Client Protocol Reciever
  @parser = ResponseParser.new
  @responses = Hash.new {|h, k| h[k] = [] }
  @response_handlers = []
  @receiver_thread = nil
  @receiver_thread_exception = nil
  @receiver_thread_terminating = false

  # Client Protocol Sender (including state for currently running commands)
  @tag_prefix = "RUBY"
  @tagno = 0
  @tagged_responses = {}
  @tagged_response_arrival = new_cond
  @continued_command_tag = nil
  @continuation_request_arrival = new_cond
  @continuation_request_exception = nil
  @idle_done_cond = nil
  @logout_command_tag = nil

  # Connection
  @tls_verified = false
  @sock = tcp_socket(@host, @port)
  start_tls_session if ssl_ctx
  start_imap_connection

  # DEPRECATED: to remove in next version
  @client_thread = Thread.current
end

Class Attribute Details

.debug (rw)

Returns the debug mode.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 739

def self.debug
  return @@debug
end

.debug=(val) (rw)

Sets the debug mode.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 744

def self.debug=(val)
  return @@debug = val
end

Class Method Details

.decode_date(string) ⇒ Date Also known as: .parse_date

Decodes string as an IMAP formatted “date”.

Double quotes are optional. Day of month may be padded with zero or space. See STRFDATE.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb', line 90

def self.decode_date(string)
  string = string.delete_prefix('"').delete_suffix('"')
  Date.strptime(string, STRFDATE)
end

.decode_datetime(string) ⇒ DateTime Also known as: .parse_datetime

Decodes string as an IMAP4 formatted “date-time”.

NOTE: Although double-quotes are not optional in the IMAP grammar, IMAP currently parses “date-time” values as “quoted” strings and this removes the quotation marks. To be useful for strings which have already been parsed as a quoted string, this method makes double-quotes optional.

See STRFTIME.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb', line 112

def self.decode_datetime(string)
  unless string.start_with?(?") && string.end_with?(?")
    string = '"%s"' % [string]
  end
  DateTime.strptime(string, STRFTIME)
end

.decode_time(string) ⇒ Time Also known as: .parse_time

Decodes string as an IMAP4 formatted “date-time”.

Same as .decode_datetime, but returning a Time instead.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb', line 124

def self.decode_time(string)
  unless string.start_with?(?") && string.end_with?(?")
    string = '"%s"' % [string]
  end
  Time.strptime(string, STRFTIME)
end

.decode_utf7(s)

Decode a string from modified UTF-7 format to UTF-8.

UTF-7 is a 7-bit encoding of Unicode [UTF7]. IMAP uses a slightly modified version of this to encode mailbox names containing non-ASCII characters; see [IMAP] section 5.1.3.

IMAP does not automatically encode and decode mailbox names to and from UTF-7.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb', line 57

def self.decode_utf7(s)
  return s.gsub(/&([A-Za-z0-9,])?-/n) {
    if base64 = $1
      (base64.tr(",", "/") + "===").unpack1("m").encode(Encoding::UTF_8, Encoding::UTF_16BE)
    else
      "&"
    end
  }
end

.default_imap_port

Alias for .default_port.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 759

alias default_imap_port default_port

.default_imaps_port

Alias for .default_tls_port.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 760

alias default_imaps_port default_tls_port

.default_port Also known as: .default_imap_port

The default port for IMAP connections, port 143

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 749

def self.default_port
  return PORT
end

.default_ssl_port

Alias for .default_tls_port.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 761

alias default_ssl_port default_tls_port

.default_tls_port Also known as: .default_imaps_port, .default_ssl_port

The default port for IMAPS connections, port 993

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 754

def self.default_tls_port
  return SSL_PORT
end

.encode_date(date) Also known as: .format_date

Formats time as an IMAP4 date.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb', line 80

def self.encode_date(date)
  date.to_date.strftime STRFDATE
end

.encode_datetime(time) ⇒ String Also known as: .encode_time

Formats time as an IMAP4 date-time.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb', line 98

def self.encode_datetime(time)
  time.to_datetime.strftime STRFTIME
end

.encode_time(time) Also known as: .format_time

Alias for .encode_datetime.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb', line 132

alias encode_time     encode_datetime

.encode_utf7(s)

Encode a string from UTF-8 format to modified UTF-7.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb', line 68

def self.encode_utf7(s)
  return s.gsub(/(&)|[^\x20-\x7e]+/) {
    if $1
      "&-"
    else
      base64 = [$&.encode(Encoding::UTF_16BE)].pack("m0")
      "&" + base64.delete("=").tr("/", ",") + "-"
    end
  }.force_encoding("ASCII-8BIT")
end

.format_date(date)

Alias for .encode_date.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb', line 133

alias format_date     encode_date

.format_datetime(time)

DEPRECATED

The original version returned incorrectly formatted strings. Strings returned by encode_datetime or format_time use the correct IMAP4rev1 syntax for “date-time”.

This invalid format has been temporarily retained for backward compatibility. A future release will change this method to return the correct format.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb', line 149

def self.format_datetime(time)
  warn("#{self}.format_datetime incorrectly formats IMAP date-time. " \
       "Convert to #{self}.encode_datetime or #{self}.format_time instead.",
       uplevel: 1, category: :deprecated)
  time.strftime("%d-%b-%Y %H:%M %z")
end

.format_time(time)

Alias for .encode_time.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb', line 134

alias format_time     encode_time

.parse_date(string)

Alias for .decode_date.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb', line 135

alias parse_date      decode_date

.parse_datetime(string)

Alias for .decode_datetime.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb', line 136

alias parse_datetime  decode_datetime

.parse_time(string)

Alias for .decode_time.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/data_encoding.rb', line 137

alias parse_time      decode_time

.saslprep(string, **opts) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2954

def self.saslprep(string, **opts)
  Net::IMAP::StringPrep::SASLprep.saslprep(string, **opts)
end

Instance Attribute Details

#capabilities_cached?Boolean (readonly)

Returns whether capabilities have been cached. When true, #capable? and #capabilities don’t require sending a #capability command to the server.

See Net::IMAP@Capabilities for more about IMAP capabilities.

Related: #capable?, #capability, #clear_cached_capabilities

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1037

def capabilities_cached?
  !!@capabilities
end

#disconnected?Boolean (readonly)

Returns true if disconnected from the server.

Related: #logout, #disconnect

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 958

def disconnected?
  return @sock.closed?
end

#greeting (readonly)

Returns the initial greeting the server, an IMAP::UntaggedResponse.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 765

attr_reader :greeting

#host (readonly)

The hostname this client connected to

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 776

attr_reader :host

#idle_response_timeout (readonly)

Seconds to wait until an IDLE response is received.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 773

attr_reader :idle_response_timeout

#open_timeout (readonly)

Seconds to wait until a connection is opened. If the IMAP object cannot open a connection within this time, it raises a Net::OpenTimeout exception. The default value is 30 seconds.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 770

attr_reader :open_timeout

#port (readonly)

The port this client connected to

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 779

attr_reader :port

#ssl_ctx (readonly)

Returns the SSLContext used by the SSLSocket when TLS is attempted, even when the TLS handshake is unsuccessful. The context object will be frozen.

Returns nil for a plaintext connection.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 787

attr_reader :ssl_ctx

#ssl_ctx_params (readonly)

Returns the parameters that were sent to #ssl_ctx set_params when the connection tries to use TLS (even when unsuccessful).

Returns false for a plaintext connection.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 794

attr_reader :ssl_ctx_params

#tls_verified?Boolean (readonly)

Returns true after the TLS negotiation has completed and the remote hostname has been verified. Returns false when TLS has been established but peer verification was disabled.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 923

def tls_verified?; @tls_verified end

Instance Method Details

#add_response_handler(handler = nil, &block)

Adds a response handler. For example, to detect when the server sends a new EXISTS response (which normally indicates new messages being added to the mailbox), add the following handler after selecting the mailbox:

imap.add_response_handler { |resp|
  if resp.kind_of?(Net::IMAP::UntaggedResponse) and resp.name == "EXISTS"
    puts "Mailbox now has #{resp.data} messages"
  end
}

Related: #remove_response_handler, #response_handlers

Raises:

  • (ArgumentError)
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2563

def add_response_handler(handler = nil, &block)
  raise ArgumentError, "two Procs are passed" if handler && block
  synchronize do
    @response_handlers.push(block || handler)
  end
end

#append(mailbox, message, flags = nil, date_time = nil)

Sends an APPEND command [IMAP4rev1 §6.3.11] to append the message to the end of the mailbox. The optional flags argument is an array of flags initially passed to the new message. The optional date_time argument specifies the creation time to assign to the new message; it defaults to the current time.

For example:

imap.append("inbox", <<EOF.gsub(/\n/, "\r\n"), [:Seen], Time.now)
Subject: hello
From: shugo@ruby-lang.org
To: shugo@ruby-lang.org

hello world
EOF

A IMAP::NoResponseError is raised if the mailbox does not exist (it is not created automatically), or if the flags, date_time, or message arguments contain errors.

Capabilities

If UIDPLUS [RFC4315] is supported and the destination supports persistent UIDs, the server’s response should include an APPENDUID response code with IMAP::UIDPlusData. This will report the UIDVALIDITY of the destination mailbox and the assigned UID of the appended message.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1831

def append(mailbox, message, flags = nil, date_time = nil)
  args = []
  if flags
    args.push(flags)
  end
  args.push(date_time) if date_time
  args.push(Literal.new(message))
  send_command("APPEND", mailbox, *args)
end

#auth_capable?(mechanism) ⇒ Boolean

Returns whether the server supports a given IMAP::SASL mechanism for use with the #authenticate command. The mechanism is supported when #capabilities includes "AUTH=#{mechanism.to_s.upcase}". When available, cached capabilities are used without sending a new #capability command to the server.

imap.capable?      "AUTH=PLAIN"  # => true
imap.auth_capable? "PLAIN"       # => true
imap.auth_capable? "blurdybloop" # => false

Related: #authenticate, #auth_mechanisms, #capable?, #capabilities

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1027

def auth_capable?(mechanism)
  capable? "AUTH=#{mechanism}"
end

#auth_mechanisms

Returns the #authenticate mechanisms that the server claims to support. These are derived from the #capabilities with an AUTH= prefix.

This may be different when the connection is cleartext or using TLS. Most servers will drop all AUTH= mechanisms from #capabilities after the connection has authenticated.

imap = Net::IMAP.new(hostname, ssl: false)
imap.capabilities    # => ["IMAP4REV1", "LOGINDISABLED"]
imap.auth_mechanisms # => []

imap.starttls
imap.capabilities    # => ["IMAP4REV1", "AUTH=PLAIN", "AUTH=XOAUTH2",
                     #     "AUTH=OAUTHBEARER"]
imap.auth_mechanisms # => ["PLAIN", "XOAUTH2", "OAUTHBEARER"]

imap.authenticate("XOAUTH2", username, oauth2_access_token)
imap.auth_mechanisms # => []

Related: #authenticate, #auth_capable?, #capabilities

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1010

def auth_mechanisms
  capabilities
    .grep(/\AAUTH=/i)
    .map { _1.delete_prefix("AUTH=") }
end

#authenticate(mechanism, *, sasl_ir: true, registry: Net::IMAP::SASL.authenticators, **, &) ⇒ ok_resp

Sends an AUTHENTICATE command [IMAP4rev1 §6.2.2] to authenticate the client. If successful, the connection enters the “authenticated” state.

mechanism is the name of the SASL authentication mechanism to be used.

sasl_ir allows or disallows sending an “initial response” (see the SASL-IR capability, below).

All other arguments are forwarded to the registered IMAP::SASL authenticator for the requested mechanism. The documentation for each individual mechanism must be consulted for its specific parameters.

Related: #login, #starttls, #auth_capable?, #auth_mechanisms

Mechanisms

Each mechanism has different properties and requirements. Please consult the documentation for the specific mechanisms you are using:

ANONYMOUS

See AnonymousAuthenticator.

Allows the user to gain access to public services or resources without authenticating or disclosing an identity.

EXTERNAL

See ExternalAuthenticator.

Authenticates using already established credentials, such as a TLS certificate or IPsec.

OAUTHBEARER

See OAuthBearerAuthenticator.

Login using an OAuth2 Bearer token. This is the standard mechanism for using OAuth2 with SASL, but it is not yet deployed as widely as XOAUTH2.

PLAIN

See PlainAuthenticator.

Login using clear-text username and password.

SCRAM-SHA-1
SCRAM-SHA-256

See ScramAuthenticator.

Login by username and password. The password is not sent to the server but is used in a salted challenge/response exchange. SCRAM-SHA-1 and SCRAM-SHA-256 are directly supported by Net::IMAP::SASL. New authenticators can easily be added for any other SCRAM-* mechanism if the digest algorithm is supported by OpenSSL::Digest.

XOAUTH2

See XOAuth2Authenticator.

Login using a username and an OAuth2 access token. Non-standard and obsoleted by OAUTHBEARER, but widely supported.

See the SASL mechanism registry for a list of all IMAP::SASL mechanisms and their specifications. To register new authenticators, see IMAP::Authenticators.

Deprecated mechanisms

Obsolete mechanisms should be avoided, but are still available for backwards compatibility. See Net::IMAP::SASL@Deprecated+mechanisms. Using a deprecated mechanism will print a warning.

Capabilities

"AUTH=#{mechanism}" capabilities indicate server support for mechanisms. Use #auth_capable? or #auth_mechanisms to check for support before using a particular mechanism.

if imap.auth_capable? "XOAUTH2"
  imap.authenticate "XOAUTH2", username, oauth2_access_token
elsif imap.auth_capable? "PLAIN"
  imap.authenticate "PLAIN", username, password
elsif !imap.capability? "LOGINDISABLED"
  imap. username, password
else
  raise "No acceptable authentication mechanism is available"
end

Although servers should list all supported SASL mechanisms, they may allow authentication with an unlisted mechanism.

If [SASL-IR] is supported and the appropriate "AUTH=#{mechanism}" capability is present, an “initial response” may be sent as an argument to the AUTHENTICATE command, saving a round-trip. The SASL exchange allows for server challenges and client responses, but many mechanisms expect the client to “respond” first. The initial response will only be sent for “client-first” mechanisms.

Server capabilities may change after #starttls, #login, and #authenticate. Previously cached #capabilities will be cleared when this method completes. If the IMAP::TaggedResponse to #authenticate includes updated capabilities, they will be cached.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1306

def authenticate(mechanism, *creds, sasl_ir: true, **props, &callback)
  mechanism = mechanism.to_s.tr("_", "-").upcase
  authenticator = SASL.authenticator(mechanism, *creds, **props, &callback)
  cmdargs = ["AUTHENTICATE", mechanism]
  if sasl_ir && capable?("SASL-IR") && auth_capable?(mechanism) &&
      authenticator.respond_to?(:initial_response?) &&
      authenticator.initial_response?
    response = authenticator.process(nil)
    cmdargs << (response.empty? ? "=" : [response].pack("m0"))
  end
  result = send_command_with_continuations(*cmdargs) {|data|
    challenge = data.unpack1("m")
    response  = authenticator.process challenge
    [response].pack("m0")
  }
  if authenticator.respond_to?(:done?) && !authenticator.done?
    logout!
    raise SASL::AuthenticationIncomplete, result
  end
  @capabilities = capabilities_from_resp_code result
  result
end

#build_ssl_ctx(ssl) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2915

def build_ssl_ctx(ssl)
  if ssl
    params = (Hash.try_convert(ssl) || {}).freeze
    context = SSLContext.new
    context.set_params(params)
    if defined?(VerifyCallbackProc)
      context.verify_callback = VerifyCallbackProc
    end
    context.freeze
    [params, context]
  else
    false
  end
end

#capabilities

Returns the server capabilities. When available, cached capabilities are used without sending a new #capability command to the server.

To ensure a case-insensitive comparison, #capable? can be used instead.

NOTE: Most IMAP methods do not currently modify their behaviour according to the server’s advertised #capabilities.

See Net::IMAP@Capabilities for more about IMAP capabilities.

Related: #capable?, #auth_capable?, #auth_mechanisms, #capability, #enable

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 986

def capabilities
  @capabilities || capability
end

#capabilities_from_resp_code(resp) (private)

NOTE: only call this for greeting, login, and authenticate

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2754

def capabilities_from_resp_code(resp)
  return unless %w[PREAUTH OK].any? { _1.casecmp? resp.name }
  return unless (code = resp.data.code)
  return unless code.name.casecmp?("CAPABILITY")
  code.data.freeze
end

#capability

Sends a CAPABILITY command [IMAP4rev1 §6.1.1] and returns an array of capabilities that are supported by the server. The result is stored for use by #capable? and #capabilities.

NOTE: Most IMAP methods do not currently modify their behaviour according to the server’s advertised #capabilities.

IMAP automatically stores and discards capability data according to the requirements and recommendations in IMAP4rev2 §6.1.1, §6.2, and §7.1. Use #capable?, #auth_capable?, or #capabilities to this cache and avoid sending the #capability command unnecessarily.

See Net::IMAP@Capabilities for more about IMAP capabilities.

Related: #capable?, #auth_capable?, #capability, #enable

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1075

def capability
  synchronize do
    send_command("CAPABILITY")
    @capabilities = clear_responses("CAPABILITY").last.freeze
  end
end

#capability?(capability)

Alias for #capable?.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 973

alias capability? capable?

#capable?(capability) ⇒ Boolean Also known as: #capability?

Returns whether the server supports a given #capability. When available, cached #capabilities are used without sending a new #capability command to the server.

NOTE: Most IMAP methods do not currently modify their behaviour according to the server’s advertised #capabilities.

See Net::IMAP@Capabilities for more about IMAP capabilities.

Related: #auth_capable?, #capabilities, #capability, #enable

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 972

def capable?(capability) capabilities.include? capability.to_s.upcase end

#check

Sends a CHECK command [IMAP4rev1 §6.4.1] to request a checkpoint of the currently selected mailbox. This performs implementation-specific housekeeping; for instance, reconciling the mailbox’s in-memory and on-disk state.

Related: #idle, #noop

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1847

def check
  send_command("CHECK")
end

#clear_cached_capabilities

Clears capabilities that have been remembered by the IMAP client. This forces a #capability command to be sent the next time a #capabilities query method is called.

IMAP automatically discards its cached capabilities when they can change. Explicitly calling this should be unnecessary for well-behaved servers.

Related: #capable?, #capability, #capabilities_cached?

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1050

def clear_cached_capabilities
  synchronize do
    clear_responses("CAPABILITY")
    @capabilities = nil
  end
end

#clear_responsesHash #clear_responses(type) ⇒ Array

Clears and returns the unhandled #responses hash or the unhandled responses array for a single response type.

Clearing responses is synchronized with other threads. The lock is released before returning.

Related: #responses, #response_handlers

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2520

def clear_responses(type = nil)
  synchronize {
    if type
      @responses.delete(type) || []
    else
      @responses.dup.transform_values(&:freeze)
        .tap { _1.default = [].freeze }
        .tap { @responses.clear }
    end
  }
    .freeze
end

#client_thread

This method is for internal use only.
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 925

def client_thread # :nodoc:
  warn "Net::IMAP#client_thread is deprecated and will be removed soon."
  @client_thread
end

#close

Sends a CLOSE command [IMAP4rev1 §6.4.2] to close the currently selected mailbox. The CLOSE command permanently removes from the mailbox all messages that have the \Deleted flag set.

Related: #unselect

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1857

def close
  send_command("CLOSE")
end

#copy(set, mailbox)

Sends a COPY command [IMAP4rev1 §6.4.7] to copy the specified message(s) to the end of the specified destination mailbox. The set parameter is a number, an array of numbers, or a Range object. The number is a message sequence number.

Related: #uid_copy

Capabilities

If UIDPLUS [RFC4315] is supported, the server’s response should include a COPYUID response code with IMAP::UIDPlusData. This will report the UIDVALIDITY of the destination mailbox, the UID set of the source messages, and the assigned UID set of the moved messages.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2162

def copy(set, mailbox)
  copy_internal("COPY", set, mailbox)
end

#copy_internal(cmd, set, mailbox) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2876

def copy_internal(cmd, set, mailbox)
  send_command(cmd, MessageSet.new(set), mailbox)
end

#create(mailbox)

Sends a CREATE command [IMAP4rev1 §6.3.3] to create a new mailbox.

A IMAP::NoResponseError is raised if a mailbox with that name cannot be created.

Related: #rename, #delete

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1431

def create(mailbox)
  send_command("CREATE", mailbox)
end

#delete(mailbox)

Sends a DELETE command [IMAP4rev1 §6.3.4] to remove the mailbox.

A IMAP::NoResponseError is raised if a mailbox with that name cannot be deleted, either because it does not exist or because the client does not have permission to delete it.

Related: #create, #rename

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1443

def delete(mailbox)
  send_command("DELETE", mailbox)
end

#disconnect

Disconnects from the server.

Related: #logout, #logout!

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 933

def disconnect
  return if disconnected?
  begin
    begin
      # try to call SSL::SSLSocket#io.
      @sock.io.shutdown
    rescue NoMethodError
      # @sock is not an SSL::SSLSocket.
      @sock.shutdown
    end
  rescue Errno::ENOTCONN
    # ignore `Errno::ENOTCONN: Socket is not connected' on some platforms.
  rescue Exception => e
    @receiver_thread.raise(e)
  end
  @receiver_thread.join
  synchronize do
    @sock.close
  end
  raise e if e
end

#enable(*capabilities)

Sends an ENABLE command [RFC5161 §3.2] [IMAP4rev2 §6.3.1] to enable the specified server #capabilities. Each capability may be an array, string, or symbol. Returns a list of the capabilities that were enabled.

The ENABLE command is only valid in the authenticated state, before any mailbox is selected.

Related: #capable?, #capabilities, #capability

Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include ENABLE [RFC5161] or IMAP4REV2 [RFC9051].

Additionally, the server capabilities must include a capability matching each enabled extension (usually the same name as the enabled extension). The following capabilities may be enabled:

CONDSTORE [RFC7162]

Updates various commands to return CONDSTORE extension responses. It is not necessary to explicitly enable CONDSTORE—using any of the command parameters defined by the extension will implicitly enable it. See [RFC7162 §3.1].

:utf8 — an alias for "UTF8=ACCEPT"

In a future release, enable(:utf8) will enable either "UTF8=ACCEPT" or "IMAP4rev2", depending on server capabilities.

"UTF8=ACCEPT" [RFC6855]

The server’s capabilities must include UTF8=ACCEPT or UTF8=ONLY.

This allows the server to send strings encoded as UTF-8 which might otherwise need to use a 7-bit encoding, such as modified UTF-7 for mailbox names, or RFC2047 encoded-words for message headers.

Note: A future update may set string encodings slightly differently, e.g: “US-ASCII” when UTF-8 is not enabled, and “UTF-8” when it is. Currently, the encoding of strings sent as “quoted” or “text” will always be “UTF-8”, even when only ASCII characters are used (e.g. “Subject: Agenda”) And currently, string “literals” sent by the server will always have an “ASCII-8BIT” (binary) encoding, even if they generally contain UTF-8 data, if they are text at all.

"UTF8=ONLY" [RFC6855]

A server that reports the UTF8=ONLY capability requires that the client enable("UTF8=ACCEPT") before any mailboxes may be selected. For convenience, enable("UTF8=ONLY") is aliased to enable("UTF8=ACCEPT").

Unsupported capabilities

Note: Some extensions that use ENABLE permit the server to send syntax that IMAP cannot parse, which may raise an exception and disconnect. Some extensions may work, but the support may be incomplete, untested, or experimental.

Until a capability is documented here as supported, enabling it may result in undocumented behavior and a future release may update with incompatible behavior without warning or deprecation.

Caution is advised.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2373

def enable(*capabilities)
  capabilities = capabilities
    .flatten
    .map {|e| ENABLE_ALIASES[e] || e }
    .uniq
    .join(' ')
  synchronize do
    send_command("ENABLE #{capabilities}")
    result = clear_responses("ENABLED").last || []
    @utf8_strings ||= result.include? "UTF8=ACCEPT"
    @utf8_strings ||= result.include? "IMAP4REV2"
    result
  end
end

#examine(mailbox, condstore: false)

Sends a EXAMINE command [IMAP4rev1 §6.3.2] to select a mailbox so that messages in the mailbox can be accessed. Behaves the same as #select, except that the selected mailbox is identified as read-only.

A IMAP::NoResponseError is raised if the mailbox does not exist or is for some reason non-examinable.

Related: #select

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1415

def examine(mailbox, condstore: false)
  args = ["EXAMINE", mailbox]
  args << ["CONDSTORE"] if condstore
  synchronize do
    @responses.clear
    send_command(*args)
  end
end

#expunge

Sends an EXPUNGE command [IMAP4rev1 §6.4.3] Sends a EXPUNGE command to permanently remove from the currently selected mailbox all messages that have the Deleted flag set.

Related: #uid_expunge

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1882

def expunge
  synchronize do
    send_command("EXPUNGE")
    clear_responses("EXPUNGE")
  end
end

#fetch(set, attr, changedsince: nil) ⇒ array of FetchData

Sends a FETCH command [IMAP4rev1 §6.4.5] to retrieve data associated with a message in the mailbox.

The set parameter is a number or a range between two numbers, or an array of those. The number is a message sequence number, where -1 represents a ‘*’ for use in range notation like 100..-1 being interpreted as ‘100:*’. Beware that the exclude_end? property of a Range object is ignored, and the contents of a range are independent of the order of the range endpoints as per the protocol specification, so 1…5, 5..1 and 5…1 are all equivalent to 1..5.

attr is a list of attributes to fetch; see the documentation for IMAP::FetchData for a list of valid attributes.

changedsince is an optional integer mod-sequence. It limits results to messages with a mod-sequence greater than changedsince.

The return value is an array of IMAP::FetchData.

Related: #uid_search, IMAP::FetchData

For example:
p imap.fetch(6..8, "UID")
#=> [#<Net::IMAP::FetchData seqno=6, attr={"UID"=>98}>, \\
     #<Net::IMAP::FetchData seqno=7, attr={"UID"=>99}>, \\
     #<Net::IMAP::FetchData seqno=8, attr={"UID"=>100}>]
p imap.fetch(6, "BODY[HEADER.FIELDS (SUBJECT)]")
#=> [#<Net::IMAP::FetchData seqno=6, attr={"BODY[HEADER.FIELDS (SUBJECT)]"=>"Subject: test\r\n\r\n"}>]
data = imap.uid_fetch(98, ["RFC822.SIZE", "INTERNALDATE"])[0]
p data.seqno
#=> 6
p data.attr["RFC822.SIZE"]
#=> 611
p data.attr["INTERNALDATE"]
#=> "12-Oct-2000 22:40:59 +0900"
p data.attr["UID"]
#=> 98
Capabilities

Many extensions define new message attr names. See FetchData for a list of supported extension fields.

The server’s capabilities must include CONDSTORE [RFC7162] in order to use the changedsince argument. Using changedsince implicitly enables the CONDSTORE extension.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2057

def fetch(set, attr, mod = nil, changedsince: nil)
  fetch_internal("FETCH", set, attr, mod, changedsince: changedsince)
end

#fetch_internal(cmd, set, attr, mod = nil, changedsince: nil) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2839

def fetch_internal(cmd, set, attr, mod = nil, changedsince: nil)
  if changedsince
    mod ||= []
    mod << "CHANGEDSINCE" << Integer(changedsince)
  end
  case attr
  when String then
    attr = RawData.new(attr)
  when Array then
    attr = attr.map { |arg|
      arg.is_a?(String) ? RawData.new(arg) : arg
    }
  end

  synchronize do
    clear_responses("FETCH")
    if mod
      send_command(cmd, MessageSet.new(set), attr, mod)
    else
      send_command(cmd, MessageSet.new(set), attr)
    end
    clear_responses("FETCH")
  end
end

#generate_tag (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2803

def generate_tag
  @tagno += 1
  return format("%s%04d", @tag_prefix, @tagno)
end

#get_response (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2717

def get_response
  buff = String.new
  while true
    s = @sock.gets(CRLF)
    break unless s
    buff.concat(s)
    if /\{(\d+)\}\r\n/n =~ s
      s = @sock.read($1.to_i)
      buff.concat(s)
    else
      break
    end
  end
  return nil if buff.length == 0
  if @@debug
    $stderr.print(buff.gsub(/^/n, "S: "))
  end
  return @parser.parse(buff)
end

#get_server_greeting (private)

Raises:

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2596

def get_server_greeting
  greeting = get_response
  raise Error, "No server greeting - connection closed" unless greeting
  record_untagged_response_code greeting
  raise ByeResponseError, greeting if greeting.name == "BYE"
  greeting
end

#get_tagged_response(tag, cmd, timeout = nil) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2689

def get_tagged_response(tag, cmd, timeout = nil)
  if timeout
    deadline = Time.now + timeout
  end
  until @tagged_responses.key?(tag)
    raise @exception if @exception
    if timeout
      timeout = deadline - Time.now
      if timeout <= 0
        return nil
      end
    end
    @tagged_response_arrival.wait(timeout)
  end
  resp = @tagged_responses.delete(tag)
  case resp.name
  when /\A(?:OK)\z/ni
    return resp
  when /\A(?:NO)\z/ni
    raise NoResponseError, resp
  when /\A(?:BAD)\z/ni
    raise BadResponseError, resp
  else
    disconnect
    raise InvalidResponseError, "invalid tagged resp: %p" % [resp.raw.chomp]
  end
end

#getacl(mailbox)

Sends a GETACL command [RFC4314 §3.3] along with a specified mailbox. If this mailbox exists, an array containing objects of IMAP::MailboxACLItem will be returned.

Related: #setacl, IMAP::MailboxACLItem

Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include ACL [RFC4314].

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1711

def getacl(mailbox)
  synchronize do
    send_command("GETACL", mailbox)
    clear_responses("ACL").last
  end
end

#getquota(mailbox)

Sends a GETQUOTA command [RFC2087 §4.2] along with specified mailbox. If this mailbox exists, then an array containing a IMAP::MailboxQuota object is returned. This command is generally only available to server admin.

Related: #getquotaroot, #setquota, IMAP::MailboxQuota

Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include QUOTA [RFC2087].

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1655

def getquota(mailbox)
  synchronize do
    send_command("GETQUOTA", mailbox)
    clear_responses("QUOTA")
  end
end

#getquotaroot(mailbox)

Sends a GETQUOTAROOT command [RFC2087 §4.3] along with the specified mailbox. This command is generally available to both admin and user. If this mailbox exists, it returns an array containing objects of type IMAP::MailboxQuotaRoot and IMAP::MailboxQuota.

Related: #getquota, #setquota, IMAP::MailboxQuotaRoot, IMAP::MailboxQuota

Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include QUOTA [RFC2087].

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1634

def getquotaroot(mailbox)
  synchronize do
    send_command("GETQUOTAROOT", mailbox)
    result = []
    result.concat(clear_responses("QUOTAROOT"))
    result.concat(clear_responses("QUOTA"))
    return result
  end
end

#id(client_id = nil)

Sends an ID command [RFC2971 §3.1] and returns a hash of the server’s response, or nil if the server does not identify itself.

Note that the user should first check if the server supports the ID capability. For example:

if capable?(:ID)
  id = imap.id(
    name: "my IMAP client (ruby)",
    version: MyIMAP::VERSION,
    "support-url": "mailto:bugs@example.com",
    os: RbConfig::CONFIG["host_os"],
  )
end

See [ID] for field definitions.

Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include ID [RFC2971].

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1104

def id(client_id=nil)
  synchronize do
    send_command("ID", ClientID.new(client_id))
    clear_responses("ID").last
  end
end

#idle(timeout = nil, &response_handler)

Sends an IDLE command [RFC2177 §3] [IMAP4rev2 §6.3.13] that waits for notifications of new or expunged messages. Yields responses from the server during the IDLE.

Use #idle_done to leave IDLE.

If timeout is given, this method returns after timeout seconds passed. timeout can be used for keep-alive. For example, the following code checks the connection for each 60 seconds.

loop do
  imap.idle(60) do |res|
    #...
  end
end

Related: #idle_done, #noop, #check

Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include IDLE [RFC2177].

Raises:

  • (LocalJumpError)
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2411

def idle(timeout = nil, &response_handler)
  raise LocalJumpError, "no block given" unless response_handler

  response = nil

  synchronize do
    tag = Thread.current[:net_imap_tag] = generate_tag
    put_string("#{tag} IDLE#{CRLF}")

    begin
      add_response_handler(&response_handler)
      @idle_done_cond = new_cond
      @idle_done_cond.wait(timeout)
      @idle_done_cond = nil
      if @receiver_thread_terminating
        raise @exception || Net::IMAP::Error.new("connection closed")
      end
    ensure
      unless @receiver_thread_terminating
        remove_response_handler(response_handler)
        put_string("DONE#{CRLF}")
        response = get_tagged_response(tag, "IDLE", @idle_response_timeout)
      end
    end
  end

  return response
end

#idle_done

Leaves IDLE.

Related: #idle

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2443

def idle_done
  synchronize do
    if @idle_done_cond.nil?
      raise Net::IMAP::Error, "not during IDLE"
    end
    @idle_done_cond.signal
  end
end

#list(refname, mailbox)

Sends a LIST command [IMAP4rev1 §6.3.8] and returns a subset of names from the complete set of all names available to the client. refname provides a context (for instance, a base directory in a directory-based mailbox hierarchy). mailbox specifies a mailbox or (via wildcards) mailboxes under that context. Two wildcards may be used in mailbox: "*", which matches all characters including the hierarchy delimiter (for instance, “/” on a UNIX-hosted directory-based mailbox hierarchy); and "%", which matches all characters except the hierarchy delimiter.

If refname is empty, mailbox is used directly to determine which mailboxes to match. If mailbox is empty, the root name of refname and the hierarchy delimiter are returned.

The return value is an array of IMAP::MailboxList.

Related: #lsub, IMAP::MailboxList

For example:
imap.create("foo/bar")
imap.create("foo/baz")
p imap.list("", "foo/%")
#=> [#<Net::IMAP::MailboxList attr=[:Noselect], delim="/", name="foo/">, \\
     #<Net::IMAP::MailboxList attr=[:Noinferiors, :Marked], delim="/", name="foo/bar">, \\
     #<Net::IMAP::MailboxList attr=[:Noinferiors], delim="/", name="foo/baz">]
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1515

def list(refname, mailbox)
  synchronize do
    send_command("LIST", refname, mailbox)
    clear_responses("LIST")
  end
end

#login(user, password)

Sends a LOGIN command [IMAP4rev1 §6.2.3] to identify the client and carries the plaintext password authenticating this user. If successful, the connection enters the “authenticated” state.

Using #authenticate should be preferred over #login. The LOGIN command is not the same as #authenticate with the “LOGIN” mechanism.

A IMAP::NoResponseError is raised if authentication fails.

Related: #authenticate, #starttls

Capabilities

An IMAP client MUST NOT call #login when the server advertises the LOGINDISABLED capability.

if imap.capability? "LOGINDISABLED"
  raise "Remote server has disabled the login command"
else
  imap. username, password
end

Server capabilities may change after #starttls, #login, and #authenticate. Cached capabilities must be invalidated after this method completes. The TaggedResponse to #login may include updated capabilities in its IMAP::ResponseCode.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1359

def (user, password)
  send_command("LOGIN", user, password)
    .tap { @capabilities = capabilities_from_resp_code _1 }
end

#logout

Sends a LOGOUT command [IMAP4rev1 §6.1.3] to inform the command to inform the server that the client is done with the connection.

Related: #disconnect, #logout!

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1132

def logout
  send_command("LOGOUT")
end

#logout!

Calls #logout then, after receiving the IMAP::TaggedResponse for the LOGOUT, calls #disconnect. Returns the IMAP::TaggedResponse from LOGOUT. Returns nil when the client is already disconnected, in contrast to #logout which raises an exception.

If #logout raises a StandardError, a warning will be printed but the exception will not be re-raised.

This is useful in situations where the connection must be dropped, for example for security or after tests. If logout errors need to be handled, use #logout and #disconnect instead.

Related: #logout, #disconnect

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1149

def logout!
  logout unless disconnected?
rescue => ex
  warn "%s during <Net::IMAP %s:%s> logout!: %s" % [
    ex.class, host, port, ex
  ]
ensure
  disconnect
end

#lsub(refname, mailbox)

Sends a LSUB command [IMAP4rev1 §6.3.9] and returns a subset of names from the set of names that the user has declared as being “active” or “subscribed.” refname and mailbox are interpreted as for #list.

The return value is an array of IMAP::MailboxList objects.

Related: #subscribe, #unsubscribe, #list, IMAP::MailboxList

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1726

def lsub(refname, mailbox)
  synchronize do
    send_command("LSUB", refname, mailbox)
    clear_responses("LSUB")
  end
end

#move(set, mailbox)

Sends a MOVE command [RFC6851 §3.1] [IMAP4rev2 §6.4.8] to move the specified message(s) to the end of the specified destination mailbox. The set parameter is a number, an array of numbers, or a Range object. The number is a message sequence number.

Related: #uid_move

Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include MOVE [RFC6851].

If UIDPLUS [RFC4315] is supported, the server’s response should include a COPYUID response code with IMAP::UIDPlusData. This will report the UIDVALIDITY of the destination mailbox, the UID set of the source messages, and the assigned UID set of the moved messages.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2198

def move(set, mailbox)
  copy_internal("MOVE", set, mailbox)
end

#namespace

Sends a NAMESPACE command [RFC2342 §5] and returns the namespaces that are available. The NAMESPACE command allows a client to discover the prefixes of namespaces used by a server for personal mailboxes, other users’ mailboxes, and shared mailboxes.

The return value is a IMAP::Namespaces object which has personal, other, and shared fields, each an array of IMAP::Namespace objects. These arrays will be empty when the server responds with nil.

Many IMAP servers are configured with the default personal namespaces as ("" "/"): no prefix and the “/” hierarchy delimiter. In that common case, the naive client may not have any trouble naming mailboxes. But many servers are configured with the default personal namespace as e.g. ("INBOX." "."), placing all personal folders under INBOX, with “.” as the hierarchy delimiter. If the client does not check for this, but naively assumes it can use the same folder names for all servers, then folder creation (and listing, moving, etc) can lead to errors.

From RFC2342:

Although typically a server will support only a single Personal Namespace, and a single Other User’s Namespace, circumstances exist where there MAY be multiples of these, and a client MUST be prepared for them. If a client is configured such that it is required to create a certain mailbox, there can be circumstances where it is unclear which Personal Namespaces it should create the mailbox in. In these situations a client SHOULD let the user select which namespaces to create the mailbox in.

Related: #list, IMAP::Namespaces, IMAP::Namespace

For example:
if capable?("NAMESPACE")
  namespaces = imap.namespace
  if namespace = namespaces.personal.first
    prefix = namespace.prefix  # e.g. "" or "INBOX."
    delim  = namespace.delim   # e.g. "/" or "."
    # personal folders should use the prefix and delimiter
    imap.create(prefix + "foo")
    imap.create(prefix + "bar")
    imap.create(prefix + %w[path to my folder].join(delim))
  end
end
Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include NAMESPACE [RFC2342].

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1572

def namespace
  synchronize do
    send_command("NAMESPACE")
    clear_responses("NAMESPACE").last
  end
end

#noop

Sends a NOOP command [IMAP4rev1 §6.1.2] to the server.

This allows the server to send unsolicited untagged EXPUNGE #responses, but does not execute any client request. IMAP servers are permitted to send unsolicited untagged responses at any time, except for EXPUNGE:

Related: #idle, #check

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1123

def noop
  send_command("NOOP")
end

#normalize_searching_criteria(keys) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2904

def normalize_searching_criteria(keys)
  keys.collect! do |i|
    case i
    when -1, Range, Array
      MessageSet.new(i)
    else
      i
    end
  end
end

#put_string(str) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2808

def put_string(str)
  @sock.print(str)
  if @@debug
    if @debug_output_bol
      $stderr.print("C: ")
    end
    $stderr.print(str.gsub(/\n/n) { $'.empty? ? $& : "\nC: " })
    if /\n\z/n.match(str)
      @debug_output_bol = true
    else
      @debug_output_bol = false
    end
  end
end

#receive_responses (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2622

def receive_responses
  connection_closed = false
  until connection_closed
    synchronize do
      @exception = nil
    end
    begin
      resp = get_response
    rescue Exception => e
      synchronize do
        @sock.close
        @exception = e
      end
      break
    end
    unless resp
      synchronize do
        @exception = EOFError.new("end of file reached")
      end
      break
    end
    begin
      synchronize do
        case resp
        when TaggedResponse
          @tagged_responses[resp.tag] = resp
          @tagged_response_arrival.broadcast
          case resp.tag
          when @logout_command_tag
            return
          when @continued_command_tag
            @continuation_request_exception =
              RESPONSE_ERRORS[resp.name].new(resp)
            @continuation_request_arrival.signal
          end
        when UntaggedResponse
          record_untagged_response(resp)
          if resp.name == "BYE" && @logout_command_tag.nil?
            @sock.close
            @exception = ByeResponseError.new(resp)
            connection_closed = true
          end
        when ContinuationRequest
          @continuation_request_arrival.signal
        end
        @response_handlers.each do |handler|
          handler.call(resp)
        end
      end
    rescue Exception => e
      @exception = e
      synchronize do
        @tagged_response_arrival.broadcast
        @continuation_request_arrival.broadcast
      end
    end
  end
  synchronize do
    @receiver_thread_terminating = true
    @tagged_response_arrival.broadcast
    @continuation_request_arrival.broadcast
    if @idle_done_cond
      @idle_done_cond.signal
    end
  end
end

#record_untagged_response(resp) (private)

store name => […, data]

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2741

def record_untagged_response(resp)
  @responses[resp.name] << resp.data
  record_untagged_response_code resp
end

#record_untagged_response_code(resp) (private)

store code.name => […, code.data]

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2747

def record_untagged_response_code(resp)
  return unless resp.data.is_a?(ResponseText)
  return unless (code = resp.data.code)
  @responses[code.name] << code.data
end

#remove_response_handler(handler)

Removes the response handler.

Related: #add_response_handler, #response_handlers

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2573

def remove_response_handler(handler)
  synchronize do
    @response_handlers.delete(handler)
  end
end

#rename(mailbox, newname)

Sends a RENAME command [IMAP4rev1 §6.3.5] to change the name of the mailbox to newname.

A IMAP::NoResponseError is raised if a mailbox with the name mailbox cannot be renamed to newname for whatever reason; for instance, because mailbox does not exist, or because there is already a mailbox with the name newname.

Related: #create, #delete

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1456

def rename(mailbox, newname)
  send_command("RENAME", mailbox, newname)
end

#response_handlers

Returns all response handlers, including those that are added internally by commands. Each response handler will be called with every new IMAP::UntaggedResponse, IMAP::TaggedResponse, and IMAP::ContinuationRequest.

Response handlers are called with a mutex inside the receiver thread. New responses cannot be processed and commands from other threads must wait until all response_handlers return. An exception will shut-down the receiver thread and close the connection.

For thread-safety, the returned array is a frozen copy of the internal array.

Related: #add_response_handler, #remove_response_handler

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2546

def response_handlers
  synchronize { @response_handlers.clone.freeze }
end

#responses {|hash| ... } ⇒ block result #responses(type) {|array| ... } ⇒ block result

Yields unhandled responses and returns the result of the block.

Unhandled responses are stored in a hash, with arrays of non-nil UntaggedResponse#data keyed by UntaggedResponse#name and ResponseCode#data keyed by ResponseCode#name. Call without type to yield the entire responses hash. Call with type to yield only the array of responses for that type.

For example:

imap.select("inbox")
p imap.responses("EXISTS", &:last)
#=> 2
p imap.responses("UIDVALIDITY", &:last)
#=> 968263756

Note: Access to the responses hash is synchronized for thread-safety. The receiver thread and response_handlers cannot process new responses until the block completes. Accessing either the response hash or its response type arrays outside of the block is unsafe.

Calling without a block is unsafe and deprecated. Future releases will raise ArgumentError unless a block is given.

Previously unhandled responses are automatically cleared before entering a mailbox with #select or #examine. Long-lived connections can receive many unhandled server responses, which must be pruned or they will continually consume more memory. Update or clear the responses hash or arrays inside the block, or use #clear_responses.

Only non-nil data is stored. Many important response codes have no data of their own, but are used as “tags” on the IMAP::ResponseText object they are attached to. IMAP::ResponseText will be accessible by its response types: “OK”, “NO”, “BAD”, “BYE”, or “PREAUTH”.

TaggedResponse#data is not saved to #responses, nor is any ResponseCode#data on tagged responses. Although some command methods do return the IMAP::TaggedResponse directly, #add_response_handler must be used to handle all response codes.

Related: #clear_responses, #response_handlers, #greeting

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2498

def responses(type = nil)
  if block_given?
    synchronize { yield(type ? @responses[type.to_s.upcase] : @responses) }
  elsif type
    raise ArgumentError, "Pass a block or use #clear_responses"
  else
    # warn("DEPRECATED: pass a block or use #clear_responses", uplevel: 1)
    @responses
  end
end

#sasl_adapter (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2944

def sasl_adapter
  SASLAdapter.new(self, &method(:send_command_with_continuations))
end

#search(keys, charset = nil)

Sends a SEARCH command [IMAP4rev1 §6.4.4] to search the mailbox for messages that match the given searching criteria, and returns message sequence numbers. keys can either be a string holding the entire search string, or a single-dimension array of search keywords and arguments.

Returns a IMAP::SearchResult object. IMAP::SearchResult inherits from Array (for backward compatibility) but adds SearchResult#modseq when the CONDSTORE capability has been enabled.

Related: #uid_search

Search criteria

For a full list of search criteria, see [IMAP4rev1 §6.4.4], or [IMAP4rev2 §6.4.4], in addition to documentation for any [CAPABILITIES] reported by #capabilities which may define additional search filters, e.g: CONDSTORE, WITHIN, FILTERS, SEARCH=FUZZY, OBJECTID, or SAVEDATE. The following are some common search criteria:

<message set>

a set of message sequence numbers. “,” indicates an interval, “:” indicates a range. For instance, “2,10:12,15” means “2,10,11,12,15”.

BEFORE <date>

messages with an internal date strictly before <date>. The date argument has a format similar to 8-Aug-2002, and can be formatted using Net::IMAP.format_date.

BODY <string>

messages that contain <string> within their body.

CC <string>

messages containing <string> in their CC field.

FROM <string>

messages that contain <string> in their FROM field.

NEW

messages with the Recent, but not the Seen, flag set.

NOT <search-key>

negate the following search key.

OR <search-key> <search-key>

“or” two search keys together.

ON <date>

messages with an internal date exactly equal to <date>, which has a format similar to 8-Aug-2002.

SINCE <date>

messages with an internal date on or after <date>.

SUBJECT <string>

messages with <string> in their subject.

TO <string>

messages with <string> in their TO field.

For example:
p imap.search(["SUBJECT", "hello", "NOT", "NEW"])
#=> [1, 6, 7, 8]
Capabilities

If [CONDSTORE] is supported and enabled for the selected mailbox, a non-empty IMAP::SearchResult will include a MODSEQ value.

imap.select("mbox", condstore: true)
result = imap.search(["SUBJECT", "hi there", "not", "new")
#=> Net::IMAP::SearchResult[1, 6, 7, 8, modseq: 5594]
result.modseq # => 5594
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1988

def search(keys, charset = nil)
  return search_internal("SEARCH", keys, charset)
end

#search_internal(cmd, keys, charset) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2823

def search_internal(cmd, keys, charset)
  if keys.instance_of?(String)
    keys = [RawData.new(keys)]
  else
    normalize_searching_criteria(keys)
  end
  synchronize do
    if charset
      send_command(cmd, "CHARSET", charset, *keys)
    else
      send_command(cmd, *keys)
    end
    clear_responses("SEARCH").last || []
  end
end

#select(mailbox, condstore: false)

Sends a SELECT command [IMAP4rev1 §6.3.1] to select a mailbox so that messages in the mailbox can be accessed.

After you have selected a mailbox, you may retrieve the number of items in that mailbox from imap.responses("EXISTS", &:last), and the number of recent messages from imap.responses("RECENT", &:last). Note that these values can change if new messages arrive during a session or when existing messages are expunged; see #add_response_handler for a way to detect these events.

When the condstore keyword argument is true, the server is told to enable the extension. If mailbox supports persistence of mod-sequences, the HIGHESTMODSEQ IMAP::ResponseCode will be sent as an untagged response to #select and all FETCH responses will include FetchData#modseq. Otherwise, the NOMODSEQ IMAP::ResponseCode will be sent.

A IMAP::NoResponseError is raised if the mailbox does not exist or is for some reason non-selectable.

Related: #examine

Capabilities

If [UIDPLUS] is supported, the server may return an untagged “NO” response with a “UIDNOTSTICKY” response code indicating that the mailstore does not support persistent UIDs:

imap.responses("NO", &:last)&.code&.name == "UIDNOTSTICKY"

If [CONDSTORE] is supported, the condstore keyword parameter may be used.

imap.select("mbox", condstore: true)
modseq = imap.responses("HIGHESTMODSEQ", &:last)
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1397

def select(mailbox, condstore: false)
  args = ["SELECT", mailbox]
  args << ["CONDSTORE"] if condstore
  synchronize do
    @responses.clear
    send_command(*args)
  end
end

#send_command(cmd, *args, &block) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2775

def send_command(cmd, *args, &block)
  synchronize do
    args.each do |i|
      validate_data(i)
    end
    tag = generate_tag
    put_string(tag + " " + cmd)
    args.each do |i|
      put_string(" ")
      send_data(i, tag)
    end
    put_string(CRLF)
    if cmd == "LOGOUT"
      @logout_command_tag = tag
    end
    if block
      add_response_handler(&block)
    end
    begin
      return get_tagged_response(tag, cmd)
    ensure
      if block
        remove_response_handler(block)
      end
    end
  end
end

#send_command_with_continuations(cmd, *args) (private)

Calls send_command, yielding the text of each IMAP::ContinuationRequest and responding with each block result. Returns TaggedResponse. Raises IMAP::NoResponseError or IMAP::BadResponseError.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2766

def send_command_with_continuations(cmd, *args)
  send_command(cmd, *args) do |server_response|
    if server_response.instance_of?(ContinuationRequest)
      client_response = yield server_response.data.text
      put_string(client_response + CRLF)
    end
  end
end

#send_data(data, tag = nil) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/command_data.rb', line 33

def send_data(data, tag = nil)
  case data
  when nil
    put_string("NIL")
  when String
    send_string_data(data, tag)
  when Integer
    send_number_data(data)
  when Array
    send_list_data(data, tag)
  when Date
    send_date_data(data)
  when Time, DateTime
    send_time_data(data)
  when Symbol
    send_symbol_data(data)
  else
    data.send_data(self, tag)
  end
end

#send_date_data(date) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/command_data.rb', line 115

def send_date_data(date) put_string Net::IMAP.encode_date(date) end

#send_list_data(list, tag = nil) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/command_data.rb', line 101

def send_list_data(list, tag = nil)
  put_string("(")
  first = true
  list.each do |i|
    if first
      first = false
    else
      put_string(" ")
    end
    send_data(i, tag)
  end
  put_string(")")
end

#send_literal(str, tag = nil) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/command_data.rb', line 80

def send_literal(str, tag = nil)
  synchronize do
    put_string("{" + str.bytesize.to_s + "}" + CRLF)
    @continued_command_tag = tag
    @continuation_request_exception = nil
    begin
      @continuation_request_arrival.wait
      e = @continuation_request_exception || @exception
      raise e if e
      put_string(str)
    ensure
      @continued_command_tag = nil
      @continuation_request_exception = nil
    end
  end
end

#send_number_data(num) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/command_data.rb', line 97

def send_number_data(num)
  put_string(num.to_s)
end

#send_quoted_string(str) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/command_data.rb', line 76

def send_quoted_string(str)
  put_string('"' + str.gsub(/["\\]/, "\\\\\\&") + '"')
end

#send_string_data(str, tag = nil) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/command_data.rb', line 54

def send_string_data(str, tag = nil)
  if str.empty?
    put_string('""')
  elsif str.match?(/[\r\n]/n)
    # literal, because multiline
    send_literal(str, tag)
  elsif !str.ascii_only?
    if @utf8_strings
      # quoted string
      send_quoted_string(str)
    else
      # literal, because of non-ASCII bytes
      send_literal(str, tag)
    end
  elsif str.match?(/[(){ \x00-\x1f\x7f%*"\\]/n)
    # quoted string
    send_quoted_string(str)
  else
    put_string(str)
  end
end

#send_symbol_data(symbol) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/command_data.rb', line 118

def send_symbol_data(symbol)
  put_string("\\" + symbol.to_s)
end

#send_time_data(time) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/command_data.rb', line 116

def send_time_data(time) put_string Net::IMAP.encode_time(time) end

#setacl(mailbox, user, rights)

Sends a SETACL command [RFC4314 §3.1] along with mailbox, user and the rights that user is to have on that mailbox. If rights is nil, then that user will be stripped of any rights to that mailbox.

Related: #getacl

Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include ACL [RFC4314].

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1693

def setacl(mailbox, user, rights)
  if rights.nil?
    send_command("SETACL", mailbox, user, "")
  else
    send_command("SETACL", mailbox, user, rights)
  end
end

#setquota(mailbox, quota)

Sends a SETQUOTA command [RFC2087 §4.1] along with the specified mailbox and quota. If quota is nil, then quota will be unset for that mailbox. Typically one needs to be logged in as a server admin for this to work.

Related: #getquota, #getquotaroot

Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include QUOTA [RFC2087].

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1673

def setquota(mailbox, quota)
  if quota.nil?
    data = '()'
  else
    data = '(STORAGE ' + quota.to_s + ')'
  end
  send_command("SETQUOTA", mailbox, RawData.new(data))
end

#sort(sort_keys, search_keys, charset)

Sends a SORT command [RFC5256 §3] to search a mailbox for messages that match search_keys and return an array of message sequence numbers, sorted by sort_keys. search_keys are interpreted the same as for #search.

Related: #uid_sort, #search, #uid_search, #thread, #uid_thread

For example:
p imap.sort(["FROM"], ["ALL"], "US-ASCII")
#=> [1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 4, 9]
p imap.sort(["DATE"], ["SUBJECT", "hello"], "US-ASCII")
#=> [6, 7, 8, 1]
Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include SORT [RFC5256].

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2242

def sort(sort_keys, search_keys, charset)
  return sort_internal("SORT", sort_keys, search_keys, charset)
end

#sort_internal(cmd, sort_keys, search_keys, charset) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2880

def sort_internal(cmd, sort_keys, search_keys, charset)
  if search_keys.instance_of?(String)
    search_keys = [RawData.new(search_keys)]
  else
    normalize_searching_criteria(search_keys)
  end
  synchronize do
    send_command(cmd, sort_keys, charset, *search_keys)
    clear_responses("SORT").last || []
  end
end

#start_imap_connection (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2587

def start_imap_connection
  @greeting        = get_server_greeting
  @capabilities    = capabilities_from_resp_code @greeting
  @receiver_thread = start_receiver_thread
rescue Exception
  @sock.close
  raise
end

#start_receiver_thread (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2604

def start_receiver_thread
  Thread.start do
    receive_responses
  rescue Exception => ex
    @receiver_thread_exception = ex
    # don't exit the thread with an exception
  end
end

#start_tls_session (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2930

def start_tls_session
  raise "SSL extension not installed" unless defined?(OpenSSL::SSL)
  raise "already using SSL" if @sock.kind_of?(OpenSSL::SSL::SSLSocket)
  raise "cannot start TLS without SSLContext" unless ssl_ctx
  @sock = SSLSocket.new(@sock, ssl_ctx)
  @sock.sync_close = true
  @sock.hostname = @host if @sock.respond_to? :hostname=
  ssl_socket_connect(@sock, @open_timeout)
  if ssl_ctx.verify_mode != VERIFY_NONE
    @sock.post_connection_check(@host)
    @tls_verified = true
  end
end

#starttls(**options)

Sends a STARTTLS command [IMAP4rev1 §6.2.1] to start a TLS session.

Any options are forwarded directly to {OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext#set_params;} the keys are names of attribute assignment methods on SSLContext.

See DeprecatedClientOptions#starttls for deprecated arguments.

This method returns after TLS negotiation and hostname verification are both successful. Any error indicates that the connection has not been secured.

Note:

Any #response_handlers added before STARTTLS should be aware that the TaggedResponse to STARTTLS is sent clear-text, before TLS negotiation. TLS starts immediately after that response. Any response code sent with the response (e.g. CAPABILITY) is insecure and cannot be trusted.

Related: .new, #login, #authenticate

Capability

Clients should not call #starttls unless the server advertises the STARTTLS capability.

Server capabilities may change after #starttls, #login, and #authenticate. Cached #capabilities will be cleared when this method completes.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1189

def starttls(**options)
  @ssl_ctx_params, @ssl_ctx = build_ssl_ctx(options)
  send_command("STARTTLS") do |resp|
    if resp.kind_of?(TaggedResponse) && resp.name == "OK"
      clear_cached_capabilities
      clear_responses
      start_tls_session
    end
  end
end

#status(mailbox, attr)

Sends a STATUS command [IMAP4rev1 §6.3.10] and returns the status of the indicated mailbox. attr is a list of one or more attributes whose statuses are to be requested.

The return value is a hash of attributes. Most status attributes return integer values, but some return other value types (documented below).

A IMAP::NoResponseError is raised if status values for mailbox cannot be returned; for instance, because it does not exist.

Supported attributes
MESSAGES

The number of messages in the mailbox.

UIDNEXT

The next unique identifier value of the mailbox.

UIDVALIDITY

The unique identifier validity value of the mailbox.

UNSEEN

The number of messages without the \Seen flag.

DELETED

The number of messages with the \Deleted flag.

SIZE

The approximate size of the mailbox—must be greater than or equal to the sum of all messages’ RFC822.SIZE fetch item values.

HIGHESTMODSEQ

The highest mod-sequence value of all messages in the mailbox. See CONDSTORE [RFC7162].

MAILBOXID

A server-allocated unique string identifier for the mailbox. See OBJECTID [RFC8474].

RECENT

The number of messages with the \Recent flag. NOTE: RECENT was removed from IMAP4rev2.

Unsupported attributes may be requested. The attribute value will be either an Integer or an IMAP::ExtensionData object.

For example:
p imap.status("inbox", ["MESSAGES", "RECENT"])
#=> {"RECENT"=>0, "MESSAGES"=>44}
Capabilities

SIZE requires the server’s capabilities to include either IMAP4rev2 or STATUS=SIZE [RFC8483].

DELETED requires the server’s capabilities to include IMAP4rev2.

HIGHESTMODSEQ requires the server’s capabilities to include CONDSTORE [RFC7162].

MAILBOXID requires the server’s capabilities to include OBJECTID [RFC8474].

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1793

def status(mailbox, attr)
  synchronize do
    send_command("STATUS", mailbox, attr)
    clear_responses("STATUS").last&.attr
  end
end

#store(set, attr, value, unchangedsince: nil) ⇒ array of FetchData

Sends a STORE command [IMAP4rev1 §6.4.6] to alter data associated with messages in the mailbox, in particular their flags.

set is a number, an array of numbers, or a Range object. Each number is a message sequence number.

attr is the name of a data item to store. The semantics of value varies based on attr:

  • When attr is "FLAGS", the flags in value replace the message’s flag list.

  • When attr is "+FLAGS", the flags in value are added to the flags for the message.

  • When attr is "-FLAGS", the flags in value are removed from the message.

unchangedsince is an optional integer mod-sequence. It prohibits any changes to messages with mod-sequence greater than the specified unchangedsince value. A SequenceSet of any messages that fail this check will be returned in a MODIFIED IMAP::ResponseCode.

The return value is an array of IMAP::FetchData.

Related: #uid_store

For example:
p imap.store(6..8, "+FLAGS", [:Deleted])
#=> [#<Net::IMAP::FetchData seqno=6, attr={"FLAGS"=>[:Seen, :Deleted]}>,
     #<Net::IMAP::FetchData seqno=7, attr={"FLAGS"=>[:Seen, :Deleted]}>,
     #<Net::IMAP::FetchData seqno=8, attr={"FLAGS"=>[:Seen, :Deleted]}>]
Capabilities

Extensions may define new data items to be used with #store.

The server’s capabilities must include CONDSTORE [RFC7162] in order to use the unchangedsince argument. Using unchangedsince implicitly enables the CONDSTORE extension.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2126

def store(set, attr, flags, unchangedsince: nil)
  store_internal("STORE", set, attr, flags, unchangedsince: unchangedsince)
end

#store_internal(cmd, set, attr, flags, unchangedsince: nil) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2864

def store_internal(cmd, set, attr, flags, unchangedsince: nil)
  attr = RawData.new(attr) if attr.instance_of?(String)
  args = [MessageSet.new(set)]
  args << ["UNCHANGEDSINCE", Integer(unchangedsince)] if unchangedsince
  args << attr << flags
  synchronize do
    clear_responses("FETCH")
    send_command(cmd, *args)
    clear_responses("FETCH")
  end
end

#subscribe(mailbox)

Sends a SUBSCRIBE command [IMAP4rev1 §6.3.6] to add the specified mailbox name to the server’s set of “active” or “subscribed” mailboxes as returned by #lsub.

A IMAP::NoResponseError is raised if mailbox cannot be subscribed to; for instance, because it does not exist.

Related: #unsubscribe, #lsub, #list

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1468

def subscribe(mailbox)
  send_command("SUBSCRIBE", mailbox)
end

#tcp_socket(host, port) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2613

def tcp_socket(host, port)
  s = Socket.tcp(host, port, :connect_timeout => @open_timeout)
  s.setsockopt(:SOL_SOCKET, :SO_KEEPALIVE, true)
  s
rescue Errno::ETIMEDOUT
  raise Net::OpenTimeout, "Timeout to open TCP connection to " +
    "#{host}:#{port} (exceeds #{@open_timeout} seconds)"
end

#thread(algorithm, search_keys, charset)

Sends a THREAD command [RFC5256 §3] to search a mailbox and return message sequence numbers in threaded format, as a IMAP::ThreadMember tree. search_keys are interpreted the same as for #search.

The supported algorithms are:

ORDEREDSUBJECT

split into single-level threads according to subject, ordered by date.

REFERENCES

split into threads by parent/child relationships determined by which message is a reply to which.

Unlike #search, charset is a required argument. US-ASCII and UTF-8 are sample values.

Related: #uid_thread, #search, #uid_search, #sort, #uid_sort

Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include THREAD [RFC5256].

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2282

def thread(algorithm, search_keys, charset)
  return thread_internal("THREAD", algorithm, search_keys, charset)
end

#thread_internal(cmd, algorithm, search_keys, charset) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2892

def thread_internal(cmd, algorithm, search_keys, charset)
  if search_keys.instance_of?(String)
    search_keys = [RawData.new(search_keys)]
  else
    normalize_searching_criteria(search_keys)
  end
  synchronize do
    send_command(cmd, algorithm, charset, *search_keys)
    clear_responses("THREAD").last || []
  end
end

#uid_copy(set, mailbox)

Sends a UID COPY command [IMAP4rev1 §6.4.8] to copy the specified message(s) to the end of the specified destination mailbox.

Similar to #copy, but set contains unique identifiers.

Capabilities

UIDPLUS affects #uid_copy the same way it affects #copy.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2175

def uid_copy(set, mailbox)
  copy_internal("UID COPY", set, mailbox)
end

#uid_expunge(uid_set)

Sends a UID EXPUNGE command [RFC4315 §2.1] [IMAP4rev2 §6.4.9] to permanently remove all messages that have both the \Deleted flag set and a UID that is included in uid_set.

By using #uid_expunge instead of #expunge when resynchronizing with the server, the client can ensure that it does not inadvertantly remove any messages that have been marked as \Deleted by other clients between the time that the client was last connected and the time the client resynchronizes.

Note:

Although the command takes a set of UIDs for its argument, the server still returns regular EXPUNGE responses, which contain a sequence number. These will be deleted from #responses and this method returns them as an array of sequence number integers.

Related: #expunge

Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include UIDPLUS [RFC4315].

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1914

def uid_expunge(uid_set)
  synchronize do
    send_command("UID EXPUNGE", MessageSet.new(uid_set))
    clear_responses("EXPUNGE")
  end
end

#uid_fetch(set, attr, changedsince: nil) ⇒ array of FetchData

Sends a UID FETCH command [IMAP4rev1 §6.4.8] to retrieve data associated with a message in the mailbox.

Similar to #fetch, but the set parameter contains unique identifiers instead of message sequence numbers.

Note: Servers MUST implicitly include the UID message data item as part of any FETCH response caused by a UID command, regardless of whether a UID was specified as a message data item to the FETCH.

Related: #fetch, IMAP::FetchData

Capabilities

Same as #fetch.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2079

def uid_fetch(set, attr, mod = nil, changedsince: nil)
  fetch_internal("UID FETCH", set, attr, mod, changedsince: changedsince)
end

#uid_move(set, mailbox)

Sends a UID MOVE command [RFC6851 §3.2] [IMAP4rev2 §6.4.9] to move the specified message(s) to the end of the specified destination mailbox.

Similar to #move, but set contains unique identifiers.

Related: #move

Capabilities

Same as #move: The server’s capabilities must include MOVE [RFC6851]. UIDPLUS also affects #uid_move the same way it affects #move.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2216

def uid_move(set, mailbox)
  copy_internal("UID MOVE", set, mailbox)
end

#uid_search(keys, charset = nil)

Sends a UID SEARCH command [IMAP4rev1 §6.4.8] to search the mailbox for messages that match the given searching criteria, and returns unique identifiers (UIDs).

Returns a IMAP::SearchResult object. IMAP::SearchResult inherits from Array (for backward compatibility) but adds SearchResult#modseq when the CONDSTORE capability has been enabled.

See #search for documentation of search criteria.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2001

def uid_search(keys, charset = nil)
  return search_internal("UID SEARCH", keys, charset)
end

#uid_sort(sort_keys, search_keys, charset)

Sends a UID SORT command [RFC5256 §3] to search a mailbox for messages that match search_keys and return an array of unique identifiers, sorted by sort_keys. search_keys are interpreted the same as for #search.

Related: #sort, #search, #uid_search, #thread, #uid_thread

Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include SORT [RFC5256].

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2257

def uid_sort(sort_keys, search_keys, charset)
  return sort_internal("UID SORT", sort_keys, search_keys, charset)
end

#uid_store(set, attr, value, unchangedsince: nil) ⇒ array of FetchData

Sends a UID STORE command [IMAP4rev1 §6.4.8] to alter data associated with messages in the mailbox, in particular their flags.

Similar to #store, but set contains unique identifiers instead of message sequence numbers.

Related: #store

Capabilities

Same as #store.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2144

def uid_store(set, attr, flags, unchangedsince: nil)
  store_internal("UID STORE", set, attr, flags, unchangedsince: unchangedsince)
end

#uid_thread(algorithm, search_keys, charset)

Sends a UID THREAD command [RFC5256 §3] Similar to #thread, but returns unique identifiers instead of message sequence numbers.

Related: #thread, #search, #uid_search, #sort, #uid_sort

Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include THREAD [RFC5256].

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 2296

def uid_thread(algorithm, search_keys, charset)
  return thread_internal("UID THREAD", algorithm, search_keys, charset)
end

#unselect

Sends an UNSELECT command [RFC3691 §2] [IMAP4rev2 §6.4.2] to free the session resources for a mailbox and return to the “authenticated” state. This is the same as #close, except that \Deleted messages are not removed from the mailbox.

Related: #close

Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include UNSELECT [RFC3691].

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1873

def unselect
  send_command("UNSELECT")
end

#unsubscribe(mailbox)

Sends an UNSUBSCRIBE command [IMAP4rev1 §6.3.7] to remove the specified mailbox name from the server’s set of “active” or “subscribed” mailboxes.

A IMAP::NoResponseError is raised if mailbox cannot be unsubscribed from; for instance, because the client is not currently subscribed to it.

Related: #subscribe, #lsub, #list

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1481

def unsubscribe(mailbox)
  send_command("UNSUBSCRIBE", mailbox)
end

#validate_data(data) (private)

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap/command_data.rb', line 12

def validate_data(data)
  case data
  when nil
  when String
  when Integer
    NumValidator.ensure_number(data)
  when Array
    if data[0] == 'CHANGEDSINCE'
      NumValidator.ensure_mod_sequence_value(data[1])
    else
      data.each do |i|
        validate_data(i)
      end
    end
  when Time, Date, DateTime
  when Symbol
  else
    data.validate
  end
end

#xlist(refname, mailbox)

Sends a XLIST command, and returns a subset of names from the complete set of all names available to the client. refname provides a context (for instance, a base directory in a directory-based mailbox hierarchy). mailbox specifies a mailbox or (via wildcards) mailboxes under that context. Two wildcards may be used in mailbox: ‘*’, which matches all characters including the hierarchy delimiter (for instance, ‘/’ on a UNIX-hosted directory-based mailbox hierarchy); and ‘%’, which matches all characters except the hierarchy delimiter.

If refname is empty, mailbox is used directly to determine which mailboxes to match. If mailbox is empty, the root name of refname and the hierarchy delimiter are returned.

The XLIST command is like the LIST command except that the flags returned refer to the function of the folder/mailbox, e.g. :Sent

The return value is an array of IMAP::MailboxList objects. For example:

imap.create("foo/bar")
imap.create("foo/baz")
p imap.xlist("", "foo/%")
#=> [#<Net::IMAP::MailboxList attr=[:Noselect], delim="/", name="foo/">, \\
     #<Net::IMAP::MailboxList attr=[:Noinferiors, :Marked], delim="/", name="foo/bar">, \\
     #<Net::IMAP::MailboxList attr=[:Noinferiors], delim="/", name="foo/baz">]

Related: #list, IMAP::MailboxList

Capabilities

The server’s capabilities must include XLIST, a deprecated Gmail extension (replaced by SPECIAL-USE).

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'lib/net/imap.rb', line 1616

def xlist(refname, mailbox)
  synchronize do
    send_command("XLIST", refname, mailbox)
    clear_responses("XLIST")
  end
end