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IMAP Transport Reference

Mule runtime engine version 3.8 reached its End of Life on November 16, 2021. For more information, contact your Customer Success Manager to determine how to migrate to the latest Mule version.

The IMAP transport can be used for receiving messages from IMAP inboxes using the javax.mail API. The IMAPS Transport uses secure connections over SSL/TLS.

Using the IMAP transport provides a simple way to interact with an IMAP server without having to write your own IMAP client. It allows you to log in to an IMAP server at a specified frequency, pull messages from the server, optionally filter them based on the email subject, and transform them into standard java objects which you can use in your application.

TLS/SSL connections are made on behalf of an entity, which can be anonymous or identified by a certificate. The key store provides the certificates and associated private keys necessary for identifying the entity making the connection. Additionally, connections are made to trusted systems. The public certificates of trusted systems are stored in a trust store, which is used to verify that the connection made to a remote system matches the expected identity.

Transport Info

This transport does not support requests, transactions, streaming, or retries.

IMAP:

Feature Value Description

Transport

IMAP

The name/protocol of the transport

Doc

JavaDoc, SchemaDoc

Links to the JavaDoc and SchemaDoc for the transport

Inbound

check

Whether the transport can receive inbound events and can be used for an inbound endpoint.

Outbound

check

Whether the transport can produce outbound events and be used with an outbound endpoint.

MEPs

one-way

Message Exchange Patterns supported by this transport.

Default MEP

one-way

The default MEP for endpoints that use this transport that do not explicitly configure a MEP.

Maven Artifact

org.mule.transport:mule-transport-imap

The group name a artifact name for this transport in Maven

IMAPS:

Feature Value Description

Transport

IMAPS

The name/protocol of the transport

Doc

JavaDoc, SchemaDoc

Links to the JavaDoc and SchemaDoc for the transport

Inbound

check

Whether the transport can receive inbound events and can be used for an inbound endpoint.

Outbound

check

Whether the transport can produce outbound events and be used with an outbound endpoint.

MEPs

one-way

Message Exchange Patterns supported by this transport.

Default MEP

one-way

The default MEP for endpoints that use this transport that do not explicitly configure a MEP.

Maven Artifact

org.mule.transport:mule-transport-imaps

The group name a artifact name for this transport in Maven

 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<mule xmlns="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xmlns:spring="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
      xmlns:imap="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap"
      xmlns:vm="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/vm"
      xmlns:file="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/file"
      xmlns:email="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/email"
      xsi:schemaLocation="
      http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans
      http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans-current.xsd
      http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core
      http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core/current/mule.xsd
      http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/file
      http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/file/current/mule-file.xsd
      http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap
      http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap/current/mule-imap.xsd
      http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/email
      http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/email/current/mule-email.xsd
      http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/vm
      http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/vm/current/mule-vm.xsd">
<imap:connector name="imapConnector"  />
<expression-transformer name="returnAttachments">
  <return-argument evaluator="attachments-list"
      expression="*" optional="false"/>
</expression-transformer>
<file:connector name="fileName">
  <file:expression-filename-parser/>
</file:connector>
<imaps:connector name="imapsConnector">
  <imaps:tls-client path="clientKeystore" storePassword="mulepassword" />
  <imaps:tls-trust-store path="greenmail-truststore" storePassword="password" />
</imaps:connector>
<flow name="incoming-orders">
  <imap:inbound-endpoint user="bob" password="password"
   host="emailHost" port="143" transformer-refs="returnAttachments"
   disableTransportTransformer="true"/>
  <collection-splitter/>
  <file:outbound-endpoint path="./received"
    outputPattern="#[function:datestamp].dat">
    <expression-transformer>
      <return-argument expression="payload.inputStream" evaluator="groovy" />
    </expression-transformer>
  </file:outbound-endpoint>
  </flow>
</mule>

Namespace and Syntax

XML namespace:

xmlns:imap "http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap"
xmlns:imaps "http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imaps"

XML Schema location:

http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap
http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap/current/mule-imap.xsd
http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imaps
http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imaps/current/mule-imaps.xsd

Connector syntax:

<imap:connector name="imapConnector" backupEnabled="true"
  backupFolder="backup" checkFrequency="90000"
  deleteReadMessages="false" mailboxFolder="INBOX" moveToFolder="PROCESSED"/>
<imaps:connector name="imapsConnector" backupEnabled="true"
  backupFolder="backup" checkFrequency="90000"
  deleteReadMessages="false" mailboxFolder="INBOX" moveToFolder="PROCESSED"/>
  <imaps:tls-client path="clientKeystore" storePassword="mulepassword" />
  <imaps:tls-trust-store path="greenmail-truststore" storePassword="password" />
</imaps:connector>

Endpoint Syntax:

You can define your endpoints two different ways:

  1. Prefixed endpoint:

    <imap:inbound-endpoint user="bob" password="password" host="localhost" port="65433"/>
<imaps:inbound-endpoint user="bob" password="password" host="localhost" port="65433"/>

  2. Non-prefixed URI:

    <inbound-endpoint address="imap://bob:password@localhost:65433"/>
<inbound-endpoint address="imaps://bob:password@localhost:65433"/>

See the sections below for more information.

Features

  • Simple to configure email access on inbound endpoints: including authentication information and check frequency

  • Automate the handling of email attachments

  • Automatically back up messages to a specified folder

  • Automatically delete read messages

  • Easy to configure TLS security

Usage

If you want to include the IMAP email transport in your configuration, these are the namespaces you need to define:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<mule xmlns="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core"
       xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
       xmlns:spring="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
       xmlns:imap="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap"
       xsi:schemaLocation="
       http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans
       http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans-current.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core/current/mule.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap/current/mule-imap.xsd">
...

For the secure version, use the following:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<mule xmlns="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core"
       xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
       xmlns:spring="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
       xmlns:imaps="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imaps"
       xsi:schemaLocation="
       http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans
       http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans-current.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core/current/mule.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imaps
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imaps/current/mule-imaps.xsd">
...

Then you need to configure your connector and endpoints as described below.

Configuration Example

In this example, assume you have a business and want to take orders through email attachments. After you receive the email, you want to save the order attachments so they can be picked up by your order fulfillment process. The following Mule configuration checks an email box for emails, and saves the attachments to the local disk, where it can be picked up from a separate fulfillment process.

Configuration Example 1

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<mule xmlns="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core"
       xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
       xmlns:spring="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
       xmlns:imap="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap"
       xmlns:vm="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/vm"
       xmlns:file="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/file"
       xmlns:email="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/email"
       xsi:schemaLocation="
       http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans
       http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans-current.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core/current/mule.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/file
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/file/current/mule-file.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap/current/mule-imap.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/email
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/email/current/mule-email.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/vm
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/vm/current/mule-vm.xsd">

    <imap:connector name="imapConnector"  />

    <expression-transformer name="returnAttachments">
        <return-argument evaluator="attachments-list"
           expression="*" optional="false"/> (1)
    </expression-transformer>

    <file:connector name="fileName">
        <file:expression-filename-parser/>
    </file:connector>

        <flow name="incoming-orders">
            <imap:inbound-endpoint user="bob"
              password="password" host="emailHost"
              port="143" transformer-refs="returnAttachments"
              disableTransportTransformer="true"/> (2)
            <collection-splitter/> (3)
            <file:outbound-endpoint path="./received"
              outputPattern="#[function:datestamp].dat"> (4)
                <expression-transformer>
                    <return-argument expression="payload.inputStream"
                      evaluator="groovy" /> (5)
                </expression-transformer>
            </file:outbound-endpoint>
        </flow>
</mule>
1 The built-in transformer is declared and gets the list of email attachments.
2 This transformer is then applied to the POP3 inbound endpoint (port 143).
3 Define a list list-message-splitter-router.
4 The splitter router iterates through all of the email attachments. Next we define a file outbound endpoint which writes the attachment to the './received' directory with a datestamp as the file name.
5 A simple groovy expression gets the inputStream of the attachment to write the file.

Configuration Example 2

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<mule xmlns="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core"
       xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
       xmlns:spring="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
       xmlns:imap="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap"
       xmlns:vm="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/vm"
       xmlns:file="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/file"
       xmlns:email="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/email"
       xsi:schemaLocation="
       http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans
       http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans-current.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core/current/mule.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/file
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/file/current/mule-file.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap/current/mule-imap.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/email
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/email/current/mule-email.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/vm
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/vm/current/mule-vm.xsd">

    <imap:connector name="imapConnector"  />

    <expression-transformer name="returnAttachments"> (1)
        <return-argument evaluator="attachments-list"
          expression="*" optional="false"/>
    </expression-transformer>

    <file:connector name="fileName">
        <file:expression-filename-parser/>
    </file:connector>

    <imaps:connector name="imapsConnector"> (2)
        <imaps:tls-client path="clientKeystore"
           storePassword="mulepassword" />
        <imaps:tls-trust-store path="greenmail-truststore"
           storePassword="password" />
    </imaps:connector>

        <flow name="incoming-orders">
            <imap:inbound-endpoint user="bob" password="password" host="emailHost"
              port="143" transformer-refs="returnAttachments"
              disableTransportTransformer="true"/> (3)
            <collection-splitter/> (4)
            <file:outbound-endpoint path="./received"
              outputPattern="#[function:datestamp].dat"> (5)
                <expression-transformer>
                    <return-argument expression="payload.inputStream"
                      evaluator="groovy" /> (6)
                </expression-transformer>
            </file:outbound-endpoint>
        </flow>
</mule>
1 Declare the built-in transformer and get the list of email attachments.
2 The IMAPS connector has TLS client and server keystore information.
3 Apply this transformer to the inbound endpoint (port 143).
4 Define a list list-message-splitter-router. The splitter iterates through all of the email attachments.
5 Define a file outbound endpoint that writes the attachment to the './received' directory with a datestamp as the file name.
6 A simple groovy expression gets the inputStream of the attachment to write the file.

Configuration Reference

Connectors

The IMAP connector supports all the common connector attributes and properties and the following additional attributes:

Attribute Description

backupEnabled

Whether to save copies to the backup folder.

Default: false
Required: No

backupFolder

The folder where messages are moved after they have been read.

Default: None
Required: No

checkFrequency

Period (ms) between poll connections to the server.

Default: 60000
Required: Yes

mailboxFolder

The remote folder to check for email.

Default: INBOX
Required: No

deleteReadMessages

Whether to delete messages from the server when they have been downloaded. If set to false, the messages are set to defaultProcessMessageAction attribute value.

Default: true
Required: No

moveToFolder

The remote folder to move mail to once it has been read. It is recommended that deleteReadMessages is set to false when this is used.

This is very useful when working with public email services such as GMail where marking messages for deletion doesn’t work. Instead set @moveToFolder=GMail/Trash.

Default: None
Required: No

defaultProcessMessageAction

The action performed if the deleteReadMessages attribute is set to false. Valid values are: ANSWERED, DELETED, DRAFT, FLAGGED, RECENT, SEEN, USER, and NONE.

Default: SEEN
Required: No

For the secure version, the following elements are also required:

Element Description

tls-client

Configures the client key store with the following attributes:

  • path: The location (which resolves relative to the current classpath and file system, if possible) of the keystore that contains public certificates and private keys for identification.

  • storePassword: The password used to protect the keystore.

  • class: The type of keystore used (a Java class name).

tls-trust-store

Configures the trust store. The attributes are:

  • path: The location (which resolves relative to the current classpath and file system, if possible) of the trust store that contains public certificates of trusted servers.

  • storePassword: The password used to protect the trust store.

For example:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<mule xmlns="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core"
       xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
       xmlns:spring="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
       xmlns:imap="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap"
       xsi:schemaLocation="
       http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans
       http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans-current.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core/current/mule.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imap/current/mule-imap.xsd">

    <imap:connector name="imapConnector" backupEnabled="true"
      backupFolder="backup" checkFrequency="90000"
      deleteReadMessages="false" mailboxFolder="INBOX"
      moveToFolder="PROCESSED"/>
  ...

Secure version:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<mule xmlns="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core"
       xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
       xmlns:spring="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
       xmlns:imaps="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imaps"
       xsi:schemaLocation="
       http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans
       http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans-current.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core/current/mule.xsd
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imaps
       http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/imaps/current/mule-imaps.xsd">

    <imaps:connector name="imapsConnector" backupEnabled="true"
      backupFolder="backup" checkFrequency="90000"
      deleteReadMessages="false" mailboxFolder="INBOX"
      moveToFolder="PROCESSED"/>
      <imaps:tls-client path="clientKeystore" storePassword="mulepassword" />
      <imaps:tls-trust-store path="greenmail-truststore" storePassword="password" />
    </imaps:connector>
...

Endpoints

IMAP and IMAPS endpoints include details about connecting to an IMAP mailbox. You configure the endpoints just as you would with any other transport, with the following additional attributes:

  • user: The user name of the mailbox owner

  • password: The password of the user

  • host: The name or IP address of the IMAP server, such as www.mulesoft.com, localhost, or 127.0.0.1

  • port: The port number of the IMAP server.

For example:

<imap:inbound-endpoint user="bob" password="password" host="localhost" port="65433"/>

Secure version:

<imaps:inbound-endpoint user="bob" password="password" host="localhost" port="65433"/>

You can also define the endpoints using a URI syntax:

<inbound-endpoint address="imap://bob:password@localhost:65433"/>
<inbound-endpoint address="imaps://bob:password@localhost:65433"/>

This logs into the bob mailbox on localhost on port 65433 using password password. You can also specify the endpoint settings using a URI, but the above syntax is easier to read.

For more information about transformers, see the Transformers section in the Email Transport Reference.

For more information about filters, see the Filters section in the Email Transport Reference.

Maven Module

The email transports are implemented by the mule-transport-email module. You can find the source for the email transport under transports/email.

If you are using maven to build your application, use the following dependency snippet to include the email transport in your project:

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.mule.transports</groupId>
  <artifactId>mule-transport-email</artifactId>
</dependency>

Limitations

For more information about the limitations, see the Limitations section in the Email Transport Reference.