INTERNET MESSAGE ACCESS PROTOCOL - VERSION 4rev1
RFC 3501
| Document | Type |
RFC - Proposed Standard
(March 2003; Errata)
Updated by RFC 8474, RFC 5738, RFC 4551, RFC 4466, RFC 6186, RFC 8437, RFC 6858, RFC 7817, RFC 5182, RFC 5032, RFC 4469, RFC 8314
Obsoletes RFC 2060
Was draft-crispin-imapv (individual in app area)
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|
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | Mark Crispin | ||
| Last updated | 2020-01-21 | ||
| Replaces | draft-melnikov-imap-content-location | ||
| Stream | Internent Engineering Task Force (IETF) | ||
| Formats | plain text html pdf htmlized (tools) htmlized with errata bibtex | ||
| Stream | WG state | (None) | |
| Document shepherd | No shepherd assigned | ||
| IESG | IESG state | RFC 3501 (Proposed Standard) | |
| Action Holders |
(None)
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||
| Consensus Boilerplate | Unknown | ||
| Telechat date | |||
| Responsible AD | Ned Freed | ||
| IESG note | Published as RFC 3501 | ||
| Send notices to | <mcr@wsmr-simtel20.army.mil> | ||
Network Working Group M. Crispin
Request for Comments: 3501 University of Washington
Obsoletes: 2060 March 2003
Category: Standards Track
INTERNET MESSAGE ACCESS PROTOCOL - VERSION 4rev1
Status of this Memo
This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
The Internet Message Access Protocol, Version 4rev1 (IMAP4rev1)
allows a client to access and manipulate electronic mail messages on
a server. IMAP4rev1 permits manipulation of mailboxes (remote
message folders) in a way that is functionally equivalent to local
folders. IMAP4rev1 also provides the capability for an offline
client to resynchronize with the server.
IMAP4rev1 includes operations for creating, deleting, and renaming
mailboxes, checking for new messages, permanently removing messages,
setting and clearing flags, RFC 2822 and RFC 2045 parsing, searching,
and selective fetching of message attributes, texts, and portions
thereof. Messages in IMAP4rev1 are accessed by the use of numbers.
These numbers are either message sequence numbers or unique
identifiers.
IMAP4rev1 supports a single server. A mechanism for accessing
configuration information to support multiple IMAP4rev1 servers is
discussed in RFC 2244.
IMAP4rev1 does not specify a means of posting mail; this function is
handled by a mail transfer protocol such as RFC 2821.
Crispin Standards Track [Page 1]
RFC 3501 IMAPv4 March 2003
Table of Contents
IMAP4rev1 Protocol Specification ................................ 4
1. How to Read This Document ............................... 4
1.1. Organization of This Document ........................... 4
1.2. Conventions Used in This Document ....................... 4
1.3. Special Notes to Implementors ........................... 5
2. Protocol Overview ....................................... 6
2.1. Link Level .............................................. 6
2.2. Commands and Responses .................................. 6
2.2.1. Client Protocol Sender and Server Protocol Receiver ..... 6
2.2.2. Server Protocol Sender and Client Protocol Receiver ..... 7
2.3. Message Attributes ...................................... 8
2.3.1. Message Numbers ......................................... 8
2.3.1.1. Unique Identifier (UID) Message Attribute ....... 8
2.3.1.2. Message Sequence Number Message Attribute ....... 10
2.3.2. Flags Message Attribute ................................. 11
2.3.3. Internal Date Message Attribute ......................... 12
2.3.4. [RFC-2822] Size Message Attribute ....................... 12
2.3.5. Envelope Structure Message Attribute .................... 12
2.3.6. Body Structure Message Attribute ........................ 12
2.4. Message Texts ........................................... 13
3. State and Flow Diagram .................................. 13
3.1. Not Authenticated State ................................. 13
3.2. Authenticated State ..................................... 13
3.3. Selected State .......................................... 13
3.4. Logout State ............................................ 14
4. Data Formats ............................................ 16
4.1. Atom .................................................... 16
4.2. Number .................................................. 16
4.3. String .................................................. 16
4.3.1. 8-bit and Binary Strings ................................ 17
4.4. Parenthesized List ...................................... 17
4.5. NIL ..................................................... 17
5. Operational Considerations .............................. 18
5.1. Mailbox Naming .......................................... 18
5.1.1. Mailbox Hierarchy Naming ................................ 19
5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention ..................... 19
5.1.3. Mailbox International Naming Convention ................. 19
5.2. Mailbox Size and Message Status Updates ................. 21
5.3. Response when no Command in Progress .................... 21
5.4. Autologout Timer ........................................ 22
5.5. Multiple Commands in Progress ........................... 22
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