Pop3 client to download email (including attachments) from the inbox via the commandline or Elixir API.
Written in Elixir, using an Erlang pop3 client with SSL support derived from the epop package.
Decodes multipart content, quoted-printables, base64 and encoded-words.
- This program reads from a POP3 mail server, which means that it can only download mail from the inbox folder. If you want to access other folders you will need an IMAP client.
- Handling big attachments requires some processing memory. Normally the program needs about 30Mb RAM (for the whole OS process), but to process an email with attachments it temporary needs 3 times of the total size of the email attachments as additional memory.
- Elixir programmers can replace the default Pop3mail.Base64Decoder with their own.
- On linux when there is not enough memory, the program will end as 'Killed.' It's killed by the OOM Killer. Run dmesg to see the log message.
- On windows when there is not enough memory the program get stuck, or worse windows get stuck.
- Do NOT run the script as root.
- Downloaded attachments can contain viruses, addware or malicious scripts.
- This program does NOT convert charsets and neither does it add a BOM. If a message is send in ISO-8859-1, CP1251, KOI8-R it wil be stored as such. Sometimes you must change the locale/charset/encoding (LC_CTYPE luit, chcp) in your terminal/device/program to be able to read the content. Elixir programmers can use codepagex to perform conversions to utf-8.
Gmail users:
- Whether the read mail is permanently deleted or not, depends on your Gmail settings, and not on the delete parameter of this program.
- Gmail returns chunks of maximum 250-350 emails. Repeatedly run this program to get all emails.
Follow the instructions on http://elixir-lang.org/install.html
Also install git and optionally also rebar3.
Use this list for Elixir and OTP compatibility.
$ git clone https://github.com/nico-amsterdam/pop3mail.git$ cd pop3mail
$ mix deps.get
$ mix testFor usage, see usage chapter below.
- Add pop3mail to your list of dependencies in
mix.exs:
def deps do
[{:pop3mail, "~> 1.4"}]
end
Pop3mail 1.5 uses pop3client 1.4
Use pop3client 1.4 for OTP 26 and higher. Pop3client 1.3 on OTP 26 results in a connection_failed error, because it doesn't provide cacerts keys to the ssl connections, and OTP 26 has safer ssl defaults to verify the server certificate.
pop3client v1.4 by default verifies the server certificate on OTP 25 and 26. It's uses the cacerts keys from the OS via :public_key.cacerts_get/0
The pop3mail cli has a new cacertfile parameter to supply your own CA Certificates.
Run:
mix deps.clean erlpop
mix deps.update pop3mailAfter the mix deps.clean erlpop command, the deps/erlpop directory should be gone, and also the _build/dev/lib/erlpop and _build/test/lib/erlpop should be vanished.
Version 1.3.1 doesn't require erlpop as github dependency anymore, because it is now available in hex.pm as 'pop3client' and added as dependency for pop3mail. Remove {:erlpop, github: "nico-amsterdam/erlpop"} in your mix.exs. If you don't mix reports: 'Dependencies have diverged'
The script downloads email and writes the content in the inbox folder.
$ pop3mail_downloader --help
$ pop3mail_downloader --username=<your email username> --password=<your email password> --max=10 --rawor without shell/batch script:
*nix
$ mix run_pop3mail --help
$ mix run_pop3mail --username='<your email username>' --password='<your email password>' --max=10 --rawWindows
C:\pop3mail\mix run_pop3mail --help
C:\pop3mail\mix run_pop3mail --username="<your email username>" --password="<your email password>" --max=10 --raw
The script defaults to Gmail, but you can specify other POP3 server and port settings.
Documentation is available online
Example:
$ iex -S mix
# notice that you must use the c-sigil ~c for character lists
iex(1)> {:ok, client} = :epop_client.connect(~c"user@gmail.com", ~c"password",
...(1)> [:ssl, {:addr, ~c"pop.gmail.com"}, {:port, 995}, {:user, ~c"user@gmail.com"}])
iex(2)> :epop_client.stat(client)
iex(3)> {:ok, mail_content} = :epop_client.bin_retrieve(client, 1)
iex(4)> {:message, header_list, body_content } = :epop_message.bin_parse(mail_content)
iex(5)> Pop3mail.header_lookup(header_list, "Subject")
iex(6)> Pop3mail.header_lookup(header_list, "From")
iex(7)> Pop3mail.header_lookup(header_list, "Date")
iex(8)> part_list = Pop3mail.decode_body_content(header_list, body_content)
iex(9)> length(part_list)
iex(10)> part = Enum.at(part_list, 0)
iex(11)> part.media_type
iex(12)> part.filename
iex(13)> part.charset
iex(14)> part.content
iex(15)> :epop_client.delete(client, 1)
iex(16)> {:ok, mail_content} = :epop_client.bin_retrieve(client, 2)
iex(17)> {:message, header_list, body_content } = :epop_message.bin_parse(mail_content)
iex(18)> Pop3mail.header_lookup(header_list, "Subject")
iex(19)> :epop_client.quit(client)You better turn off the spam folder of your email account if you don't want to miss any email with this program. In Gmail you cannot turn it off, but you can create a filter for spam with the option 'Never send it to spam'.
Gmail remembers which mails are already read. Fortunetely Gmail can be reset to re-read all emails.
Login in www.gmail.com. In Gmail webmail Settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP, select another option for POP, like Download mail from now on. Save change. Go back to settings and select Download all mail, Save change.
Now your email client should download all mail again.
Google only trusts google apps. Gmail is trusted, but pop3mail not. You will notice that authentication fails, and google will sent you a security warning by email. Access with less secure apps can be turned on for your google account at: https://myaccount.google.com/lesssecureapps 2 step verification must be on: https://myaccount.google.com/signinoptions/two-step-verification In the 2 step verification section, it is possible to set an app password: https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords Use the 16 character password.
If you get an error 'web login required', push the 'Continue' button in the browser:
https://accounts.google.com/DisplayUnlockCaptcha
Thanks Erik Søe Sørensen for upgrading the Epop client to the OTP 15 Erlang version.