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[Mail & Notifications](/categories/mail) 4. / 5. benhall14/php-imap-reader ActiveLibrary[Mail & Notifications](/categories/mail) benhall14/php-imap-reader ========================= A PHP class that makes working with IMAP in PHP simple. v1.6.2(2mo ago)3516.6k↓29.7%12MITPHPPHP >=5.3 Since Feb 2Pushed 2mo ago4 watchersCompare [ Source](https://github.com/benhall14/php-imap-reader)[ Packagist](https://packagist.org/packages/benhall14/php-imap-reader)[ Docs](https://github.com/benhall14/php-imap-reader)[ RSS](/packages/benhall14-php-imap-reader/feed)WikiDiscussions master Synced 1mo ago READMEChangelog (10)DependenciesVersions (20)Used By (0) PHP IMAP Reader =============== [](#php-imap-reader) A PHP class that makes working with IMAP as easy as possible. This class is written to be chain-able so to create a logically fluent and easily readable way to access an IMAP mailbox. It simplifies the PHP IMAP\_\* library into a set of easy to read methods that do the heavy lifting for you. It has been fully tested to work with PHP 5.3+, including **PHP 8.1.** Installation via Composer ========================= [](#installation-via-composer) You can now install this class via composer. ``` $ composer require benhall14/php-imap-reader ``` **Remember** to add the composer autoloader before using the class and use the correct namespace. ``` require 'vendor/autoload.php'; use benhall14\phpImapReader\Email as Email; use benhall14\phpImapReader\EmailAttachment as EmailAttachment; use benhall14\phpImapReader\Reader as Reader; ``` Usage ===== [](#usage) Please make sure you have added the required classes. In its simplest form, use the following to connect: ``` define('IMAP_USERNAME', ''); # your imap user name define('IMAP_PASSWORD', ''); # your imap password define('IMAP_MAILBOX', ''); # your imap address EG. {mail.example.com:993/novalidate-cert/ssl} define('ATTACHMENT_PATH', __DIR__ . '/attachments'); # the path to save attachments to or false to skip attachments try{ # set the mark as read flag (true by default). If you don't want emails to be marked as read/seen, set this to false. $mark_as_read = true; # You can ommit this to use UTF-8 by default. $encoding = 'UTF-8' # create a new Reader object $imap = new Reader(IMAP_MAILBOX, IMAP_USERNAME, IMAP_PASSWORD, ATTACHMENT_PATH, $mark_as_read, $encoding); # use one or more of the following chain-able methods to filter your email selection $imap ->folder($folder) # alias for mailbox($mailbox) ->mailbox($mailbox) # sets the mailbox to return emails from. Default = INBOX ->id($id) # retrieve a specific email by id ->recent() # get all RECENT emails ->flagged() # get all FLAGGED emails ->unflagged() # get all UNFLAGGED emails ->unanswered() # get all UNANSWERED emails ->deleted() # get all DELETED emails ->unread() # alias for UNSEEN() ->unseen() # get all UNSEEN emails ->from($email) # get all emails from $email ->searchSubject($string) # get all emails with $string in the subject line ->searchBody($string) # get all emails with $string in the body ->searchText($string) # get all emails with $string TEXT ->seen() # get all SEEN emails ->read() # alias for SEEN() ->newMessages() # get all NEW emails ->oldMessages() # get all OLD emails ->keyword($keyword) # get all emails with $keyword KEYWORD ->unkeyword($keyword) # get all emails without $keyword KEYWORD ->beforeDate($date) # get all emails received before $date. *Date should be in a format that can be parsed by strtotime.* ->sinceDate($date) # get all emails received since $date. *Date should be in a format that can be parsed by strtotime.* ->sentTo($to) # get all emails sent to $to ->searchBCC($string) # get all emails with $string in the BCC field ->searchCC($string) # get all emails with $string in the CC field ->onDate($date) # get all emails received on $date. *Date should be in a format that can be parsed by strtotime.* ->limit($limit) # limit the number of emails returned to $limit for pagination ->page($page) # used with limit to create pagination ->orderASC() # order the emails returned in ASCending order ->orderDESC() # order the emails returned in DESCendeing order ->reset() # resets the current reader to be able to reconnect to another folder/mailbox. ->all() # get all emails (default) ->get(); # finally make the connection and retrieve the emails. # You can then loop through $imap->emails() for each email. foreach($imap->emails() as $email){ # The email has been clean and formated. # see below. } # Reset the reader and connect to another folder. $imap->reset()->folder('Sent')->get(); # You can also create a folder/mailbox on the IMAP stream. $imap->createFolder('New Folder Name'); #or $imap->createMailbox('New Folder Name'); # You can also check if a mailbox/folder exists on the IMAP stream using: if ($imap->doesMailboxExists('INBOX')) { return "Yes, it exsits"; } else { return "No, it doesn't exist."; } # or if ($imap->doesFolderExists('INBOX')) { return "Yes, it exsits"; } else { return "No, it doesn't exist."; } # You can also get a list of mailboxes on the hostname. $mailboxes = $imap->listMailboxes(); #or $mailboxes = $imap->listFolders(); # ... your code here ... } catch (Exception $e){ echo $e->getMessage(); } ``` While looping through the returned emails, each email object can be used as below: ``` $email->isTo('mail@example.com'); # Return true if the email is to $email, else returns false $email->replyTo(); # Returns an array of Reply To email addresses (and names) $email->cc(); # Returns an array of CC email addresses (and names) $email->to(); # Returns the recipient email address $email->id(); # Returns the id of the email $email->size(); # Returns the size of the email $email->date($format); # Returns the date in the $format specified. Default Y-m-d H:i:s $email->subject(); # Returns the email subject $email->fromName(); # Returns the sender's name, if set. $email->fromEmail(); # Returns the sender's email address $email->plain(); # Returns the plain text body of the email, if present $email->html(); # Returns the html body of the email, if present $email->hasAttachments(); # Returns true/false based on if the email has attachments $email->attachments(); # Returns an array of EmailAttachment objects $email->attachment($id); # Returns an attachment based on the given attachment $id $email->isRecent(); # Returns true/false based on the recent flag $email->isUnseen(); # Returns true/false based on the unseen flag $email->isFlagged(); # Returns true/false based on the flagged flag $email->isAnswered(); # Returns true/false based on the answered flag $email->isDeleted(); # Returns true/false based on the deleted flag $email->isDraft(); # Returns true/false based on the draft flag $email->eml(); # Returns the email in .eml format $email->saveEml($filename); # Saves the email in .eml format $email->count(); # Returns number of emails in folder $email->getHeader($header_name); # Returns the data that matches the header name, for example: Thread-Index $email->getHeaders(); # Returns an array of all headers attached to the email. ``` The **$email->attachments();** method returns an array of attachments belonging to the email in a **benhall14\\phpImapReader\\EmailAttachment** object. The following methods are available for each attachment. ``` # check if the current $email has any attachments. if($email->hasAttachments()){ # get the attachments for the current $email in the loop. $attachments = $email->attachments(); # loop through the found attachments. foreach($attachments as $attachment){ $attachment->id(); # Returns the attachments ID. $attachment->name(); # Returns the attachments name. $attachment->filePath(); # Returns the local file path for the attachment. This is based on the ATTACHMENT_PATH constant set in the imap config. $attachment->content(); # Returns the attachments content data. $attachment->type(); # Returns either 'attachment' or 'inline'. } } ``` Requirements ============ [](#requirements) **Works with PHP 5.3+ (including PHP 8.1)** **PHP IMAP Extension** License ======= [](#license) Copyright (c) 2016-2025 Benjamin Hall, Licensed under the MIT license Donate? ======= [](#donate) If you find this project helpful or useful in anyway, please consider getting me a cup of coffee - It's really appreciated :) [![Donate](https://camo.githubusercontent.com/604e3db9c8751116b3f765aad0353ec7ded655bbe8aaacbc38d8c4a6b784b3ed/68747470733a2f2f696d672e736869656c64732e696f2f62616467652f446f6e6174652d50617950616c2d677265656e2e737667)](https://paypal.me/benhall14) ### Health Score 56 — FairBetter than 98% of packages Maintenance84 Actively maintained with recent releases Popularity40 Moderate usage in the ecosystem Community16 Small or concentrated contributor base Maturity67 Established project with proven stability Bus Factor1 Top contributor holds 91.1% of commits — single point of failure How is this calculated?**Maintenance (25%)** — Last commit recency, latest release date, and issue-to-star ratio. Uses a 2-year decay window. **Popularity (30%)** — Total and monthly downloads, GitHub stars, and forks. Logarithmic scaling prevents top-heavy scores. **Community (15%)** — Contributors, dependents, forks, watchers, and maintainers. Measures real ecosystem engagement. **Maturity (30%)** — Project age, version count, PHP version support, and release stability. ### Release Activity Cadence Every ~163 days Recently: every ~139 days Total 19 Last Release 82d ago ### Community Maintainers ![](https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/9865a064095eed7df440011181fc539fa069fab79828d5fa61de6ca20d2f2326?d=identicon)[benhall14](/maintainers/benhall14) --- Top Contributors [![benhall14](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/17323507?v=4)](https://github.com/benhall14 "benhall14 (41 commits)")[![mertuarez](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/1987277?v=4)](https://github.com/mertuarez "mertuarez (2 commits)")[![waterleat](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/35837054?v=4)](https://github.com/waterleat "waterleat (2 commits)") --- Tags imapimap-clientphpphpmailemailimappop3mailbox ### Embed Badge ![Health badge](/badges/benhall14-php-imap-reader/health.svg) ``` [![Health](https://phpackages.com/badges/benhall14-php-imap-reader/health.svg)](https://phpackages.com/packages/benhall14-php-imap-reader) ``` ### Alternatives [php-imap/php-imap Manage mailboxes, filter/get/delete emails in PHP (supports IMAP/POP3/NNTP) 1.7k12.9M42](/packages/php-imap-php-imap)[henrique-borba/php-sieve-manager A modern (started in 2022) PHP library for the ManageSieve protocol (RFC5804) to create/edit Sieve scripts (RFC5228). 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