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[Mail & Notifications](/categories/mail) 4. / 5. thefox/imapd ActiveLibrary[Mail & Notifications](/categories/mail) thefox/imapd ============ IMAP server (library) written in pure PHP. v0.5.0(8y ago)5349514[3 issues](https://github.com/TheFox/imapd/issues)1GPL-3.0PHPPHP ^7.0CI failing Since Aug 1Pushed 6y ago3 watchersCompare [ Source](https://github.com/TheFox/imapd)[ Packagist](https://packagist.org/packages/thefox/imapd)[ Docs](https://fox21.at)[ RSS](/packages/thefox-imapd/feed)WikiDiscussions master Synced 1w ago READMEChangelog (10)Dependencies (13)Versions (11)Used By (1) IMAPd ===== [](#imapd) IMAP server (library) to serve emails to an email client, written in pure PHP. The `d` in `SMTPd` stands for [Daemon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(computing)). This script can run in background like any other daemon process. It's not meant for running as a webapplication. Why this project? ----------------- [](#why-this-project) Believe it or not, **email is still the killer feature of the Internet**. There are tons of projects for accessing and fetching emails from an IMAP/POP3 server. But there are not so many providing a programmatically interface to serve emails to an email client. With this interface you can do something like this for your app users: ``` +--------------+ +-------+ +------------------------+ +------+ | Your PHP App +---> | IMAPd +---> | MUA (like Thunderbird) +---> | User | +--------------+ +-------+ +------------------------+ +------+ ``` This is useful when you have a messaging application written in PHP but no graphical user interface for it. So your graphical user interface can be any [email client](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_client). [Thunderbird](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/) for instance. Project Outlines ---------------- [](#project-outlines) The project outlines as described in my blog post about [Open Source Software Collaboration](https://blog.fox21.at/2019/02/21/open-source-software-collaboration.html). - The main purpose of this software is to provide a server-side IMAP API for PHP scripts. - Although the RFC implementations are not completed yet, they must be strict. - More features can be possible in the future. In perspective of the protocols the features must be a RFC implementation. - This list is open. Feel free to request features. Planned Features ---------------- [](#planned-features) - Full RFC 3501 Implementation. - Replace `Zend\Mail` with a better solution. Installation ------------ [](#installation) The preferred method of installation is via [Packagist](https://packagist.org/packages/thefox/imapd) and [Composer](https://getcomposer.org/). Run the following command to install the package and add it as a requirement to composer.json: ``` composer require thefox/imapd ``` Usage ----- [](#usage) See [`example.php`](example.php) file for more information. RFC 3501 Implementation ----------------------- [](#rfc-3501-implementation) ### Complete implementation [](#complete-implementation) - 6.1.2 NOOP Command - 6.1.3 LOGOUT Command - 6.4.1 CHECK Command - 6.4.7 COPY Command - 7.1.1 OK Response - 7.1.2 NO Response - 7.1.3 BAD Response - 7.1.5 BYE Response - 7.4.1 EXPUNGE Response ### Incomplete implemention [](#incomplete-implemention) - 2.3.1.1 Unique Identifier (UID) Message Attribute - 2.3.1.2 Message Sequence Number Message Attribute - 2.3.2 Flags Message Attribute - 6.1.1 CAPABILITY Command - 6.2.2 AUTHENTICATE Command - 6.2.3 LOGIN Command - 6.3.1 SELECT Command - 6.3.6 SUBSCRIBE Command - 6.3.7 UNSUBSCRIBE Command - 6.3.8 LIST Command - 6.3.9 LSUB Command - 6.3.11 APPEND Command - 6.4.2 CLOSE Command - 6.4.4 SEARCH Command - 6.4.5 FETCH Command - 6.4.6 STORE Command - 6.4.8 UID Command - 7.1.4 PREAUTH Response - 7.2.1 CAPABILITY Response - 7.2.2 LIST Response - 7.2.3 LSUB Response - 7.2.5 SEARCH Response - 7.3.1 EXISTS Response - 7.3.2 RECENT Response - 7.4.2 FETCH Response TODO ---- [](#todo) - Some tasks are commented with `NOT_IMPLEMENTED`. Implement these. - `@TODO` are to be complete the PHP Code Sniffer tests before releasing a new version. Alternatives for `Zend\Mail` ---------------------------- [](#alternatives-for-zendmail) - [exorus/php-mime-mail-parser](https://packagist.org/packages/exorus/php-mime-mail-parser) (requires ext-mailparse PHP extension) Related Links ------------- [](#related-links) - [RFC 3501](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3501) - [Email Will Last Forever](http://blog.frontapp.com/email-will-last-forever/) - [Email Is Still the Best Thing on the Internet](http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/08/why-email-will-never-die/375973/) - [Believe it or not, email is still the killer app](http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/believe-it-or-not-email-is-still-the-killer-app/#!bs4oTU) - [Developers: stop re-AOLizing the web!](http://technicalfault.net/2014/07/03/developers-stop-re-aolizing-the-web/) - [Set up your own email server in 5 steps](https://forum.bytemark.co.uk/t/set-up-your-own-email-server-in-5-steps/1864) Related Projects ---------------- [](#related-projects) - [SMTPd](https://github.com/TheFox/smtpd) Project Links ------------- [](#project-links) - [Blog Post about IMAPd](http://blog.fox21.at/2014/08/07/imapd.html) - [Packagist Package](https://packagist.org/packages/thefox/imapd) - [PHPWeekly - Issue August 7, 2014](http://phpweekly.com/archive/2014-08-07.html) ### Health Score 31 — LowBetter than 68% of packages Maintenance19 Infrequent updates — may be unmaintained Popularity27 Limited adoption so far Community15 Small or concentrated contributor base Maturity54 Maturing project, gaining track record Bus Factor1 Top contributor holds 100% 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 ~116 days Recently: every ~234 days Total 10 Last Release 3259d ago PHP version history (3 changes)v0.1.0PHP >=5.3 v0.3.0PHP ~5.3 || ~7.0 v0.4.0PHP ^7.0 ### Community Maintainers ![](https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/b879f8d5879bc5cb3a1bc43287d0b26834ffc0f403e1b076375da977fe308c55?d=identicon)[TheFox](/maintainers/TheFox) --- Top Contributors [![TheFox](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/353709?v=4)](https://github.com/TheFox "TheFox (338 commits)") --- Tags imapimap-libraryimap-serverimapdmit-licensephpphp-librarymailemailserverimapdaemon ### Code Quality TestsPHPUnit Static AnalysisPHPStan Type Coverage Yes ### Embed Badge ![Health badge](/badges/thefox-imapd/health.svg) ``` [![Health](https://phpackages.com/badges/thefox-imapd/health.svg)](https://phpackages.com/packages/thefox-imapd) ``` ### Alternatives [zbateson/mail-mime-parser MIME email message parser 53949.2M79](/packages/zbateson-mail-mime-parser)[thefox/smtpd SMTP server (library) written in pure PHP. 1302.4k1](/packages/thefox-smtpd)[ddeboer/imap Object-oriented IMAP for PHP 9153.9M11](/packages/ddeboer-imap)[henrique-borba/php-sieve-manager A modern (started in 2022) PHP library for the ManageSieve protocol (RFC5804) to create/edit Sieve scripts (RFC5228). Used by Cypht Webmail. 23125.7k2](/packages/henrique-borba-php-sieve-manager)[benhall14/php-imap-reader A PHP class that makes working with IMAP in PHP simple. 3516.6k](/packages/benhall14-php-imap-reader)[toteph42/identity_switch This plugin allows users to switch between different accounts (and check for new mails) in a single Roundcube session. 211.2k](/packages/toteph42-identity-switch) PHPackages © 2026 [Directory](/)[Categories](/categories)[Trending](/trending)[Changelog](/changelog)[Analyze](/analyze)