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    imap_open

    (PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8)

    imap_open — Öffnet einen IMAP-Stream zu einem Postfach

    Beschreibung

    imap_open(
        string $mailbox,
        string $user,
        string $password,
        int $flags = 0,
        int $retries = 0,
        array $options = []
    ): IMAP\Connection|false

    Öffnet einen IMAP-Stream zum Postfach mailbox.

    Diese Funktion kann auch verwendet werden, um Streams zu POP3- und NNTP-Servern zu öffnen, einige Funktionen und Eigenschaften sind aber nur bei IMAP-Verbindungen verfügbar.

    Parameter-Liste

    mailbox

    Ein Postfachname besteht aus einer Serveradresse und dem Pfad zum Postfach auf diesem Server. Der reservierte Name INBOX steht für das persönliche Postfach des aktuellen Benutzers. Enthält der Name des Postfachs internationale Zeichen außerhalb des druckbaren ASCII-Bereichs, so müssen diese mit imap_utf7_encode() kodiert werden.

    Warnung

    Die Übergabe von nicht vertrauenswürdigen Daten an diesen Parameter ist unsicher,falls imap.enable_insecure_rsh nicht deaktiviert ist.

    Der Serverteil wird in '{' und '}' eingebettet und besteht aus der Domain oder der IP-Adresse des Servers, einer optionalen Portnummer (eingeleitet mit ':') und einer optionalen Protokollangabe (eingeleitet mit '/').

    Die Angabe des Serverteils ist immer zwingend bei allen Postfach-Parametern.

    Alle Namen, die mit { beginnen, bezeichnen Serverdienste und werden in der Form "{" remote_system_name [":" port] [flags] "}"[mailbox_name] angegeben:

    • remote_system_name - der Internet-Domain-Name oder die in Klammern gesetzte IP-Adresse des Servers
    • port - die optionale Portnummer, Standard ist der jeweilige Standardport des gewählten Protokolls
    • flags - optionale Flags, siehe folgende Tabelle
    • mailbox_name - der Name des gewünschten Serverpostfachs, Standard ist "INBOX"

    Optionale Flags
    Flag Beschreibung
    /service=service Postfach-Zugriffsprotokoll, Standard ist "imap"
    /user=user Benutzername für die Anmeldung am Mailserver
    /authuser=user Benutzername für die Remote-Authentifizierung; falls angegeben, ist dies der Benutzername dessen Passwort verwendet wird (z. B. administrator)
    /anonymous Zugriff als anonymer Benutzer
    /debug Protokollausgaben im Debug-Log der Anwendung aufzeichnen
    /secure Übertragung von Klartext-Passwörtern wird verhindert
    /imap, /imap2, /imap2bis, /imap4, /imap4rev1 Kurzform für /service=imap
    /pop3 Kurzform für /service=pop3
    /nntp Kurzform für /service=nntp
    /norsh Für eine vorauthentifizierte IMAP-Verbindung soll weder RSH noch SSH verwendet werden
    /ssl Secure Socket Layer (SSL) zur Verschlüsselung der Verbindung verwenden
    /validate-cert TLS/SSL-Zertifikate verifizieren (Standardverhalten)
    /novalidate-cert TLS/SSL-Zertifikate nicht verifizieren; wird für selbstsignierte Zertifikate benötigt
    /tls start-TLS-Verschlüsselung erzwingen und Verbindungen zu Servern, die dies nicht unterstützen, ablehnen
    /notls start-TLS nicht zum Verschlüsseln der Verbindung verwenden, auch wenn es der Server unterstützt
    /readonly Öffnen des Postfachs im Nur-Lese-Modus anfordern (nur für IMAP, NNTP ignoriert dies, POP3 und SMTP verweigern readonly-Verbindungen)

    user

    Der Benutzername

    password

    Das Passwort von user

    flags

    Der Parameter flags kann sich als Bitmaske aus folgenden Werten zusammensetzen:

    • OP_READONLY - nur lesende Zugriffe
    • OP_ANONYMOUS - ein existierendes .newsrc weder lesen noch aktualisieren (nur NNTP)
    • OP_HALFOPEN - Verbindung zum Server öffnen, aber noch kein Postfach auswählen (nur IMAP und NNTP)
    • CL_EXPUNGE - zum Löschen markierte Nachrichten beim Schließen des Postfachs automatisch entfernen (siehe auch imap_delete() und imap_expunge())
    • OP_DEBUG - Protokollverhandlungen debuggen
    • OP_SHORTCACHE - kurzes Caching (nur elt)
    • OP_SILENT - Ereignisse nicht weitergeben (interne Einstellung)
    • OP_PROTOTYPE - Treiber-Prototyp zurückgeben
    • OP_SECURE - keine unsichere Verbindung zum Server öffnen

    retries

    Maximale Anzahl der Verbindungsversuche

    options

    Verbindungsparameter; die folgenden (String-)Schlüssel können verwendet werden, um einen oder mehrere Verbindungsparameter anzugeben:

    • DISABLE_AUTHENTICATOR - Deaktiviere Authentifizierungs-Eigenschaften

    Rückgabewerte

    Gibt bei Erfolg eine IMAP\Connection-Instanz zurück. Bei einem Fehler wird false zurückgegeben.

    Changelog

    Version Beschreibung
    8.1.0 Gibt jetzt eine IMAP\Connection-Instanz zurück; vorher wurde eine Ressource zurückgegeben.

    Beispiele

    Beispiel #1 Verschiedene imap_open()-Aufrufe

    <?php
    // Verbindung zu einem IMAP-Server auf Port 143 des lokalen Rechners
    $mbox = imap_open("{localhost:143}INBOX", "user_id", "password");

    // Verbindung zu einem POP3-Server auf Port 110 des lokalen Rechners
    $mbox = imap_open ("{localhost:110/pop3}INBOX", "user_id", "password");

    // Für SSL-verschlüsselte Verbindungen zu einem IMAP- oder POP3-Server wird
    // /ssl an die Protokollspezifikation angefügt
    $mbox = imap_open ("{localhost:993/imap/ssl}INBOX", "user_id", "password");

    // Zur SSL-Verbindung mit IMAP- oder POP3-Servern mit selbstsignierten
    // Zertifikaten muss zusätzlich /novalidate-cert angefügt werden
    $mbox = imap_open ("{localhost:995/pop3/ssl/novalidate-cert}", "user_id", "password");

    // Verbindung zu einem NNTP-Server auf Port 119 des lokalen Rechners
    $nntp = imap_open ("{localhost:119/nntp}comp.test", "", "");
    // Für Verbindungen zu anderen Servern wird "localhost" mit dem Namen
    // oder der IP-Adresse des Servers ersetzt
    ?>

    Beispiel #2 imap_open()-Beispiel

    <?php
    $mbox     = imap_open("{imap.example.org:143}", "username", "password");

    echo     "<h1>Postfächer</h1>\n";
    $folders = imap_listmailbox($mbox, "{imap.example.org:143}", "*");

    if (    $folders == false) {
    echo     "Abruf fehlgeschlagen<br />\n";
    } else {
    foreach (    $folders as $val) {
    echo     $val . "<br />\n";
    }
    }

    echo     "<h1>Nachrichten in INBOX</h1>\n";
    $headers = imap_headers($mbox);

    if (    $headers == false) {
    echo     "Abruf fehlgeschlagen<br />\n";
    } else {
    foreach (    $headers as $val) {
    echo     $val . "<br />\n";
    }
    }

    imap_close($mbox);
    ?>

    Siehe auch

    add a note add a note

    User Contributed Notes 40 notes

    up
    28
    php at dsgvoseidank dot de
    2 years ago
    Google dropped the support of user/password authentication as of 30 may 2022.
    imap_open can not be used anymore, without the support of xoauth2.
    https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6010255

    There is a ToDo from 2020 that didn't make it.
    https://wiki.php.net/todo/ext/imap/xoauth2

    The only way is to switch to a third party lib. "php-imap"
    This is so sad.
    up
    5
    neekToO
    2 years ago
    To reply to "dsgvoseidank" saying it doesnt work anymore with Gmail :

    As today 26 august 2022 it is still working but you need to use google parameters to generate a password for your app on a 2FA account
    up
    11
    kay at rrr dot de
    14 years ago
    imap_open is very simple to use, but struggles a litte bit on setups with ssl and tls.

    this are tested examples for different hosts and protocols.

    uncomment the host/protocol line and fill in correct username and password.

    Kay

    <?php

    #######
    # localhost pop3 with and without ssl
    # $authhost="{localhost:995/pop3/ssl/novalidate-cert}";
    # $authhost="{localhost:110/pop3/notls}";

    # localhost imap with and without ssl
    # $authhost="{localhost:993/imap/ssl/novalidate-cert}";
    # $authhost="{localhost:143/imap/notls}";
    # $user="localuser";

    # localhost nntp with and without ssl
    # you have to specify an existing group, control.cancel should exist
    # $authhost="{localhost:563/nntp/ssl/novalidate-cert}control.cancel";
    # $authhost="{localhost:119/nntp/notls}control.cancel";

    ######
    # web.de pop3 without ssl
    # $authhost="{pop3.web.de:110/pop3/notls}";
    # $user="kay.marquardt@web.de";

    #########
    # goggle with pop3 or imap
    # $authhost="{pop.gmail.com:995/pop3/ssl/novalidate-cert}";
    # $authhost="{imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/novalidate-cert}";
    # $user="username@gmail.com";

    $user="username like above";
    $pass="yourpass";

    if (    $mbox=imap_open( $authhost, $user, $pass ))
            {
             echo     "<h1>Connected</h1>\n";
                 imap_close($mbox);
            } else
            {
             echo     "<h1>FAIL!</h1>\n";
            }

    ?>
    up
    12
    jeff at newscloud dot com
    10 years ago
    One of the issues with gmail IMAP SSL authentication is related to Google's account security.

    Once you get the login error once, sign out of all your google accounts. Then, visit this link:
    http://www.google.com/accounts/DisplayUnlockCaptcha

    Log in with the account you're attempting to access via imap.

    Follow the steps and you'll then be able to login in to gmail with php imap.

    It's visually shown here:
    http://jeffreifman.com/filtered-open-source-imap-mail-filtering-software-for-php/configuring-gmail/
    up
    12
    guilherme dot geronimo at gmail dot com
    14 years ago
    Using:
    <?php
    imap_open    ( "{server.example.com:143}INBOX" , 'login' , 'password' );
    ?>

    Got this error:
    "Couldn't open stream {server.example.com:143}INBOX"

    Solved by adding the flag "novalidate-cert":
    <?php
    imap_open    ( "{server.example.com:143/novalidate-cert}INBOX" , 'login' , 'password' );
    ?>

    =D
    up
    4
    Amit
    18 years ago
    None of the above comments explain the configuration issues on Apache/Windows combination. I thought it might be helpful to list my findings here so that Windows people's time is saved.

    There is a bug in Windows php_imap.dll that prevents it from connecting it to the SSL IMAP/POP3 server.

    http://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=36496&edit=1
    up
    5
    hashampel at yahoo dot de
    10 years ago
    Subfolders of INBOX have to be seperate by dot like this: 'INBOX.test'
    $mailbox = '{example.example.com:143/imap/novalidate-cert}INBOX.test'
    up
    3
    dominic_mayers at yahoo dot com
    7 years ago
    This code demonstrates features that are not well documented at this time. The main feature is that the selected mailbox in imap_open (or reopen)  and the specified mailbox in other imap functions are unrelated.  It has been tested with Gmail and with a Dovecot IMAP server.  The mailbox separator depends on the server. Gmail: "/"  Dovecot: "."  If you want to test with Gmail, you need to turn on "Access for less secure apps" in your account.

    <?php
          // Change these.
          $server    = "{imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/novalidate-cert}";
          $email     = "example@gmail.com";
          $password  = "password";

          // The code assumes that the folders Test/Sub1/Sub11, etc. exist.
          $selected  = "{$server}Test/Sub1/Sub12";
          $conn      = imap_open($selected, $email , $password);

          // This returns the $specified mailbox and its sub mailboxes,
      // even if the $specified mailbox is outside the $selected mailbox.
          $specified =  "{$server}Test/Sub1";
          $boxes     = imap_list($conn, $specified , '*');
          print_r($boxes);
     
          // This appends the message in the $specified mailbox.
      // It ignores the $selected mailbox.
          imap_append($conn, $specified
                             , "From: me@example.com\r\n"
                             . "To: you@example.com\r\n"
                             . "Subject: test\r\n"
                             . "\r\n"
                             . "this is a test message, please ignore\r\n");

          // This changes the $selected mailbox
          $selected = "{$server}Test/Sub1";
          imap_reopen($conn, $selected);

          // This moves a message from the $selected to the $specified mailbox
      // In this case, the specified mailbox does not include the server.
          imap_mail_move ($conn , "1" ,  "Test");
          imap_expunge($conn);
          imap_close($conn);
          // If you executed this code with a real IMAP server,
      // the message is now in the Test mailbox !
    ?>
    up
    4
    Martin Eckardt
    13 years ago
    Since Version 5.3.2 there's a 6th parameter available to disable authentication with GSSAPI or NTLM:

    Example:
    <?php
    $mbox     = imap_open("{w2010ExchangeServer:993/imap/ssl}", $user, $password, NULL, 1, array('DISABLE_AUTHENTICATOR' => 'GSSAPI'));
    ?>

    This solves the problem with Exchange 2010 for me. As a reference see https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=33500
    up
    2
    rvarkelen AT hortimax.nl
    20 years ago
    In order to make a IMAP connection to a Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5, I used this connection-string :

    <?php
    if(imap_open ("{192.168.1.6:143/imap}Inbox", "DOMAIN/USERNAME/ALIAS", "PASSWORD"))
    {
        echo     'Connection success!';
    }
    else
    {
        echo     'Connection failed';
    }
    ?>

    By replacing "Inbox" with, e.g. "Tasks", its possible to see all your tasks. I Hope this helps anybody!

    Regards
    up
    3
    frederik at roal dot no
    22 years ago
    For all imap functions where you specify the mailbox string it is important that you ALWAYS use IP (not hostname) and the portnumber. If you do not do this imap functions will be painfully slow.
    Using hostname instead of IP adds 3 seconds to each IMAP call, not using portnumber adds 10 seconds to each imap call. (hint: use gethostbyname() )
    up
    1
    mightycpa
    15 years ago
    My script kept on timing out, even though the syntax was spot on... ultimately, I figured out that the port was blocked by my webhost, where I ran this on a shared server...

    I post this just in case you miss this obvious, like I did.
    up
    1
    avizion at relay dot dk
    19 years ago
    For FreeBSD users...

    If you want to have SSL support, you want to install the ports:

    mail/php5-imap
    security/php5-openssl

    Cheers :)

    - avizion
    up
    2
    brojann at netscape dot com
    23 years ago
    You can do

    <? $foo = imap_errors(); ?>

    to clear unwanted warning messages like 'Mailbox is empty'
    up
    1
    m dot stoel at cyberkinetic dot nl
    19 years ago
    a little tip for those who get really frustrated even after reading all the right solutions and implementing them but still get the same errors or none at all..:
    after having changed the code.. restart the httpd deamon..

    for Fedora or any other Red Hat Linux OS (/etc/init.d/httpd restart).

    After this you will be able to make a imap/pop3 stream from apache..
    up
    1
    liamr at umich dot edu
    20 years ago
    To authenticate using kerberos V / GSSAPI, you might need to add "user=" to the connection string.. eg:

    $mbox = imap_open( "\{imap.example.com:143/imap/notls/user=" . $user . "}INBOX", $user, $passwd );

    Our IMAP servers won't allow a user other than the user specified in the kerberos credentials connect using those credentials unless you specify that extra "user=" in the connection string.  Passing it as an argument to imap_open() doesn't seem to be enough.
    up
    1
    me at achronos dot ca
    10 years ago
    Do not bother using "/debug" flag in $mailbox or OP_DEBUG in $options. They do not do anything.

    When you set either one, the underlying IMAP c-client library will gather protocol debugging data and pass it back to PHP.
    However, the debug handler defined by PHP is an empty function, it doesn't do anything.

    So unless you're using a customized version of the IMAP extension that does something with that handler (mm_dlog), there is no point using "/debug" or OP_DEBUG.
    up
    1
    shaikh_zaid at yahoo dot com
    18 years ago
    imap_open will not open a stream if your server operates with Transport Layer Security (i.e. TLS) imap_open connects with SSL if its there. So try opening mailbox as

    $mailbox="{mail.domain.com:143/imap/notls}";
    or
    $mailbox="{mail.domain.com:110/pop3/notls}"; This works...

    Some mail server requires you to provide username@domain.com so you can always use. user@doamin.com

    $conn=imap_open($mailbox, $username, $password);

    Some server may ask for username as "user=user@domain.com"

    :)
    up
    0
    LANGE.LUDO
    6 years ago
    If you get Kerberos errors like:
    « Notice: Unknown: Kerberos error: Credentials cache file '/tmp/krb5cc_0123' not found (try running kinit) ».

    Try to add as a $param:
    <?php array('DISABLE_AUTHENTICATOR' => 'GSSAPI') ?>

    eg.
    <?php
    $imap_stream     = imap_open('{mail.domain.tld:993/imap/ssl}' , 'username' , 'password', null, 1, array('DISABLE_AUTHENTICATOR' => 'GSSAPI'));
    ?>
    up
    0
    Anonymous
    6 years ago
    Function to test most of the possible options of a connection:

    function imapConfig($options, $i=0, $till = array()) {
            if(sizeof($options)==$i)
                return $till;
           
            if(sizeof($till)==0)
                $till[] = '';
           
            $opt = $options[$i];
            $new = array();
            foreach($till as $t) {
                foreach($opt as $o) {
                    if(strlen($o)==0)
                        $new[] = $t;
                    else
                        $new[] = $t.'/'.$o;
                }
            }
            return imapConfig($options, $i+1, $new);
        }

    function imap_test($server, $port, $dir, $username, $passw) {
            $options = array();
            //$options[] = array('debug');
            $options[] = array('imap', 'imap2', 'imap2bis', 'imap4', 'imap4rev1', 'pop3'); //nntp
            $options[] = array('', 'norsh');
            $options[] = array('', 'ssl');
            $options[] = array('', 'validate-cert', 'novalidate-cert');
            $options[] = array('', 'tls', 'notls');
           
            $configOptions = imapConfig($options);
            foreach($configOptions as $c) {
                $mbox = @imap_open("{".$server.":".$port.$c."}".$dir, $username, $passw);
                echo "<b>{".$server.":".$port.$c."}".$dir."</b> ... ";
                if (false !== $mbox) {
                    echo '<span style="color: green"> success</span>';
                }
                else {
                    echo '<span style="color: red"> failed</span>';
                }
                echo '<br>';
            }
        }

    imap_test('mail.server.de', 143, 'INBOX', 'username', 'pwd');
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    0
    Ap.Muthu
    9 years ago
    An old archived 2006 PHP script to retrieve IMAP POP3 email into a MySQL database and as files is at:
    http://web.archive.org/web/20060411020022/http://www.sellchain.com/phPOP3/phPOP3.txt
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    0
    Lisboa
    9 years ago
    The error: Unknown: Mailbox is empty (errflg=1) in Unknown on line 0
    appears when:

    1)  use imap_open to connect
    2) then use imap_search ALL to retrieve emails

    but there are no messages available. To avoid this error, check first the number of messages in a mailbox using imap_status. Only if there are messages available then you can use the imap_search.
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    0
    egoman69 at hotmail
    14 years ago
    "Couldn't open stream {127.0.0.1:143/imap/notls}INBOX"

    Solved by only replacing 127.0.0.1 with localhost, php and IMAP server both in same machine, not through Proxy or anything. Weird!
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    0
    kaper at nexgc dot com
    21 years ago
    I had been having lots of trouble trying to get imap_open to connect to an imap server.  Then I found another post online that suggested this and it worked, so I am going to post it here.  I hope this helps others..

    "I have tried with the following strings instead and it works:

    for pop3: {www.server.com:110/pop3/notls}INBOX

    and for imap: {www.server.com:143/notls}INBOX.
    up
    -1
    askalski at synacor dot com
    17 years ago
    By default, imap_open() will retry an incorrect password 3 times before giving up.  This is a feature built into the c-client library intended for interactive mail clients (which can prompt the end user for a new username/password combo.)

    The new optional parameter "$n_retries" allows PHP to override the default retry limit.  There is absolutely no reason to leave this at default, or to set it to any value other than 1.  This is especially important if the mail server you're using locks users out after too many login failures.
    up
    -1
    itstooloud
    17 years ago
    Works with Gmail's new IMAP function for personal and for Google Apps.

    $mbox = imap_open ("{imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl}INBOX", "username@gmail.com", "password")
         or die("can't connect: " . imap_last_error());
    up
    -1
    david at brayworth dot com dot au
    13 years ago
    I managed to use this function against Exchange 2010 without recompiling to disable kerberos

    It's important to me that php installs per the standard package (yum install php)

    Exchange 2010 triggers kerberos in php, and you require the kinit thing (search around google for "imap_open kinit exchange 2010" and you will find this)

    To get it working I had to:
    1. setup the krb5.conf file correctly
    2. do a kinit username@DOMAIN.DOM with a valid username / password
    3. rename the ticket file to reflect the user id of apache (usually 48)
       /tmp/krb5cc_48
    4. fix ownership
       chown apache.apache /tmp/krb5cc_48

    but the exchange server will use the kerberos ticket and not the username password - unless you use ssl

    <?php

        $imap_user     = "username";
            $imap_pass = "password";
            $imap_server = "{w2010kExchangeServer:993/novalidate-cert/ssl}";

            $mbox = imap_open("{$imap_server}INBOX", $imap_user, $imap_pass);

            $sorted_mbox = imap_sort($mbox, SORTDATE, 0);
            $totalrows = imap_num_msg($mbox);
        print     "$imap_server\n";

            $startvalue = 0;
        while (    $startvalue < $totalrows) {

                $headers = imap_fetchheader($mbox, $sorted_mbox[ $startvalue ] );
                $subject = array();
                preg_match_all('/^Subject: (.*)/m', $headers, $subject);
            print     $subject[1][0] . "\n";

                $startvalue++;
        }
    ?>
       
    One small step for php / exchange, one Giant leap for David  ....
    up
    -1
    Tim
    9 years ago
    Hi

    I was struggling with the Gmail Imap/pop connection. It keeps saying too many failed login connections were made.

    Thing I did:
    https://www.google.com/settings/security/lesssecureapps
    Clicked "Turn on"
    > worked!

    So last step could be used but remember your account will be at a certain security risk. Anyway it comes in handy to develop...
    up
    -2
    jeff1326
    13 years ago
    If your connection is too slow, try it with port and without domain.

    <?php
    //Normal connection
    $mailbox = imap_open("{SERVER}INBOX", $username, $password);

    //Faster connection
    $mailbox = imap_open("{SERVER:143}INBOX", $username, $password);

    //Very slow connection
    $mailbox = imap_open ("{SERVER.DOMAIN}INBOX", "DOMAIN/".$username, $password);
    ?>
    up
    -1
    bandpay at hotmail dot com
    23 years ago
    I have a single comment to add about imap_open.
    If you want to connect to a news server, without specifying any news gruop, you can use the following:

    <?php
    $server     = "{news.servername.com/nntp:119}";
    $nntp = imap_open($server,"","",OP_HALFOPEN);
    ?>

    and $nntp will become the connection ID.

    Regards
    //Babak
    up
    -2
    phpnet at danepowell dot com
    12 years ago
    If you are accessing a local mailbox file, i.e. imap_open('/var/mail/www-data', '', ''), you may be restricted in what files you can access.

    If PHP IMAP was compiled with the restrictBox option (which I believe most packages are these days), you can only access files relative to $HOME. Paths starting with '/' or '../' will be rejected.
    up
    -1
    Stefano
    2 years ago
    ``There is one thing I learned over the years,
    if someone says: "it's not possible", prove them wrong.`` ~ Stefano Kocka '99

    test date: 2022-11-20
    php version: PHP 8.0.10 (cli)
    extension=imap
    extension=openssl

    imap: IMAP c-Client Version => 2007f
    SSL Support => enabled

    https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/185833?hl=en

    <?php
    $cnx     = '{imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/readonly}';
    $mbox = imap_open($cnx, 'user@gmail.com', 'MyAppPassword');
    $folders = imap_listmailbox($mbox, $cnx, '*');
    print_r($folders);
    /*
    Array
    (
        [0] => {imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/readonly}INBOX
        [1] => {imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/readonly}LABEL1
        [2] => {imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/readonly}LABEL2
        [3] => {imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/readonly}Queue
        [4] => {imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/readonly}[Gmail]/All
        [5] => {imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/readonly}[Gmail]/Drafts
        [6] => {imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/readonly}[Gmail]/Sent
        [7] => {imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/readonly}[Gmail]/Spam
        [8] => {imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/readonly}[Gmail]/Starred
        [9] => {imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/readonly}[Gmail]/Trash
    )
    */
    ?>
    Kind regards
    up
    -1
    reg1barclay at REMOVETHIS dot live dot it
    6 years ago
    On Windows, this function does not use certificates in directories listed by openssl_get_cert_locations(): it use system's certificates store. If you want to use a certificate signed by a test authority, you must add root certificate of your test authority to Window's certificates store.
    up
    -1
    Valerio Pulese
    8 years ago
    If you get slow imap4/pop3 authentication step
    i.e. 5-10 sec just for response, maybe you are connecting to an imap server which is advertising GSSAPI auth mechanism.
    Martin Eckardt note could help to speed it up.
    <?php
    $mbox     = imap_open("{imap server with GSSAPI :993/imap/ssl}", $user, $password, NULL, 1, array('DISABLE_AUTHENTICATOR' => 'GSSAPI'));
    ?>

    Disable GSSAPI if you dont use it.
    If your imap/pop server is Dovecot
    /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-auth.conf
    ...
    auth_mechanisms = plain login gssapi
    -> auth_mechanisms = plain login
    up
    -1
    Brian Law
    10 years ago
    imap_open()
    validate SSL certificate does not support Subject Alternative Name (SAN) certificate. It only validate against the Subject/Common name.
    up
    -1
    oz49erfan
    14 years ago
    Make sure your PHP is enabled with imap via the phpinfo() function

    '--with-imap-dir=/opt/lampp' '--with-imap-ssl' '--with-imap=/opt/lampp'

    and

    IMAP c-Client Version 2007e
    SSL Support Yes

    I noticed that my apache script was working but my cli script was not. Turns out my php cli executable didn't have imap setup so I had to use another php cli executable.
    up
    -1
    Jason Pires
    16 years ago
    Dears.
    In my case, e-mail host was the IMAP enabled.
    So, just use the imap_open as the very simple form like:

    $mailbox = "{mail.myhost.com:143/notls}INBOX";
    $user = "me@myhost.com";
    $pass = "mypassword";

    $connection = imap_open($mailbox,$user,$pass) or die(imap_last_error()."<br>Connection Faliure!");

    thanks!
    up
    -2
    gasaunde at vcu dot edu
    19 years ago
    I've found that on my servers I _must_ use imap_errors() and imap_alerts() after an imap_open or this error is thrown in the logs when the mailbox is empty: [error] PHP Warning: (null)(); Mailbox is empty (errflg=1) in Unknown on line 0
    up
    -3
    marshall /AT\ pacdemon.org
    21 years ago
    Thanks for all your comments.  The user comments have saved me countless times.

    I'd like to give back in my small way by providing this little tip.  To test your pop or imap services you can use telnet (almost all operating systems should come with a command line telnet client).

    Here's the pop3 example (the lines that start with + are the server's response):

        telnet your.pop.host.com 110
        +OK POP3 your.pop.host.com v2001.78 server ready
        user your_username
        +OK User name accepted, password please
        pass your_password
        +OK Mailbox open, 23 messages

    Note that your pop server may be on some other port than 110 but that is the default/standard.

    Here's the imap example (Lines that have OK near the begining are server responses):

        telnet your.imap.host.com 143
        * OK [CAPABILITY IMAP4REV1...]
        1 LOGIN "your_username" "your_password"
        1 OK [CAPABILITY...] ... User your_username authenticated

    This might be old news to some people but I hope it's helpful for many.
    up
    -5
    chris at ocproducts dot com
    4 years ago
    imap_open supports SSL/TLS and start-TLS, and also totally unencrypted sessions.

    The documentation here slightly conflates things.

    Where it is referring to SSL (/ssl) it is really referring to SSL/TLS of the immediate variety. The initial connection will immediately be SSL/TLS, rather than later upgraded. (I don't know the specifics about which versions of SSL/TLS c-client is going to be negotiating/using.)

    The '/tls' and '/notls' options are just about start-TLS, i.e. upgraded connections.

    Note there is a '/notls' option but not a '/nossl' option. That is because by default c-client is going to upgrade to TLS (start-TLS) when it sees it as an advertised option by the IMAP server. i.e. it is going to do it based on auto-detection. The '/notls' option disables that auto-detection, which is sometimes necessary. For example, I just helped someone whose IMAP server advertises start-TLS to connections on port 143 but it actually only works on port 993. Regular SSL/TLS doesn't do any auto-detection as the connection mode has to be explicitly made upfront anyway.
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