imap_open

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

    imap_open — Open an IMAP stream to a mailbox

    Description

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

    Opens an IMAP stream to a mailbox.

    This function can also be used to open streams to POP3 and NNTP servers, but some functions and features are only available on IMAP servers.

    Parameters

    mailbox

    A mailbox name consists of a server and a mailbox path on this server. The special name INBOX stands for the current users personal mailbox. Mailbox names that contain international characters besides those in the printable ASCII space have to be encoded with imap_utf7_encode().

    Warning

    Passing untrusted data to this parameter is insecure, unless imap.enable_insecure_rsh is disabled.

    The server part, which is enclosed in '{' and '}', consists of the servers name or ip address, an optional port (prefixed by ':'), and an optional protocol specification (prefixed by '/').

    The server part is mandatory in all mailbox parameters.

    All names which start with { are remote names, and are in the form "{" remote_system_name [":" port] [flags] "}" [mailbox_name] where:

    • remote_system_name - Internet domain name or bracketed IP address of server.
    • port - optional TCP port number, default is the default port for that service
    • flags - optional flags, see following table.
    • mailbox_name - remote mailbox name, default is INBOX

    Optional flags for names
    FlagDescription
    /service=servicemailbox access service, default is "imap"
    /user=userremote user name for login on the server
    /authuser=userremote authentication user; if specified this is the user name whose password is used (e.g. administrator)
    /anonymousremote access as anonymous user
    /debugrecord protocol telemetry in application's debug log
    /securedo not transmit a plaintext password over the network
    /imap, /imap2, /imap2bis, /imap4, /imap4rev1equivalent to /service=imap
    /pop3equivalent to /service=pop3
    /nntpequivalent to /service=nntp
    /norshdo not use rsh or ssh to establish a preauthenticated IMAP session
    /ssluse the Secure Socket Layer to encrypt the session
    /validate-certvalidate certificates from TLS/SSL server (this is the default behavior)
    /novalidate-certdo not validate certificates from TLS/SSL server, needed if server uses self-signed certificates
    /tlsforce use of start-TLS to encrypt the session, and reject connection to servers that do not support it
    /notlsdo not do start-TLS to encrypt the session, even with servers that support it
    /readonlyrequest read-only mailbox open (IMAP only; ignored on NNTP, and an error with SMTP and POP3)
    user

    The user name

    password

    The password associated with the user

    flags

    The flags are a bit mask with one or more of the following:

    retries

    Number of maximum connect attempts

    options

    Connection parameters, the following (string) keys maybe used to set one or more connection parameters:

    • DISABLE_AUTHENTICATOR - Disable authentication properties

    Return Values

    Returns an IMAP\Connection instance on success, or false on failure.

    Changelog

    VersionDescription
    8.1.0 Returns an IMAP\Connection instance now; previously, a resource was returned.

    Examples

    Example #1 Different use of imap_open()

    <?php
    // To connect to an IMAP server running on port 143 on the local machine,
    // do the following:
    $mbox = imap_open("{localhost:143}INBOX", "user_id", "password");

    // To connect to a POP3 server on port 110 on the local server, use:
    $mbox = imap_open ("{localhost:110/pop3}INBOX", "user_id", "password");

    // To connect to an SSL IMAP or POP3 server, add /ssl after the protocol
    // specification:
    $mbox = imap_open ("{localhost:993/imap/ssl}INBOX", "user_id", "password");

    // To connect to an SSL IMAP or POP3 server with a self-signed certificate,
    // add /ssl/novalidate-cert after the protocol specification:
    $mbox = imap_open ("{localhost:995/pop3/ssl/novalidate-cert}", "user_id", "password");

    // To connect to an NNTP server on port 119 on the local server, use:
    $nntp = imap_open ("{localhost:119/nntp}comp.test", "", "");
    // To connect to a remote server replace "localhost" with the name or the
    // IP address of the server you want to connect to.
    ?>

    Example #2 imap_open() example

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

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

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

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

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

    imap_close($mbox);
    ?>

    See Also

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