--- name: "imapfilter_config" section: "5" platform: "linux" package: "imapfilter" version: "1:2.8.2+1-0.2+b1" release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/imapfilter_config" --- # imapfilter\_config(5) imapfilter configuration file ## NAME **imapfilter\_config** – imapfilter configuration file ## SYNOPSIS *$HOME/.imapfilter/config.lua* ## DESCRIPTION [imapfilter(1)](/imapfilter/1.md) uses the Lua programming language as a configuration and extension language, therefore, the configuration file is a Lua script. Although knowledge of Lua is not required to use [imapfilter(1)](/imapfilter/1.md), it is nonetheless recommended, especially if one wants to extend it. For more information on Lua see *http://www.lua.org/docs.html*. ## CONVENTIONS A brief description of the Lua values and types mentioned hereafter in the manual page follows: - The *nil* is the type of the value “nil”, whose main property is to be different from any other value; usually it represents the absence of a useful value. - The *boolean* is the type of the values “true” and “false”. Both “nil” and “false” make a condition false; any other value makes it true. - The type *number* represents real numbers. - The type *string* represents a sequence of characters and can be defined using single quotes, double quotes or double square brackets. - The type *table* implements associative arrays, that is, arrays that can be indexed not only with numbers, but with any value. - A *function* is a first-class value; it can be stored in variables, passed as argument to other functions, and returned as a result. ## OPTIONS Program's options are set using an already initialised *table* named “options”, in the following manner: ``` options.timeout = 120 options.namespace = false options.charset = 'ISO-8859-1' ``` Available options are: - *cache* When this option is enabled, parts of messages are cached locally in memory to avoid being downloaded more than once. The cache is preserved for the current session only. This variable takes a *boolean* as a value. Default is “true”. - *certificates* When this option is enabled, the server certificate can be accepted and stored, to validate the authenticity of the server in future connections. This variable takes a *boolean* as a value. Default is “true”. - *charset* Indicates to the server the character set of the strings for the searching methods. This variable takes a *string* as a value. By default, no character set is set, and thus plain ASCII should be assumed by the server. - *create* According to the IMAP specification, when trying to write a message to a non-existent mailbox, the server must send a hint to the client, whether it should create the mailbox and try again or not. However, some IMAP servers don't follow the specification and don't send the correct response code to the client. By enabling this option the client tries to create the mailbox, despite of the server's response. This variable takes a *boolean* as a value. Default is “false”. - *close* This option controls whether the currently selected mailbox is implicitly closed at the end of each performed operation, thus removing all messages that are marked deleted. This variable takes a *boolean* as a value. Default is “false”. - *expunge* Normally, messages are marked for deletion and are actually deleted when the mailbox is closed. When this option is enabled, messages are expunged immediately after being marked deleted. This variable takes a *boolean* as a value. Default is “true”. - *hostnames* When this option is enabled, the server hostname is validated, in order to verify the client is talking to the correct server. This variable takes a *boolean* as a value. Default is “true”. - *info* When this option is enabled, a summary of the program's actions is printed, while processing mailboxes. This variable takes a *boolean* as a value. Default is “true”. - *keepalive* The time in minutes before terminating and re-issuing the IDLE command, in order to keep alive the connection, by resetting the inactivity timeout of the server. A standards compliant server must have an inactivity timeout of at least 30 minutes. But some IMAP servers might not respect that, or some intermediary network device has a shorter timeout. By setting this option the above problem can be worked around. This variable takes a *number* as a value. Default is “29” minutes. - *limit* Some servers have problems handling very long requests, but some of the requests that need to be sent can become quite long because they apply an action for many messages at once. When this option is set, the client will try to break up these requests into smaller requests, that each operates on fewer messages at a time. A good value for this would be “50”. This variable takes a *number* as a value. Default is “0”. See also the *range* option which is related. - *namespace* When enabled, the program gets the namespace of the user's personal mailboxes, and applies automatically the prefix and hierarchy delimiter to any mailboxes residing on the mail server; the user must use the ‘/’ character as the delimiter and “” (i.e. nothing) as the prefix, regardless of the folder format of the mail server. This must be disabled, if the user wants to manually specify mailbox names (e.g. because they are not part of the user's personal namespace mailboxes). This variable takes a *boolean* as a value. Default is “true”. - *range* Some servers have problems handling long sequence number ranges, and by setting this option, the number of messages included in each range can be limited. A good value for this would be “50”. This variable takes a *number* as a value. By default, no such limit is imposed. See also the *limit* option which is related. - *starttls* When this option is enabled and the server supports the IMAP STARTTLS extension, a TLS connection will be negotiated with the mail server in the beginning of the session. This variable takes a *boolean* as value. Default is “true”. - *subscribe* By enabling this option new mailboxes that were automatically created, get also subscribed; they are set active in order for IMAP clients to recognize them. This variable takes a *boolean* as a value. Default is “false”. - *timeout* The time in seconds for the program to wait for a mail server's response. If set to 0, the client will block indefinitely. This variable takes a *number* as a value. Default is “60” seconds. - *wakeonany* By enabling this option, the IDLE command will return on any event that is received from the server, and not just on the “RECENT” and “EXISTS” events, that normally indicate the arrival of a new message. Examples of other events are “FETCH”, which indicates that the details of a message (e.g. its flags) have been modified, or “EXPUNGE”, which indicates that a message has been deleted. This variable takes a *boolean* as a value. Default is “false”. ## ACCOUNTS Accounts are initialized using the **IMAP**() function, and the details of the connection are defined using an account *table*: ``` myaccount = IMAP { server = 'imap.mail.server', username = 'me', password = 'secret', ssl = 'auto' } ``` An account *table* must have the following elements: - *server* The hostname of the IMAP server to connect to. It takes a *string* as a value. - *username* User's name. It takes a *string* as a value. An account *table* can also have the following optional elements: - *password* User's secret keyword. If a password wasn't supplied, the user will be asked to enter one interactively the first time it will be needed (unless *oauth2* has been set). It takes a *string* as a value. Passwords can also be extracted during execution time from an encrypted password vault. The *samples/extend.lua* file contains such an example. Note that due to Lua using backslash ‘\\’ as an escape character for its strings, one has to use double backslashes in order to insert a single backslash, and thus a backslash character inside a password might require four backslashes. - *oauth2* The OAuth2 string to use to authenticate if the server supports the XOAUTH2 authentication mechanism. If the server does not support it and a *password* has also been set, authentication will be attempted using the *password*. It takes a *string* as a value. Note that this requires that an OAuth client ID and client secret have been obtained, an OAuth2 token has been generated and authorized, a new access token has been generated using the refresh token if the last access token has expired, and an OAuth2 string has been generated from the access token. The aforementioned OAuth2 string is a Base64 encoded string that should be set here. For more information, see *https://developers.google.com/gmail/xoauth2\_protocol*. The *samples/extend.lua* file contains an example of authentication using OAuth2. - *port* The port to connect to. It takes a *number* as a value. Default is “143” for imap and “993” for imaps. - *ssl* Forces an imaps connection and specifies the SSL/TLS protocol/version to be used. It takes a *string* as a value, specifically one of: “auto”, “tls1.2”, “tls1.1”, “tls1”, “ssl3”. Note that the latest versions of the OpenSSL library have deprecated version specific methods, and the actual protocol version used, will be negotiated to be the highest version mutually supported by the client and the server. This is also what the “auto” value does. ### LISTING The following methods can be used on an account to list mailboxes in a folder of an account: - **list\_all**(*folder*) Lists all the available mailboxes in the *folder* (*string*), and returns a *table* that contains *strings*, the available mailboxes, and a *table* that contains *strings*, the available folders. - **list\_subscribed**(*folder*) Lists all the subscribed mailboxes in the *folder* (*string*), and returns a *table* that contains *strings*, the subscribed mailboxes, and a *table* that contains *strings*, the subscribed folders. The following methods can be used on an account to list mailboxes, using wildcards, in a folder of an account. The ‘\*’ wildcard, matches any character and the ‘%’ matches any character except the folder delimiter, i.e. non-recursively: - **list\_all**(*folder*, *mailbox*) Lists all the available mailboxes in the *folder* (*string*) with the name *mailbox* (*string*), and returns a *table* that contains *strings*, the available mailboxes, and a *table* that contains *strings*, the available folders. Wildcards may only be used in the *mailbox* argument. - **list\_subscribed**(*folder*, *mailbox*) Lists all the subscribed mailboxes in the *folder* (*string*) with the name *mailbox* (*string*), and returns a *table* that contains *strings*, the subscribed mailboxes, and a *table* that contains *strings*, the subscribed folders. Wildcards may only be used in the *mailbox* argument. Examples: ``` mailboxes, folders = myaccount:list_subscribed('myfolder') mailboxes, folders = myaccount:list_all('myfolder/mysubfolder', '*') ``` ### MANIPULATING The following methods can be used to manipulate mailboxes in an account: - **create\_mailbox**(*name*) Creates the *name* (*string*) mailbox. - **delete\_mailbox**(*name*) Deletes the *name* (*string*) mailbox. - **rename\_mailbox**(*oldname*, *newname*) Renames the *oldname* (*string*) mailbox to *newname* (*string*). - **subscribe\_mailbox**(*name*) Subscribes the *name* (*string*) mailbox. - **unsubscribe\_mailbox**(*name*) Unsubscribes the *name* (*string*) mailbox. Examples: ``` myaccount:create_mailbox('mymailbox') myaccount:subscribe_mailbox('mymailbox') myaccount:unsubscribe_mailbox('myfolder/mymailbox') myaccount:delete_mailbox('myfolder/mymailbox') ``` ## MAILBOXES After an IMAP account has been initialized, mailboxes residing in that account can be accessed simply as elements of the account *table*: ``` myaccount.mymailbox ``` If mailbox names don't only include letters, digits and underscores, or begin with a digit, an alternative form must be used: ``` myaccount['mymailbox'] ``` A mailbox inside a folder can be only accessed by using the alternative form: ``` myaccount['myfolder/mymailbox'] ``` The methods that are available for an account (e.g. **list\_all**(), **create\_mailbox**(), etc.) , are considered keywords and must not be used as mailbox names, and the same also applies for any string starting with an underscore, as they are considered reserved. ### CHECKING The following methods can be used to check the status of a mailbox: - **check\_status**() The **check\_status**() method gets the current status of a mailbox, and returns four values of *number* type: the total number of messages, the number of recent messages, the number of unseen messages in the mailbox, and the next UID to be assigned to a new message in the mailbox. - **enter\_idle**() The **enter\_idle**() method implements the IMAP IDLE (RFC 2177) extension. By using this extension it's not necessary to poll the server for changes to the selected mailbox (i.e. using the **check\_status**() method), but instead the server sends an update when there is a change in the mailbox (e.g. in case of new mail). When the **enter\_idle**() method has been called no more commands in the configuration file are executed until an update is received, at which point the **enter\_idle**() method returns. For the **enter\_idle**() to work, the IDLE extension has to be supported by the IMAP server. The **enter\_idle**() method returns a value of type *boolean*: “true” if the IDLE extension is supported and there was an update in the mailbox, and “false” if the IDLE extension is not supported, in which case the method returns immediately. When the aforementioned return value was “true”, an additional second value of type *string* is also returned, indicating the event received from the server, which is useful when the *wakeonany* option has been enabled. Apart from an event received by the server, the SIGUSR1 or SIGUSR2 signals can also interrupt the IDLE mode at any time, and the execution of the configuration file will then continue from the next line after the **enter\_idle**(). In this case, only the value “true” is returned. Examples: ``` exist, unread, unseen, uidnext = myaccount.mymailbox:check_status() update = myaccount.mymailbox:enter_idle() update, event = myaccount.mymailbox:enter_idle() ``` ### SEARCHING The searching methods in this subsection can be applied to any mailbox. They return a special form of *table*, that contains the messages that match the searching method. This *table* can be combined with other *tables* using logic theory. There are three available operations, that implement logical “or”, logical “and” and logical “not”. The logical “or” is implemented using the ‘+’ operator: ``` results = myaccount.mymailbox:is_unseen() + myaccount.mymailbox:is_larger(100000) ``` The logical “and” is implemented using the ‘\*’ operator: ``` results = myaccount.mymailbox:is_unseen() * myaccount.mymailbox:is_larger(100000) ``` The logical “not” is implemented using the ‘-’ operator: ``` results = myaccount.mymailbox:is_unseen() - myaccount.mymailbox:is_larger(100000) ``` The three logical operators can be combined in the same expression. The logical “and” has higher precedence than the logical “or” and the logical “not”, with the latter two having the same precedence, and parentheses may be used to change this behaviour: ``` results = myaccount.mymailbox:is_unseen() + myaccount.mymailbox:is_larger(100000) * myaccount.mymailbox:contain_subject('test') results = ( myaccount.mymailbox:is_unseen() + myaccount.mymailbox:is_larger(100000) ) * myaccount.mymailbox:contain_subject('test') ``` The returned *tables* of the searching methods can also be stored in variables and then further processed: ``` unseen = myaccount.mymailbox:is_unseen() larger = myaccount.mymailbox:is_larger(100000) subject = myaccount.mymailbox:contain_subject('test') results = unseen + larger * subject ``` A composite filter that includes one or more simple rules can be defined: ``` myfilter = function () return myaccount.mymailbox:is_unseen() + myaccount.mymailbox:is_larger(100000) * myaccount.mymailbox:contain_subject('test') end results = myfilter() ``` Composite filters can may be more dynamic by adding arguments: ``` myfilter = function (mailbox, size, subject) return mailbox:is_unseen() + mailbox:is_larger(size) * mailbox:contain_subject(subject) end results = myfilter(myaccount.mailbox, 100000, 'test') ``` It is also possible to combine the searching methods in different mailboxes, either at the same or different accounts, for example when the same actions will be executed on messages residing in different mailboxes or accounts. ``` results = myaccount.mymailbox:is_unseen() + myaccount.myothermailbox:is_larger(100000) + myotheraccount.myothermailbox:contain_subject('test') ``` And for those that want to know more about the return values of the following methods, it is a *table* which contains *tables* with two values: the mailbox (*table*) the message belongs to, and the message UID (*number*) which points to the matching message. For examples on iterating these returned tables, or creating new tables of this format (they are actually metatables implementing sets), see the *samples/extend.lua* file. ``` { { , 1 }, { , 3 }, { , 5 }, { , 7}, { ... }, ... } ``` The following method can be used to get all messages in a mailbox: - **select\_all**() All messages. The following methods can be used to search for messages that are in a specific state: - **is\_answered**() Messages that have been answered. - **is\_deleted**() Messages that are marked for later removal. - **is\_draft**() Messages that have not completed composition. - **is\_flagged**() Messages that are flagged for urgent/special attention. - **is\_new**() Messages that are recently arrived (this session is the first to have been notified about these messages) and have not been read. - **is\_old**() Messages that are not recently arrived (this session is not the first to have been notified about these messages) and have not been read. - **is\_recent**() Messages that are recently arrived (this session is the first to have been notified about these messages). - **is\_seen**() Messages that have been read. - **is\_unanswered**() Messages that have not been answered. - **is\_undeleted**() Messages that are not marked for later removal. - **is\_undraft**() Messages that have completed composition. - **is\_unflagged**() Messages that are not flagged for urgent/special attention. - **is\_unseen**() Messages that have not been read. The following method can be used to search for messages that have a specific keyword flag set: - **has\_keyword**(*flag*) Messages with the specified keyword flag (*string*) set. - **has\_unkeyword**(*flag*) Messages without the specified keyword flag (*string*) set. The following methods can be used to search for messages based on their size: - **is\_larger**(*size*) Messages that are larger than the size (*number*) in octets (bytes). - **is\_smaller**(*size*) Messages that are smaller than the size (*number*) in octets (bytes). The following methods can be used to search for messages based on their age: - **is\_newer**(*age*) Messages that are newer than the *age* (*number*) in days. - **is\_older**(*age*) Messages that are older than the *age* (*number*) in days. The following methods can be used to search for messages based on their arrival or sent date, in the “day-month-year” form, where day is the day of the month as a decimal number (01-31), month is the abbreviated month ( “Jan”, “Feb”, “Mar”, “Apr”, “May”, “Jun”, “Jul”, “Aug”, “Sep”, “Oct”, “Nov”, “Dec”) and year is the year as decimal number including the century (e.g. 2007): - **arrived\_before**(*date*) messages that have arrived earlier than the *date* (*string*), where *date* is in the “day-month-year” form. - **arrived\_on**(*date*) Messages that have arrived within the *date* (*string*), where *date* is in the “day-month-year” form. - **arrived\_since**(*date*) Messages that have arrived within or later than the *date* (*string*), where *date* is in the “day-month-year” form. - **sent\_before**(*date*) Messages that have been sent earlier than the *date* (*string*), where *date* is in the “day-month-year” form. - **sent\_on**(*date*) Messages that have been sent within the *date* (*string*), where *date* is in the “day-month-year” form. - **sent\_since**(*date*) Messages that have been sent within or later than the *date* (*string*), where *date* is in the “day-month-year” form. The following methods can be used to do case-insensitive searching, for messages that contain a specific word or phrase: - **contain\_bcc**(*string*) Messages that contain the *string* (*string*) in the “Bcc” header field. - **contain\_cc**(*string*) Messages that contain the *string* (*string*) in the “Cc” header field. - **contain\_from**(*string*) Messages that contain the *string* (*string*) in the “From” header field. - **contain\_subject**(*string*) Messages that contain the *string* (*string*) in the “Subject” header field. - **contain\_to**(*string*) Messages that contain the *string* (*string*) in the “To” header field. - **contain\_field**(*field*, *string*) Messages that contain the *string* (*string*) in the *field* (*string*) header field. - **contain\_body**(*string*) Messages that contain the *string* (*string*) in the message body. - **contain\_message**(*string*) Messages that contain the *string* (*string*) in the message. The following methods can be used to do case-sensitive searching, for messages that match a specific regular expression pattern. The matching mechanism that is used to support this is based on the Perl-compatible regular expressions (PCRE), and more information about the patterns and modifiers that can be used, is available in the relevant documentation at *http://pcre.org/original/doc/html/*. This way of searching is not supported by the IMAP protocol, and this means that what actually happens under the hood, is that the relevant parts of all the messages are downloaded and matched locally. It is therefore recommended to use these methods with meta-searching (see following section), in order to narrow down the set of messages that should be searched, and thus minimize what will be downloaded. Note that due to Lua using backslash ‘\\’ as an escape character for its strings, one has to use double backslashes in order to insert a single backslash inside a regular expression pattern: - **match\_bcc**(*pattern*) Messages that match the regular expression *pattern* (*string*) in the “Bcc” header field. - **match\_cc**(*pattern*) Messages that match the regular expression *pattern* (*string*) in the “Cc” header field. - **match\_from**(*pattern*) Messages that match the regular expression *pattern* (*string*) in the “From” header field. - **match\_subject**(*pattern*) Messages that match the regular expression *pattern* (*string*) in the “Subject” header field. - **match\_to**(*pattern*) Messages that match the regular expression *pattern* (*string*) in the “To” header field. - **match\_field**(*field*, *pattern*) Messages that match the regular expression *pattern* (*string*) in the *field* (*string*) header field. - **match\_header**(*pattern*) Messages that match the regular expression *pattern* (*string*) in the message header. - **match\_body**(*pattern*) Messages that match the regular expression *pattern* (*string*) in the message body. - **match\_message**(*pattern*) Messages that match the regular expression *pattern* (*string*) in the message. The following method can be used to search for messages using user queries based on the IMAP specification (RFC 3501 Section 6.4.4): - **send\_query**(*criteria*) Searches messages by sending an IMAP search query as described in the search *criteria* (*string*). Examples: ``` results = myaccount.mymailbox:select_all() results = myaccount.mymailbox:is_new() results = myaccount.mymailbox:is_recent() results = myaccount.mymailbox:is_larger(100000) results = myaccount.mymailbox:is_older(10) results = myaccount.mymailbox:has_keyword('MyFlag') results = myaccount.mymailbox:arrived_before('01-Jan-2007') results = myaccount.mymailbox:sent_since('01-Jan-2007') results = myaccount.mymailbox:contain_subject('test') results = myaccount.mymailbox:contain_field('Sender', 'user@host') results = myaccount.mymailbox:contain_body('hello world') results = myaccount.mymailbox:match_from('.*(user1|user2)@host') results = myaccount.mymailbox:send_query('ALL') results = myaccount['mymailbox']:is_new() results = myaccount['myfolder/mymailbox']:is_recent() ``` ## RESULTS After one of more searching methods have been applied to one or more mailboxes, the result contains all the necessary information, such as which messages matched in which mailboxes. Using this result these messages can be either searched further or processed in various way. ### META-SEARCHING The results of the searching methods can be searched further on in the same way as searching is done in mailboxes. The difference is that instead of doing the search in the whole mailbox, ie. in all the messages, it is instead done only to those messages that were returned in a previous search. Examples: ``` results:match_message('^[Hh]ello world!?$') myaccount.mymailbox:is_new():match_body('^[Ww]orld, hello!?$') ``` ### PROCESSING The processing methods are applied to the results that searching returned. The following method can be used to delete messages in a mailbox: - **delete\_messages**() Deletes the messages that matched. The following methods can be used to copy and move messages in a mailbox at the same or different accounts. If the destination mailbox is in a different account than the source mailbox, then the messages are downloaded and then uploaded to the destination: - **copy\_messages**(*destination*) Copies the messages to the *destination*, which is a mailbox at an account. - **move\_messages**(*destination*) Moves the messages to the *destination*, which is a mailbox at an account. The following methods can be used to mark messages in a mailbox: - **mark\_answered**() Marks the messages as answered. - **mark\_deleted**() Marks the messages for later removal. - **mark\_draft**() Marks the messages as draft. - **mark\_flagged**() Marks the messages for urgent/special attention. - **mark\_seen**() Marks the messages as read. - **unmark\_answered**() Unmarks the messages that have been marked as answered. - **unmark\_deleted**() Unmarks the messages that have been marked for later removal. - **unmark\_draft**() Unmarks the messages that have been marked as draft. - **unmark\_flagged**() Unmarks the messages that have been marked for urgent/special attention. - **unmark\_seen**() Unmarks the messages that have been marked as read. The following methods can be used to flag messages in a mailbox. The standard system flags are “\\Answered”, “\\Deleted”, “\\Draft”, “\\Flagged”, “\\Seen”, while, if the server supports it, new user keywords may be defined: - **add\_flags**(*flags*) Adds the *flags*( *table* that contains *strings*) to the messages. - **remove\_flags**(*flags*) Removes the *flags*( *table* that contains *strings*) from the messages. - **replace\_flags**(*flags*) Replaces the *flags*( *table* that contains *strings*) of the messages. Examples: ``` results:delete_messages() results:copy_messages(myaccount.myothermailbox) results:move_messages(myotheraccount.mymailbox) results:mark_seen() results:unmark_flagged() results:add_flags({ 'MyFlag', '\\Seen' }) results:remove_flags({ '\\Seen' }) results:move_messages(myotheraccount['myfolder/mymailbox']) ``` ## MESSAGES The messages that are residing in any mailbox can also be accessed, as a whole or in parts. Messages can be accessed using their unique identifier (UID): ``` myaccount.mymailbox[22] ``` The UIDs of messages the user is interested in, are gained from the results of searching: ``` results = account.INBOX:is_unseen() for _, message in ipairs(results) do mailbox, uid = table.unpack(message) header = mailbox[uid]:fetch_header() end ``` ### FETCHING The following methods can be used to fetch parts of messages. The methods return a *string*. The downloaded message parts are cached locally, so they can be reused inside the same program session: - **fetch\_message**() Fetches the header and body of the message. - **fetch\_header**() Fetches the header of the message. - **fetch\_body**() Fetches the body of the messages. - **fetch\_field**(*field*) Fetches the specified header *field* (*string*) of the message. - **fetch\_part**(*part*) Fetches the specified *part* (*string*) of the message. The following methods can be used to fetch details about the state of a message: - **fetch\_flags**() Fetches the flags of the message. Returns a *table* of *strings*. - **fetch\_date**() Fetches the internal date of the message. Returns a *string*. - **fetch\_size**() Fetches the size of the message. Returns a *number*. - **fetch\_structure**() Fetches the body structure of the message. Returns a *table* that has as keys the parts of the message, and as values a *table* that has one mandatory element, the type (*string*) of the part, and two optional elements, the size (*number*) and name (*string*) of the part. ### APPENDING The following methods can be used to append a message to a mailbox: - **append\_message**(*message*) Appends the *message* (*string*) to the mailbox. - **append\_message**(*message*, *flags*, *date*) Appends the *message* (*string*) to the mailbox, setting the specified *flags*( *table* of *strings*), as returned by **fetch\_flags**(), and *date* (*string*), as returned by **fetch\_date**(). Examples: ``` myaccount.mymailbox[2]:fetch_message() myaccount.mymailbox[3]:fetch_field('subject') myaccount.mymailbox[5]:fetch_part('1.1') myaccount['mymailbox'][7]:fetch_message() myaccount['myfolder/mymailbox'][11]:fetch_message() myaccount.mymailbox:append_message(message) ``` ## FUNCTIONS The following auxiliary functions are also available for convenience: - **form\_date**(*days*) Forms a date in “day-month-year” format that the system had before the number of *days* (*number*), and returns it as a *string*. - **get\_password**(*prompt*) Displays the specified *prompt* (*string*), and reads a password, while character echoing is turned off. Returns that password as a *string*. - **become\_daemon**(*interval*, *commands*) - **become\_daemon**(*interval*, *commands*, *nochdir*) - **become\_daemon**(*interval*, *commands*, *nochdir*, *noclose*) Detaches the program from the controlling terminal and runs it in the background as system daemon. The program will then repeatedly poll at the specified *interval* (*number*) in seconds. Each time the program wakes up, the *commands* (*function*) are executed. If *nochdir* (*boolean*) is “true”, the current working directory is not changed to the root directory (*/*). If *noclose* (*boolean*) is “true”, the standard input, standard output and standard error are not redirected to */dev/null*. - **pipe\_to**(*command*, *data*) Executes the system's *command* (*string*) and sends the *data* (*string*) to the standard input channel of the subprocess. Returns a *number*, the exit status of the child process. - **pipe\_from**(*command*) Executes the system's *command* (*string*) and retrieves the data from the standard output channel of the subprocess. Returns a *number*, the exit status of the child process, and a *string*, the output of the child process. - **regex\_search**(*pattern*, *string*) Implements Perl-compatible regular expressions (PCRE). The *pattern* (*string*) is a PCRE pattern. The *string* (*string*) is the subject string in which the pattern is matched against. Returns at least a *boolean*, that denotes if the match was successful, and any captures which are of *string* type. Note that due to Lua using backslash ‘\\’ as an escape character for its strings, one has to use double backslashes in order to insert a single backslash inside a regular expression pattern. For more information on PCRE see *http://pcre.org/original/doc/html/*. - **sleep**(*interval*) Delay for the specified *interval* (*number*) in seconds. - **recover**(*commands*) - **recover**(*commands*, *retries*) Protects the *commands* (*function*) executed from raising an error. Whenever an error is raised, it sleeps for a few seconds (using exponential backoff up to some upper limit), and then re-executes the *commands* (*function*) from start. If the maximum count of *retries* (*number*) is specified, it will retry up to the specified number of times, otherwise it will never give up. Returns the status code of the execution as the first result, “true” if it succeeded or “false” if it failed. If it succeeded, it returns all values the *commands* (*function*) returned as additional results. If it failed, it returns the error as an additional result. Examples: ``` date = form_date(14) password = get_password('Enter password: ') become_daemon(600, myfunction) status = pipe_to('mycommandline', 'mydata') status, data = pipe_from('mycommandline') success, capture = regex_search('^(?i)pcre: (\\w)$', 'mystring') sleep(300) recover(myfunction, 5) ``` For more examples, see the *samples/extend.lua* file. ## EXAMPLES See *samples/config.lua* and *samples/extend.lua* in the source code distribution. ## ENVIRONMENT - HOME User's home directory. ## SEE ALSO [imapfilter(1)](/imapfilter/1.md)