-Here are fetchmail's main features. Those unique to fetchmail
-are listed first.
+
Version 7.0:
+
+
Removes support for obsolete POP2, POP3/RPOP, POP3 LAST, Kerberos IV.
+
-
Since 4.0:
-
-
Support for IMAP-OTP authentication using Craig Metz's patches
- for UW IMAP.
+
Since 5.0:
-
Support for IPv6 and IPSEC (using Craig Metz's inet6-apps library).
+
+
STARTTLS is supported in both POP and IMAP.
-
Support for IMAP with RFC1731-conformant GSSAPI authentication.
+
ESMTP AUTH (RFC 2554) is supported.
-
Fixed and verified support for Cyrus IMAP server, M$ Exchange,
- and Post Office/NT.
+
Has the capability of adding trace information to the Received
+header to faciliate mail filtering by mailserver and remote
+account.
-
Support for responding with a one-time password when a POP3 server
- issues an RFC1938-conforming OTP challenge.
+
Fetchmail now has options to handle SSL certificate
+validation.
-
Support for Compuserve's RPA authentication protocol for POP3
- (not compiled in by default, but configurable).
-
+
Fetchmail can be told to fall back to delivering via local
+sendmail if it can't open port 25.
-
Since 3.0:
-
-
Support for IMAP RFC 1731 authentication with Kerberos v4.
+
Support for AUTH=CRAM-MD5 under POP3, a la RFC2195.
-
Support for multiple-folder retrieval in a single session
- under IMAP.
+
Support for ODMR (On-Demand Mail Relay), RFC 2645.
-
Following SMTP 571 response to a From line, fetchmail no longer
- downloads the bodies of spam messages.
+
It's now easy to deliver mail to a local LMTP socket.
-
Support for a `hunt list' of SMTP hosts.
+
The interface option now checks both local and remote interface
+IPs.
-
Support for ESMTP 8BITMIME and SIZE options.
+
The plugin facility has been enhanced; %h and %p options are
+now available to pass in the hostname and service port number.
-
Support for ESMTP ETRN command.
+
Added a dropdelivered option to discard Delivered-To headers.
+This addresses a problem with using fetchmail and postfix as a
+relay inside a domain; when postfix sees incoming messages with
+delivered-to headers looking exactly the same as the ones it adds
+himself, it bounces the message.
-
The stripcr & forcecr options to explicitly control carriage-return
- stripping and LF->CRLF mapping before mail forwarding.
-
+
Added --smtpname to set username and domain portion of SMTP
+"RCPT TO" command. <fetchmail@mail.julianhaight.com>.
-
Since 2.0:
-
-
Support for secure use with ssh.
+
Added "from" server's IP address to inserted Received line
+<fetchmail@mail.julianhaight.com>.
-
Mailserver passwords can be parsed out of your .netrc file.
+
Fetchmail now runs on BeOS, thanks to David Reid
+<david@jetnet.co.uk>.
-
When forwarding mail via SMTP, fetchmail respects the 571
- "spam filter" response and discards any mail that triggers it.
+
In IMAP, unseen-message counting and indexing is now done by
+SEARCH UNSEEN at the beginning of each poll or re-poll (rather than
+with the UNSEEN and RECENT responses and FLAGS queries on
+individual messages). This significantly cuts down on traffic to
+and from the server, and gives more reliable results.
-
Transaction and error logging may optionally be done via syslog.
+
The aka option now matches hostname suffixes, so (for example)
+saying `aka netaxs.com' will match not just netaxs.com but also
+(say) pop3.netaxs.com and mail.netaxs.com.
-
(Linux only) Security option to permit fetchmail to poll a host
- only when a point-to-point link to a particular IP address is
- up.
+
Fetchmail can optionally use the RFC 2177 IDLE extension on an
+IMAP server that supports it. On IMAP servers that don't, it can
+simulate it using periodic NOOP commands.
-
RPOP support (restored; had been removed in 1.8).
-
+
Fetchmail now recognizes the RFC 2449 extended responses
+[IN-USE] and [LOGIN-DELAY].
Fetchmail running in daemon mode now restarts itself quietly
+when the rc file is touched.
-
Support for Kerberos V4 user authentication (either MIT or Cygnus).
+
Following recent court decisions and changes in U.S. federal
+regulatory policy, hooks for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) are now
+part of the main fetchmail distribution. The distribution still
+contains no actual cryptographic code.
-
Host is auto-probed for a working server if no protocol is
- specified for the connection. Thus you don't need to know
- what servers are running on your mail host in advance; the
- verbose option will tell you which one succeeds.
+
NTLM support under IMAP, so fetchmail can query Microsoft
+Exchange servers.
-
Delivery via SMTP to the client machine's port 25. This
- means the retrieved mail automatically goes to the system
- default MDA as if it were normal sender-initiated SMTP mail.
+
Expunge option can now be used to break POP3 retrieval into
+subsessions.
-
Configurable timeout to detect if server connection is dropped.
+
Support for AUTH=CRAM-MD5 under IMAP, a la RFC2195.
+
-
Support for retrieving and forwarding from multi-drop mailboxes
- that is guaranteed not to cause mail loops.
+
Since 4.0:
-
Large user community -- fetchmail has a large user base (the
- author's beta list includes well over two hundred people). This
- means feedback is rapid, bugs get found and fixed rapidly.
+
+
The interface and monitor options now work with freeBSD.
-
Carefully written, comprehensive and up-to-date man page describing
- not only modes of operation but also how to diagnose the most
- common kinds of problems and what to do about deficient servers.
+
Fetchmail now sends RFC1894-conformant bouncemail on SMTP and
+LMTP errors.
-
Rugged, simple, and well-tested code -- the author relies on it
- every day and it has never lost mail, not even in experimental
- versions. (In the project's entire history there has only been
- one recorded instance of lost mail, and that was due to a quirk
- in some Microsoft code.)
+
Full support for LMTP according to RFC2033.
-
Strict conformance to relevant RFCs and good debugging options.
- You could use fetchmail to test and debug server implementatations.
-
+
True multi-language support using GNU gettext.
-
Features in common with other remote-mail retrieval programs:
+
Support for use of HESIOD with Kerberos.
-The other programs I have checked include fetchpop1.9, PopTart-0.9.3,
-get-mail, gwpop, pimp-1.0, pop-perl5-1.2, popc, popmail-1.6 and upop.
+
The --bsmtp option supports recording fetched mail as a BSMTP
+batch.
-
-
Support for POP3.
+
The --limit option can now be used in daemon mode, with
+oversized-message notifications being mailed to the calling
+user.
-
Easy control via command line or free-format run control file.
+
Daemon mode -- fetchmail can be run in background to poll
- one or more hosts at a specified interval.
+
There is now an interactive GUI fetchmail configurator,
+fetchmailconf.
-
From:, To:, Cc:, and Reply-To: headers are rewritten so that
- usernames relative to the fetchmail host become fully-qualified
- Internet addresses. This enables replies to work correctly.
- (Would be unique to fetchmail if I hadn't added it to fetchpop.)
+
Code is 64-bit clean and Y2K-safe.
-
Message and header processing are 8-bit clean.
-
+
Automatically decodes armored 7-bit MIME into 8 bits (this can
+be suppressed).
You can specify which SMTP error is recognized as a spam
+block.
+
+
Support for Kerberos V authentication.
+
+
Support for IMAP-OTP authentication using Craig Metz's patches
+for UW IMAP.
+
+
Support for IPv6
+
+
Support for IMAP with RFC1731-conformant GSSAPI
+authentication.
+
+
Fixed and verified support for Cyrus IMAP server, M$ Exchange,
+and Post Office/NT.
+
+
Support for responding with a one-time password when a POP3
+server issues an RFC1938-conforming OTP challenge.
+
+
Support for Compuserve's RPA authentication protocol for POP3
+(not compiled in by default, but configurable).
+
+
+
Since 3.0:
+
+
+
Support for IMAP RFC 1731 authentication with Kerberos v4.
+
+
Support for multiple-folder retrieval in a single session under
+IMAP.
+
+
Following SMTP 571 response to a From line, fetchmail no longer
+downloads the bodies of spam messages.
+
+
Support for a `hunt list' of SMTP hosts.
+
+
Support for ESMTP 8BITMIME and SIZE options.
+
+
Support for ESMTP ETRN command.
+
+
The stripcr & forcecr options to explicitly control
+carriage-return stripping and LF->CRLF mapping before mail
+forwarding.
+
+
+
Since 2.0:
+
+
+
Support for secure use with ssh.
+
+
Mailserver passwords can be parsed out of your .netrc
+file.
+
+
When forwarding mail via SMTP, fetchmail respects the 571 "spam
+filter" response and discards any mail that triggers it.
+
+
Transaction and error logging may optionally be done via
+syslog.
+
+
(Linux only) Security option to permit fetchmail to poll a host
+only when a point-to-point link to a particular IP address is
+up.
+
+
RPOP support (restored; had been removed in 1.8, later removed again).
+
+
+
2.0 and earlier versions:
+
+
+
Support POP2, APOP, RPOP, IMAP2, IMAP2bis, IMAP3, IMAP4,
+IMAP4rev1. .
+
+
Support for Kerberos V4 user authentication (either MIT or
+Cygnus).
+
+
Host is auto-probed for a working server if no protocol is
+specified for the connection. Thus you don't need to know what
+servers are running on your mail host in advance; the verbose
+option will tell you which one succeeds.
+
+
Delivery via SMTP to the client machine's port 25. This means
+the retrieved mail automatically goes to the system default MDA as
+if it were normal sender-initiated SMTP mail.
+
+
Configurable timeout to detect if server connection is
+dropped.
+
+
Support for retrieving and forwarding from multi-drop mailboxes
+that is guaranteed not to cause mail loops.
+
+
Large user community -- fetchmail has a large user base (the
+author's beta list includes well over two hundred people). This
+means feedback is rapid, bugs get found and fixed rapidly.
+
+
Carefully written, comprehensive and up-to-date man page
+describing not only modes of operation but also how to diagnose the
+most common kinds of problems and what to do about deficient
+servers.
+
+
Rugged, simple, and well-tested code -- the author relies on it
+every day and it has never lost mail, not even in experimental
+versions. (In the project's entire history there has only been one
+recorded instance of lost mail, and that was due to a quirk in some
+Microsoft code.)
+
+
Strict conformance to relevant RFCs and good debugging options.
+You could use fetchmail to test and debug server
+implementatations.
+
+
For anybody who cares, fetchmail is Y2K safe.
+
+
+
Features in common with other remote-mail retrieval
+programs:
+
+The other programs I have checked include fetchpop1.9,
+PopTart-0.9.3, get-mail, gwpop, pimp-1.0, pop-perl5-1.2, popc,
+popmail-1.6 and upop.
+
+
+
Support for POP3.
+
+
Easy control via command line or free-format run control
+file.
+
+
Daemon mode -- fetchmail can be run in background to poll one
+or more hosts at a specified interval.
+
+
From:, To:, Cc:, and Reply-To: headers are rewritten so that
+usernames relative to the fetchmail host become fully-qualified
+Internet addresses. This enables replies to work correctly. (Would
+be unique to fetchmail if I hadn't added it to fetchpop.)