imaplib Module¶
The imaplib module provides IMAP4 client functionality for accessing email on IMAP servers.
Complexity Reference¶
| Operation | Time | Space | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
login() |
Varies | Varies | Network round‑trip, server auth |
| List mailboxes | Varies | Varies | Depends on server and response size |
| Fetch messages | Varies | Varies | Depends on server, message sizes, and network |
Accessing IMAP Mailboxes¶
Basic IMAP Operations¶
import imaplib
# Connect - O(1)
imap = imaplib.IMAP4('imap.gmail.com')
imap.starttls()
imap.login('user@gmail.com', 'password')
# List mailboxes - O(n)
code, mailboxes = imap.list()
for mailbox in mailboxes:
print(mailbox)
# Select mailbox - O(1)
imap.select('INBOX')
# Search - O(n)
code, ids = imap.search(None, 'ALL')
email_ids = ids[0].split()
# Fetch - O(n)
for email_id in email_ids[:5]: # First 5
code, data = imap.fetch(email_id, '(RFC822)')
print(data[0][1])
# Close - O(1)
imap.close()
imap.logout()