Package javax.mail

package javax.mail

The JavaMail^TM API provides classes that model a mail system. The javax.mail package defines classes that are common to all mail systems. The javax.mail.internet package defines classes that are specific to mail systems based on internet standards such as MIME, SMTP, POP3, and IMAP. The JavaMail API includes the javax.mail package and subpackages.

For an overview of the JavaMail API, read the JavaMail specification included in the download bundle or available on the JavaMail web site.

The code to send a plain text message can be as simple as the following:

    Properties props = new Properties();
    props.put("mail.smtp.host", "my-mail-server");
    Session session = Session.getInstance(props, null);

    try {
        MimeMessage msg = new MimeMessage(session);
        msg.setFrom("[email protected]");
        msg.setRecipients(Message.RecipientType.TO,
                          "[email protected]");
        msg.setSubject("JavaMail hello world example");
        msg.setSentDate(new Date());
        msg.setText("Hello, world!\n");
        Transport.send(msg, "[email protected]", "my-password");
    } catch (MessagingException mex) {
        System.out.println("send failed, exception: " + mex);
    }

The JavaMail download bundle contains many more complete examples in the "demo" directory.

Don't forget to see the JavaMail API FAQ for answers to the most common questions. The JavaMail web site contains many additional resources.

The JavaMail API supports the following standard properties, which may be set in the Session object, or in the Properties object used to create the Session object. The properties are always set as strings; the Type column describes how the string is interpreted. For example, use

        props.put("mail.debug", "true");

to set the mail.debug property, which is of type boolean.

Name	Type	Description
mail.debug	boolean	The initial debug mode. Default is false.
mail.from	String	The return email address of the current user, used by the InternetAddress method getLocalAddress.
mail.mime.address.strict	boolean	The MimeMessage class uses the InternetAddress method parseHeader to parse headers in messages. This property controls the strict flag passed to the parseHeader method. The default is true.
mail.host	String	The default host name of the mail server for both Stores and Transports. Used if the mail.protocol.host property isn't set.
mail.store.protocol	String	Specifies the default message access protocol. The Session method getStore() returns a Store object that implements this protocol. By default the first Store provider in the configuration files is returned.
mail.transport.protocol	String	Specifies the default message transport protocol. The Session method getTransport() returns a Transport object that implements this protocol. By default the first Transport provider in the configuration files is returned.
mail.user	String	The default user name to use when connecting to the mail server. Used if the mail.protocol.user property isn't set.
mail.protocol.class	String	Specifies the fully qualified class name of the provider for the specified protocol. Used in cases where more than one provider for a given protocol exists; this property can be used to specify which provider to use by default. The provider must still be listed in a configuration file.
mail.protocol.host	String	The host name of the mail server for the specified protocol. Overrides the mail.host property.
mail.protocol.port	int	The port number of the mail server for the specified protocol. If not specified the protocol's default port number is used.
mail.protocol.user	String	The user name to use when connecting to mail servers using the specified protocol. Overrides the mail.user property.

The following properties are supported by Sun's implementation of JavaMail, but are not currently a required part of the specification. The names, types, defaults, and semantics of these properties may change in future releases.

Name	Type	Description
mail.debug.auth	boolean	Include protocol authentication commands (including usernames and passwords) in the debug output. Default is false.
mail.transport.protocol.address-type	String	Specifies the default message transport protocol for the specified address type. The Session method getTransport(Address) returns a Transport object that implements this protocol when the address is of the specified type (e.g., "rfc822" for standard internet addresses). By default the first Transport configured for that address type is used. This property can be used to override the behavior of the send method of the Transport class so that (for example) the "smtps" protocol is used instead of the "smtp" protocol by setting the property mail.transport.protocol.rfc822 to "smtps".

The JavaMail API also supports several System properties; see the javax.mail.internet package documentation for details.

The JavaMail reference implementation from Sun includes protocol providers in subpackages of com.sun.mail. Note that the APIs to these protocol providers are not part of the standard JavaMail API. Portable programs will not use these APIs.

Nonportable programs may use the APIs of the Sun protocol providers by (for example) casting a returned Folder object to a com.sun.mail.imap.IMAPFolder object. Similarly for Store and Message objects returned from the standard JavaMail APIs.

The Sun protocol providers also support properties that are specific to those providers. The package documentation for the IMAP, POP3, and SMTP packages provide details.

In addition to printing debugging output as controlled by the Session configuration, the current implementation of classes in this package log the same information using Logger as described in the following table:

Logger Name	Logging Level	Purpose
javax.mail	CONFIG	Configuration of the Session
javax.mail	FINE	General debugging output

Related Packages

Package	Description
javax.mail.event	Listeners and events for the JavaMail API.
javax.mail.internet	Classes specific to Internet mail systems.
javax.mail.search	Message search terms for the JavaMail API.
javax.mail.util	JavaMail API utility classes.

Class	Description
Address	This abstract class models the addresses in a message.
AuthenticationFailedException	This exception is thrown when the connect method on a Store or Transport object fails due to an authentication failure (e.g., bad user name or password).
Authenticator	The class Authenticator represents an object that knows how to obtain authentication for a network connection.
BodyPart	This class models a Part that is contained within a Multipart.
EncodingAware	A DataSource that also implements EncodingAware may specify the Content-Transfer-Encoding to use for its data.
FetchProfile	Clients use a FetchProfile to list the Message attributes that it wishes to prefetch from the server for a range of messages.
FetchProfile.Item	This inner class is the base class of all items that can be requested in a FetchProfile.
Flags	The Flags class represents the set of flags on a Message.
Flags.Flag	This inner class represents an individual system flag.
Folder	Folder is an abstract class that represents a folder for mail messages.
FolderClosedException	This exception is thrown when a method is invoked on a Messaging object and the Folder that owns that object has died due to some reason.
FolderNotFoundException	This exception is thrown by Folder methods, when those methods are invoked on a non existent folder.
Header	The Header class stores a name/value pair to represent headers.
IllegalWriteException	The exception thrown when a write is attempted on a read-only attribute of any Messaging object.
MailSessionDefinition	Annotation used by Java EE applications to define a MailSession to be registered with JNDI.
MailSessionDefinitions	Declares one or more MailSessionDefinition annotations.
Message	This class models an email message.
Message.RecipientType	This inner class defines the types of recipients allowed by the Message class.
MessageAware	An interface optionally implemented by DataSources to supply information to a DataContentHandler about the message context in which the data content object is operating.
MessageContext	The context in which a piece of Message content is contained.
MessageRemovedException	The exception thrown when an invalid method is invoked on an expunged Message.
MessagingException	The base class for all exceptions thrown by the Messaging classes
MethodNotSupportedException	The exception thrown when a method is not supported by the implementation
Multipart	Multipart is a container that holds multiple body parts.
MultipartDataSource	MultipartDataSource is a DataSource that contains body parts.
NoSuchProviderException	This exception is thrown when Session attempts to instantiate a Provider that doesn't exist.
Part	The Part interface is the common base interface for Messages and BodyParts.
PasswordAuthentication	The class PasswordAuthentication is a data holder that is used by Authenticator.
Provider	The Provider is a class that describes a protocol implementation.
Provider.Type	This inner class defines the Provider type.
Quota	This class represents a set of quotas for a given quota root.
Quota.Resource	An individual resource in a quota root.
QuotaAwareStore	An interface implemented by Stores that support quotas.
ReadOnlyFolderException	This exception is thrown when an attempt is made to open a folder read-write access when the folder is marked read-only.
SendFailedException	This exception is thrown when the message cannot be sent.
Service	An abstract class that contains the functionality common to messaging services, such as stores and transports.
Session	The Session class represents a mail session and is not subclassed.
Store	An abstract class that models a message store and its access protocol, for storing and retrieving messages.
StoreClosedException	This exception is thrown when a method is invoked on a Messaging object and the Store that owns that object has died due to some reason.
Transport	An abstract class that models a message transport.
UIDFolder	The UIDFolder interface is implemented by Folders that can support the "disconnected" mode of operation, by providing unique-ids for messages in the folder.
UIDFolder.FetchProfileItem	A fetch profile item for fetching UIDs.
URLName	The name of a URL.