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ObsoletedPROPOSED STANDARDIETF stream

RFC 3501: INTERNET MESSAGE ACCESS PROTOCOL - VERSION 4rev1

This RFC has been replaced. Do not implement against it for new work — it was formally obsoleted by RFC 9051.

Current document in this lineage: RFC 2061 — IMAP4 Compatibility with IMAP2bis; RFC 9051 — Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) - Version 4rev2

In plain English — editorial summary, not part of the RFC

The Internet Message Access Protocol, Version 4rev1 (IMAP4rev1) allows a client to access and manipulate electronic mail messages on a server. IMAP4rev1 permits manipulation of mailboxes (remote message folders) in a way that is functionally equivalent to local folders. IMAP4rev1 also provides the capability for an offline client to resynchronize with the server. IMAP4rev1 includes operations for creating, deleting, and renaming mailboxes, checking for new messages, permanently removing messages, setting and clearing flags, RFC 2822 and RFC 2045 parsing, searching, and selective fetching of message attributes, texts, and portions thereof. Messages in IMAP4rev1 are accessed by the use of numbers. These numbers are either message sequence numbers or unique identifiers. IMAP4rev1 supports a single server. A mechanism for accessing configuration information to support multiple IMAP4rev1 servers is discussed in RFC 2244. IMAP4rev1 does not specify a means of posting mail; this function is handled by a mail transfer protocol such as RFC 2821. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

Document record

Document ID
RFC3501
Published
March 2003
Authors
M. Crispin
Status
PROPOSED STANDARD
Stream
IETF
Area
—
Pages
108
Also known as
—
Obsoletes:
RFC 2060
Obsoleted by:
RFC 9051
Updated by:
RFC 4466, RFC 4469, RFC 4551, RFC 5032, RFC 5182, RFC 5738, RFC 6186, RFC 6858, RFC 7817, RFC 8314, RFC 8437, RFC 8474, RFC 8996

Topics

Standards lineage

This document is one revision in a chain of 5 RFCs, each formally replacing the one before it.

  1. RFC 1730 (1994)
  2. RFC 2060 (1996)
  3. RFC 2061 (1996)
  4. RFC 3501 (2003)
  5. RFC 9051 (2021) ✓

Read the full history of Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) - Version 4rev2 →

Referenced by

14 later RFCs formally update or obsolete part of this document.

Related documents

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About this page

The document record above — title, authors, date, status, stream, area, relationships, DOI and errata — is imported verbatim from the public RFC Editor index. The “in plain English” section is editorial: written by The metasystema editorial team, not part of the RFC. Where the two differ, the RFC text governs.

Last checked against the RFC Editor index on . RFCs are never revised after publication; changes are issued as new documents.

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canonical URL: /rfc/3501-internet-message-access-protocol-version-4rev1