IMAP Delete

IMAP Delete

Type: imap-delete  ·  Package: SMTP / IMAP Email Activities v1.0.5

Deletes an email from the IMAP server. By default it moves it to the trash (recoverable); with permanent = true it is removed immediately.

How it works

Given the mailId (from IMAP Read), it deletes the email from folder:

• permanent = false (default): moves it to the folder the server declares as trash. If the server declares no trash folder, the email is deleted permanently and the log warns Email permanently deleted because the server has no Trash folder.
• permanent = true: flags it as deleted and compacts the folder (expunge) right away. Note that the expunge also removes other emails in that folder that were already flagged as deleted.

Required parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
host	string	—	IMAP server.
username	string	—	Username.
password	credential	—	Password or App Password. Use credential("name")["password"].
mailId	string	—	Email UID (from email.Id). Must be numeric.

Optional parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
port	int	993	IMAP port.
folder	string	"INBOX"	Folder that holds the email.
permanent	bool	false	true = immediate, permanent deletion; false = to the trash.
security	string	"ssl"	Encryption: auto, none, ssl or starttls.

Output

This activity does not return a value.

Common errors

Message	Cause and fix
Invalid 'mailId'. It must be the numeric UID returned by imap-read.	mailId is not a number. Pass email.Id from IMAP Read.
'mailId' is required.	The parameter is missing or the expression returned null.
Authentication, folder or connection error	Same as in IMAP Read.

Example

Discard advertising emails, to the trash:

For Each   items = emails   itemVariable = email
 └─ activities:
      If   condition = email.Subject.ToLower().Contains("advertising")
       └─ then:
            IMAP Delete   host = "imap.gmail.com"   username = credential("mail-bot")["user"]   password = credential("mail-bot")["password"]   mailId = email.Id

permanent = true cannot be undone

With permanent = false (default), the email goes to the trash and can be recovered. With permanent = true it is deleted permanently. To just take it out of the flow without deleting it, consider moving it to another folder.

Related activities

• IMAP Move — archive to another folder instead of deleting.
• IMAP Mark Read — mark as read.