POP3 Read

POP3 Read

Type: pop3-read  ·  Package: SMTP / IMAP Email Activities v1.0.5  ·  Output: List<ZoanMail>

Reads emails from a POP3 server and returns a list of messages (ZoanMail). POP3 is an old, limited protocol: it does not support folders, filters or read state.

Prefer IMAP

Use IMAP Read whenever your server allows it: it offers folders, filters, mark as read, move and delete. POP3 only makes sense when the server does not offer IMAP.

How it works

Connects to the server (port 995 with ssl by default), signs in, counts the messages in the mailbox and downloads the limit most recent (default 10). Reading does not delete emails from the server or change anything: to remove them use POP3 Delete.

Since POP3 keeps no state, each read returns the same emails while they remain in the mailbox. To avoid processing twice, delete what you processed or keep track elsewhere of what you already took (for example, subject and date).

Required parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
host	string	—	POP3 server (e.g. pop.gmail.com).
username	string	—	Username.
password	string	—	Password or App Password, as text: use credential("name")["password"] (or credential("name")["value"] if the credential holds a single value).

Optional parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
port	int	995	POP3 port. With TLS: 995; unencrypted or with starttls: 110.
limit	int	10	Maximum number of emails to return (the most recent).
includeAttachments	bool	false	Downloads attachment content into .Attachments (name, MIME type and bytes).
security	string	"ssl"	Encryption: auto, none, ssl or starttls. See Encryption and ports.
acceptInvalidCerts	bool	false	Accepts untrusted (self-signed) TLS certificates, useful on test servers. Do not enable it against production servers.

Output

Returns a List<ZoanMail> with up to limit emails, from oldest to newest within that group. Each email has:

Property	Content
.Id	Message index in the mailbox, from 0 (numeric text). Use it as mailId in POP3 Delete.
.Subject, .From, .To, .Cc	Subject, sender address and recipient addresses.
.Body / .IsHtml	Plain text of the email; if it only has HTML, the HTML with .IsHtml = true.
.SentAt	Date from the Date header (sent date).
.IsRead	Always false (POP3 has no read state).
.Attachments	Attachments with content if includeAttachments = true; otherwise empty.

If the mailbox is empty, it returns an empty list.

Common errors

Message	Cause and fix
'host' is required. (and the same for username, password)	The parameter is missing or the expression returned null.
Server authentication error	Wrong username or password, App Password required, or POP3 disabled for the account. If you passed credential("name") without ["password"], the text sent is not the password.
Connection or TLS error	Wrong host or port, security does not match the port, or the server certificate is not trusted (on a test server, acceptInvalidCerts = true).

Example

POP3 Read   host = "pop.gmail.com"   username = credential("mail-bot")["user"]   password = credential("mail-bot")["password"]   limit = 20   → output: emails
For Each   items = emails   itemVariable = email
 └─ activities:
      Log   message = email.SentAt.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm") + " · " + email.From + " — " + email.Subject

Related activities

• IMAP Read — recommended alternative, with folders and filters.
• POP3 Delete — delete an email you read.