(Perl) IMAP Find Emails by Date

See more IMAP Examples

Explains how to find emails by date using the IMAP protocol.

Chilkat Perl Downloads Perl Module for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Alpine Linux, Solaris

use chilkat();

# This example requires the Chilkat API to have been previously unlocked.
# See Global Unlock Sample for sample code.

$imap = chilkat::CkImap->new();

# Connect to an IMAP server.
$imap->put_Ssl(1);
$imap->put_Port(993);
$success = $imap->Connect("imap.example.com");
if ($success != 1) {
    print $imap->lastErrorText() . "\r\n";
    exit;
}

# Login
$success = $imap->Login("myLogin","myPassword");
if ($success != 1) {
    print $imap->lastErrorText() . "\r\n";
    exit;
}

# Select an IMAP mailbox
$success = $imap->SelectMailbox("Inbox");
if ($success != 1) {
    print $imap->lastErrorText() . "\r\n";
    exit;
}

# In the IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) protocol, criteria strings are used to search for emails matching specific criteria on the mail server. 
# When searching for emails by date, you can use criteria strings to specify the date range you're interested in.
# 
# IMAP provides several options for searching emails by date using criteria strings. Here are the commonly used ones:
# 
# 1. BEFORE: Searches for emails sent before a specific date.
#    Example: BEFORE 01-Apr-2022
# 
# 2. ON: Searches for emails sent on a specific date.
#    Example: ON 01-Apr-2022
# 
# 3. SINCE: Searches for emails sent after a specific date.
#    Example: SINCE 01-Apr-2022
# 
# 4. SENTBEFORE: Searches for emails whose date header (sent date) is before a specific date.
#    Example: SENTBEFORE 01-Apr-2022
# 
# 5. SENTON: Searches for emails whose date header (sent date) is on a specific date.
#    Example: SENTON 01-Apr-2022
# 
# 6. SENTSINCE: Searches for emails whose date header (sent date) is after a specific date.
#    Example: SENTSINCE 01-Apr-2022
# 

# 
# The date format used in IMAP criteria strings is typically a specific format like "DD-Mon-YYYY" (e.g., "01-Apr-2022"), but some servers may also accept other formats 
# such as "YYYY-MM-DD". It's essential to check the documentation or specifications of the IMAP server you're working with to ensure compatibility with the 
# date format you're using.
# 
# By combining these date criteria strings with other search criteria (such as sender, recipient, subject, etc.), 
# you can effectively filter and retrieve emails based on various conditions.
# 

# Search for messages on a specific date.
# The date string is DD-Month-YYYY where Month is
# Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, or Dec.
$onDate = "SENTON 15-Apr-2024";

# Search for messages between two dates.  SENTBEFORE
# finds emails sent before a date, and SENTSINCE finds
# email sent on or after a date.  The "AND" operation
# is implied by joining criteria, separated by spaces.
$betweenDates = "SENTSINCE 12-Apr-2024 SENTBEFORE 15-Apr-2024";

# We can choose to fetch UIDs or sequence numbers.
$fetchUids = 1;
# messageSet is a MessageSet
$messageSet = $imap->Search($betweenDates,$fetchUids);
if ($imap->get_LastMethodSuccess() == 0) {
    print $imap->lastErrorText() . "\r\n";
    exit;
}

print $messageSet->toCompactString() . "\r\n";

# Download each email in the message set.

$messageCount = $messageSet->get_Count();
$i = 0;
while ($i < $messageCount) {
    # email is a Email
    $email = $imap->FetchSingle($messageSet->GetId($i),$fetchUids);
    if ($imap->get_LastMethodSuccess() == 0) {
        print $imap->lastErrorText() . "\r\n";

        exit;
    }

    print $email->subject() . "\r\n";
    # ...

    $i = $i + 1;
}

# Disconnect from the IMAP server.
$success = $imap->Disconnect();