whatisgithub

What is imap?

n8n-io/imap — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-17 · repo last pushed 2024-03-14

★ 2Audience · developerComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · moderate

In one sentence

A simplified library for reading, searching, and managing email over IMAP without dealing with the raw protocol.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Connect to IMAP servers
      Search and read emails
      Download attachments
      Move and delete messages
    Tech stack
      Node.js
      IMAP protocol
    Use cases
      Automate email workflows
      Build notification bots
      Archive old emails
    Audience
      Automation developers
      Bot builders
    Status
      No longer maintained
      Wraps node-imap

Code map

Detail Auto

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Automatically download attachments from specific incoming emails.

USE CASE 2

Build a notification system that triggers when new emails arrive in a folder.

USE CASE 3

Create a tool that archives or organizes old emails by sender.

USE CASE 4

Integrate a user's inbox with another service like a database or CRM.

What is it built with?

Node.jsIMAPJavaScript

How does it compare?

n8n-io/imap0-bingwu-0/live-interpreter0xkaz/llm-governance-dashboard
Stars222
Language—PythonPython
Last pushed2024-03-14——
MaintenanceDormant——
Setup difficultymoderatemoderatehard
Complexity2/52/54/5
Audiencedevelopergeneralops devops

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

No longer actively maintained, doesn't cover every feature of node-imap.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Show me how to connect to a Gmail IMAP account and search for unread messages using this library.
Prompt 2
Help me write a script that downloads all attachments from emails in a specific folder.
Prompt 3
Explain how this library simplifies node-imap and what limitations that introduces.
Prompt 4
Walk me through building a bot that moves emails between folders based on sender.

Frequently asked questions

What is imap?

A simplified library for reading, searching, and managing email over IMAP without dealing with the raw protocol.

Is imap actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2024-03-14).

How hard is imap to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is imap for?

Mainly developer.

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