JavaScript

Search an IMAP Mailbox

Demonstrates the Chilkat Imap.QueryMbx method, which searches the selected mailbox using IMAP search criteria and stores the matching message identifiers in a MessageSet. If bUid is true, the identifiers are UIDs; otherwise they are sequence numbers. This example finds unseen messages and lists their UIDs.

Background: IMAP search runs on the server, so you can find matching messages without downloading them. The criteria string is standard IMAP search syntax — for example UNSEEN, FROM "alice@example.com", SUBJECT "invoice", or SINCE 1-Jan-2026 — and terms can be combined. The result is a MessageSet of identifiers you then fetch, flag, copy, or move. Requesting UIDs (bUid = true) is preferred because UIDs remain valid across sessions.

Note

This example is intended for running within a Chilkat.Js embedded JavaScript engine. All Chilkat JavaScript examples require Chilkat v11.4.0 or greater.

JavaScript

var success = false;

//  Demonstrates the Imap.QueryMbx method, which searches the selected mailbox using IMAP
//  search criteria and stores the matching message identifiers in a MessageSet.  If bUid is
//  true, the identifiers are UIDs; otherwise they are sequence numbers.

var imap = new CkImap();

imap.Ssl = true;
imap.Port = 993;

success = imap.Connect("imap.example.com");
if (success == false) {
    console.log(imap.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

success = imap.Login("user@example.com","myPassword");
if (success == false) {
    console.log(imap.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

success = imap.SelectMailbox("Inbox");
if (success == false) {
    console.log(imap.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

//  Search for unseen (unread) messages, returning their UIDs.
var msgSet = new CkMessageSet();
success = imap.QueryMbx("UNSEEN",true,msgSet);
if (success == false) {
    console.log(imap.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

//  Iterate the matching message identifiers.
var n = msgSet.Count;
console.log("Matching messages: " + n);
var i;
for (i = 0; i <= n - 1; i++) {
    console.log("UID: " + msgSet.GetId(i));
}

success = imap.Disconnect();
if (success == false) {
    console.log(imap.LastErrorText);
    return;
}