Zig Requires Chilkat v11.0.0+

IMAP Find Emails by Date

See more IMAP Examples

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

const std = @import("std");
const chilkat = @import("chilkat");

pub fn main(init: std.process.Init) !void {
    const alloc = init.arena.allocator();

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

    const imap = try chilkat.Imap.init();
    defer imap.deinit();

    // Connect to an IMAP server.
    imap.setSsl(true);
    imap.setPort(993);
    imap.connect("imap.example.com") catch {
        std.debug.print("{s}\n", .{try imap.getLastErrorText(alloc)});
        return;
    };

    // Login
    imap.login("myLogin", "myPassword") catch {
        std.debug.print("{s}\n", .{try imap.getLastErrorText(alloc)});
        return;
    };

    // Select an IMAP mailbox
    imap.selectMailbox("Inbox") catch {
        std.debug.print("{s}\n", .{try imap.getLastErrorText(alloc)});
        return;
    };

    // 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.

    // 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.
    const between_dates = "SENTSINCE 12-Apr-2024 SENTBEFORE 15-Apr-2024";

    // We can choose to fetch UIDs or sequence numbers.
    const fetch_uids = true;

    const message_set = try chilkat.MessageSet.init();
    defer message_set.deinit();
    imap.queryMbx(between_dates, fetch_uids, message_set) catch {
        std.debug.print("{s}\n", .{try imap.getLastErrorText(alloc)});
        return;
    };

    std.debug.print("{s}\n", .{try message_set.toCompactString(alloc)});

    // Download each email in the message set.
    const email = try chilkat.Email.init();
    defer email.deinit();
    const message_count = message_set.getCount();
    var i: i32 = 0;
    while (i < message_count) {
        imap.fetchEmail(false, message_set.getId(i), fetch_uids, email) catch {
            std.debug.print("{s}\n", .{try imap.getLastErrorText(alloc)});
            return;
        };

        std.debug.print("{s}\n", .{try email.getSubject(alloc)});
        // ...

        i = i + 1;
    }

    // Disconnect from the IMAP server.
    try imap.disconnect();
}