Download emails (backup) from gmail programmatically - c#

Does anyone know a way to execute a bulk dump of every email of a gmail account and write the emails to a file?
I'm looking to write a program that would let users back up there gmail (probably via imap) and back it up to either individual files or as a pst (I know pst will probably be much harder)

some time ago I wrote a blog post about exactly same topic. See HOWTO: Download emails from a GMail account in C# for details.
Code uses our Rebex Mail component:
using Rebex.Mail;
using Rebex.Net;
...
// create the POP3 client
Pop3 client = new Pop3();
try
{
// Connect securely using explicit SSL.
// Use the third argument to specify additional SSL parameters.
Console.WriteLine("Connecting to the POP3 server...");
client.Connect("pop.gmail.com", 995, null, Pop3Security.Implicit);
// login and password
client.Login(email, password);
// get the number of messages
Console.WriteLine("{0} messages found.", client.GetMessageCount());
// -----------------
// list messages
// -----------------
// list all messages
ListPop3MessagesFast(client); // unique IDs and size only
//ListPop3MessagesFullHeaders(client); // full headers
}
finally
{
// leave the server alone
client.Disconnect();
}
public static void ListPop3MessagesFast(Pop3 client)
{
Console.WriteLine("Fetching message list...");
// let's download only what we can get fast
Pop3MessageCollection messages =
client.GetMessageList(Pop3ListFields.Fast);
// display basic info about each message
Console.WriteLine("UID | Sequence number | Length");
foreach (Pop3MessageInfo messageInfo in messages)
{
// display header info
Console.WriteLine
(
"{0} | {1} | {2} ",
messageInfo.UniqueId,
messageInfo.SequenceNumber,
messageInfo.Length
);
// or download the whole message
MailMessage mailMessage = client.GetMailMessage(messageInfo.SequenceNumber);
}
}

Gmail provides POP access. So just use any library that allows you to communicate using POP and you're golden.
Edit: I just noticed that you mentioned IMAP; I recommend you use POP instead for bulk dumps. IMAP is too chatty for what you want to do.
If you must use IMAP, here's a library for you.

You can use fetchmail from a Unix environment to create an mbox file.
http://lifehacker.com/software/gmail/geek-to-live--back-up-gmail-with-fetchmail-235207.php

There is an open-source Python program compiled to Windows (using py2exe) at
https://github.com/jay0lee/got-your-back/wiki
But Mac users would need to compile it (which I haven't completely figured out due to a py2exe error).
Either way, you also need a way to execute the program automatically in a schedule.

Related

Is there a way to handle/turn off dialogs from Outlook while sending emails with encryption in place (with C# WPF)?

I have a C# WPF application, one of its functionalities it to send series of emails through local Outlook/account. It utilizes Microsoft.Office.Interop.Outlook COM. The thing is that I need to encrypt emails. I'm handling it with following approach:
using Outlook = Microsoft.Office.Interop.Outlook;
(...)
Outlook.Application olkApp = new Outlook.Application();
Outlook.MailItem otlMail = olkApp.CreateItemFromTemplate(templateFullPath) as Outlook.MailItem;
otlMail.To = (...)
try
{
const string PR_SECURITY_FLAGS = http://schemas.microsoft.com/mapi/proptag/0x6E010003";
long prop = Convert.ToInt64(otlMail.PropertyAccessor.GetProperty(PR_SECURITY_FLAGS));
var ulFlags = 0x0;
ulFlags = (ulFlags | 0x1); // SECFLAG_ENCRYPTED
//ulFlags = (ulFlags | 0x2); // SECFLAG_SIGNED
otlMail.PropertyAccessor.SetProperty(PR_SECURITY_FLAGS, ulFlags);
}
catch (Exception ex)
(...)
try
{
otlMail.Send();
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
(...)
}
Since I send these emails over to company's accounts, in theory all employees should have valid certificates (PKI card). In practice some folks for sure will not comply that requirement (for some reasons). So, when I'm testing the app, simulating such problem, the Outlook displays a dialog asking for decision:
Microsoft Outlook had problems encrypting this message because the following recipients had missing or invalid certificates, or conflicting or unsupported encryption capabilities: (some email address).
Continue will encrypt and send the message but listed recipients may not be able to read it.
[Send Unencrypted] [Continue] [Cancel]
The application is waiting endlessly for user decision. I find it inconvenient for user.
In case such a problem occurs I'd see either:
disable such dialogs and ensure the exception would be thrown so that I can trace problematic accounts, or...
handle such dialogs in an automated manner somehow.
Registry changes are not an option.
Can anybody help please?
Regards,
Kris
The Outlook object model doesn't provide anything for suppressing such dialogs automatically.

Reading Emails from Gmail C# - IMAP

I'm trying to read emails from specific Gmail account. I have found something here(Stackoverflow) but I can't manage reading the emails.
this is what I'm using:
public static void logingmail()
{
// Connect to the IMAP server. The 'true' parameter specifies to use SSL
// which is important (for Gmail at least)
ImapClient ic = new ImapClient("imap.gmail.com", "Any#gmail.com", "4521945219",AuthMethods.Login, 993, true);
// Select a mailbox. Case-insensitive
ic.SelectMailbox("Inbox");
string countmessages = ic.GetMessageCount().ToString();
// Get the first *11* messages. 0 is the first message;
// and it also includes the 10th message, which is really the eleventh ;)
// MailMessage represents, well, a message in your mailbox
MailMessage[] mm = ic.GetMessages(0, 10);
foreach (MailMessage m in mm)
{
var subject = m.Subject.ToString();
}
// Probably wiser to use a using statement
ic.Dispose();
}
The problem I'm experiencsing probably happening when I'm first creating the new ImapCliient class. for some reason it's opening a browse path to choose a file(?).
I'll be happy for some assistance.
Thanks
You should use the solution of the second post of the topic were you have found something, S22.Imap.
(Here you can find a compiled version).
After download, you can read the documentation. It is simple and readable.
Actually, I use this library and that works well !

Getting attachments from a mail account with .NET

I'd like a free library for .NET to get attachments from an account (such as gMail, or others) via imap4 (not necessarely), and save them in a folder.
Ideally it would allow me to get a list of them, and download only some given ones (filtering by extension, name, and/or size) and be free.
I've already done this with a trial version of EAGetMail, but for the purpose of what i'm trying to attempt buying the unlimited version of this library isn't quite suitable (i didn't know that this functionality itself was one among the ones with limited time).
---[edit - Higuchi]---
I'm using the following code:
Dim cl As New Pop3Client()
cl.UserName = "marcelo.f.ramires#gmail.com"
cl.Password = "mypassword"
cl.ServerName = "pop.gmail.com"
cl.AuthenticateMode = Pop3AuthenticateMode.Pop
cl.Ssl = False
cl.Authenticate() //takes a while, but passes even if there's a wrong password
Dim mg As Pop3Message = cl.GetMessage(1) //gives me an exception: Message = "Pop3 connection is closed"
UPDATE: Setting the port to 995 gives me a "Response TimeOut" exception
As commented, I am having some issues while trying to connect and get the first e-mail. any help ?
Well, I know you specified IMAP4, but I figured I'd offer this anyway in case POP3 is an option, since it's been useful for me:
http://csharpmail.codeplex.com/
This library provides access to POP3 mail, which many e-mail services (including Gmail) do offer in addition to the newer IMAP.
The core class is Pop3Client, which provides access to POP3 functions such as ExecuteList, ExecuteTop, etc. I have used this for specifically what you are asking about -- scanning for and downloading attachments.
If you decide this is something you could use after all and need further guidance, let me know.
UPDATE: In response to your updated question, I have just a few preliminary suggestions:
Consider setting the Pop3Client.Port property to 995. I know this is what Gmail uses for POP3.
The Pop3Client.Authenticate method returns a bool value indicating whether or not authentication was successful. You can check this value after calling the method to know whether it will be possible to progress further.
UPDATE 2: I tried this at home with the following settings and it worked for me:
Using client As New Pop3Client
client.UserName = "username#gmail.com"
client.Password = "[insert password here]"
client.ServerName = "pop.gmail.com"
client.AuthenticateMode = Pop3AuthenticateMode.Pop
client.Ssl = True ' NOTICE: in your example code you have False here '
client.Port = 995
client.Authenticate()
Dim messageList = client.ExecuteList()
Console.WriteLine("# Messages: {0}", messageList.Count)
End Using
Try these settings and see if they work for you.
UPDATE 3: One more thing! Have you made sure to enable POP for your Gmail account? If not, you need to do that!
From your Gmail inbox, click "Settings" (top right).
From the Settings page, click the tab labeled "Forwarding and POP/IMAP."
In the POP Download section, select one of the radio buttons to enable POP mail.
Click "Save Changes" at the bottom.

Reading and parsing email from Gmail using C#, C++ or Python

I have to do a Windows application that from times to times access a Gmail account and checks if there is a new email. In case there is, it must read the email body and subject (a simple text email, without images or attachments).
Please, do not use paid libs, and in case of any other libs used, give the download path.
And I need the email body and subject only. So if the long and complex message that comes from Gmail could be parsed and only two strings containing the subject and the body, it would be perfect.
Finally, I only have to get the new messages arrived since the last execution. So the read messages could be marked as "read" and only the new ones (marked as "new") are considered.
The code can be written in Python or C++, but I prefer it in C#.
Related question:
Properly formatted example for Python iMAP email access?
This prints the subject and body of unseen messages, and marks those messages as seen.
import imaplib
import email
def extract_body(payload):
if isinstance(payload,str):
return payload
else:
return '\n'.join([extract_body(part.get_payload()) for part in payload])
conn = imaplib.IMAP4_SSL("imap.gmail.com", 993)
conn.login("user", "password")
conn.select()
typ, data = conn.search(None, 'UNSEEN')
try:
for num in data[0].split():
typ, msg_data = conn.fetch(num, '(RFC822)')
for response_part in msg_data:
if isinstance(response_part, tuple):
msg = email.message_from_string(response_part[1])
subject=msg['subject']
print(subject)
payload=msg.get_payload()
body=extract_body(payload)
print(body)
typ, response = conn.store(num, '+FLAGS', r'(\Seen)')
finally:
try:
conn.close()
except:
pass
conn.logout()
Much of the code above comes from Doug Hellmann's tutorial on imaplib.
Use one of the many C# IMAP libraries.
Note that there are some differences between Gmail-IMAP and IMAPA. For example, due to the fact that Gmail treats folders like labels, the code like the one below doesn't delete message if it's tagged with some other folder:
imap_instance.uid('store', uid, '+FLAGS', '\\Deleted')
imap_instance.expunge()
I know this is an old post but I wanted to add the following link to the Open Source ImapX 2 Library discussion: https://imapx.codeplex.com/ the developers seem to be keeping the project up to date. Great job to those all involved
Google has opened it's Gmail API for accessing your gmail account. You can check a quickstart sample with the basic functionalities at this link:
https://developers.google.com/gmail/api/quickstart/python
from imap_tools import MailBox, Q
# This prints the subject and body of unseen messages, and marks those messages as seen.
with MailBox('imap.mail.com').login('test#mail.com', 'password') as mailbox:
# *mark_seen param = True by default
print([(m.subject, m.html or m.text) for m in mailbox.fetch(Q(seen=False), mark_seen=True)])
imap_tools

C# OpenSource POP3 class with SSL support? [duplicate]

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Closed 9 years ago.
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I am looking for a method of reading emails using Pop3 in C# 2.0. Currently, I am using code found in CodeProject. However, this solution is less than ideal. The biggest problem is that it doesn't support emails written in unicode.
I've successfully used OpenPop.NET to access emails via POP3.
downloading the email via the POP3 protocol is the easy part of the task. The protocol is quite simple and the only hard part could be advanced authentication methods if you don't want to send a clear text password over the network (and cannot use the SSL encrypted communication channel). See RFC 1939: Post Office Protocol - Version 3
and RFC 1734: POP3 AUTHentication command for details.
The hard part comes when you have to parse the received email, which means parsing MIME format in most cases. You can write quick&dirty MIME parser in a few hours or days and it will handle 95+% of all incoming messages. Improving the parser so it can parse almost any email means:
getting email samples sent from the most popular mail clients and improve the parser in order to fix errors and RFC misinterpretations generated by them.
Making sure that messages violating RFC for message headers and content will not crash your parser and that you will be able to read every readable or guessable value from the mangled email
correct handling of internationalization issues (e.g. languages written from righ to left, correct encoding for specific language etc)
UNICODE
Attachments and hierarchical message item tree as seen in "Mime torture email sample"
S/MIME (signed and encrypted emails).
and so on
Debugging a robust MIME parser takes months of work. I know, because I was watching my friend writing one such parser for the component mentioned below and was writing a few unit tests for it too ;-)
Back to the original question.
Following code taken from our POP3 Tutorial page and links would help you:
//
// create client, connect and log in
Pop3 client = new Pop3();
client.Connect("pop3.example.org");
client.Login("username", "password");
// get message list
Pop3MessageCollection list = client.GetMessageList();
if (list.Count == 0)
{
Console.WriteLine("There are no messages in the mailbox.");
}
else
{
// download the first message
MailMessage message = client.GetMailMessage(list[0].SequenceNumber);
...
}
client.Disconnect();
HOWTO: Download emails from a GMail account in C# (blogpost)
Rebex Mail for .NET (POP3/IMAP client component for .NET)
Rebex Secure Mail for .NET (POP3/IMAP client component for .NET - SSL enabled)
My open source application BugTracker.NET includes a POP3 client that can parse MIME. Both the POP3 code and the MIME code are from other authors, but you can see how it all fits together in my app.
For the MIME parsing, I use http://anmar.eu.org/projects/sharpmimetools/.
See the file POP3Main.cs, POP3Client.cs, and insert_bug.aspx
You can also try Mail.dll mail component, it has SSL support, unicode, and multi-national email support:
using(Pop3 pop3 = new Pop3())
{
pop3.Connect("mail.host.com"); // Connect to server and login
pop3.Login("user", "password");
foreach(string uid in pop3.GetAll())
{
IMail email = new MailBuilder()
.CreateFromEml(pop3.GetMessageByUID(uid));
Console.WriteLine( email.Subject );
}
pop3.Close(false);
}
You can download it here at https://www.limilabs.com/mail
Please note that this is a commercial product I've created.
call me old fashion but why use a 3rd party library for a simple protocol. I've implemented POP3 readers in web based ASP.NET application with System.Net.Sockets.TCPClient and System.Net.Security.SslStream for the encryption and authentication. As far as protocols go, once you open up communication with the POP3 server, there are only a handful of commands that you have to deal with. It is a very easy protocol to work with.
I wouldn't recommend OpenPOP. I just spent a few hours debugging an issue - OpenPOP's POPClient.GetMessage() was mysteriously returning null. I debugged this and found it was a string index bug - see the patch I submitted here: http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=2833334&group_id=92166&atid=599778. It was difficult to find the cause since there are empty catch{} blocks that swallow exceptions.
Also, the project is mostly dormant... the last release was in 2004.
For now we're still using OpenPOP, but I'll take a look at some of the other projects people have recommended here.
HigLabo.Mail is easy to use. Here is a sample usage:
using (Pop3Client cl = new Pop3Client())
{
cl.UserName = "MyUserName";
cl.Password = "MyPassword";
cl.ServerName = "MyServer";
cl.AuthenticateMode = Pop3AuthenticateMode.Pop;
cl.Ssl = false;
cl.Authenticate();
///Get first mail of my mailbox
Pop3Message mg = cl.GetMessage(1);
String MyText = mg.BodyText;
///If the message have one attachment
Pop3Content ct = mg.Contents[0];
///you can save it to local disk
ct.DecodeData("your file path");
}
you can get it from https://github.com/higty/higlabo or Nuget [HigLabo]
I just tried SMTPop and it worked.
I downloaded this.
Added smtpop.dll reference to my C# .NET project
Wrote the following code:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using SmtPop;
namespace SMT_POP3 {
class Program {
static void Main(string[] args) {
SmtPop.POP3Client pop = new SmtPop.POP3Client();
pop.Open("<hostURL>", 110, "<username>", "<password>");
// Get message list from POP server
SmtPop.POPMessageId[] messages = pop.GetMailList();
if (messages != null) {
// Walk attachment list
foreach(SmtPop.POPMessageId id in messages) {
SmtPop.POPReader reader= pop.GetMailReader(id);
SmtPop.MimeMessage msg = new SmtPop.MimeMessage();
// Read message
msg.Read(reader);
if (msg.AddressFrom != null) {
String from= msg.AddressFrom[0].Name;
Console.WriteLine("from: " + from);
}
if (msg.Subject != null) {
String subject = msg.Subject;
Console.WriteLine("subject: "+ subject);
}
if (msg.Body != null) {
String body = msg.Body;
Console.WriteLine("body: " + body);
}
if (msg.Attachments != null && false) {
// Do something with first attachment
SmtPop.MimeAttachment attach = msg.Attachments[0];
if (attach.Filename == "data") {
// Read data from attachment
Byte[] b = Convert.FromBase64String(attach.Body);
System.IO.MemoryStream mem = new System.IO.MemoryStream(b, false);
//BinaryFormatter f = new BinaryFormatter();
// DataClass data= (DataClass)f.Deserialize(mem);
mem.Close();
}
// Delete message
// pop.Dele(id.Id);
}
}
}
pop.Quit();
}
}
}

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