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<title>11.9 poplib -- POP3 protocol client</title>
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<H1><A NAME="SECTION0013900000000000000000">
11.9 <tt class="module">poplib</tt> --
         POP3 protocol client</A>
</H1>

<P>
<A NAME="module-poplib"></A>

<P>
<a id='l2h-3372' xml:id='l2h-3372'></a>
<P>
This module defines a class, <tt class="class">POP3</tt>, which encapsulates a
connection to a POP3 server and implements the protocol as defined in
<a class="rfc" id='rfcref-90170' xml:id='rfcref-90170'
href="http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1725.html">RFC 1725</a>.  The <tt class="class">POP3</tt> class supports both the minimal and
optional command sets. Additionally, this module provides a class
<tt class="class">POP3_SSL</tt>, which provides support for connecting to POP3
servers that use SSL as an underlying protocol layer.

<P>
Note that POP3, though widely supported, is obsolescent.  The
implementation quality of POP3 servers varies widely, and too many are
quite poor. If your mailserver supports IMAP, you would be better off
using the <code><tt class="module"><a href="module-imaplib.html">imaplib</a></tt>.<tt class="class">IMAP4</tt></code> class, as IMAP
servers tend to be better implemented.

<P>
A single class is provided by the <tt class="module">poplib</tt> module:

<P>
<dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline">
  <td><nobr><b><span class="typelabel">class</span>&nbsp;<tt id='l2h-3373' xml:id='l2h-3373' class="class">POP3</tt></b>(</nobr></td>
  <td><var>host</var><big>[</big><var>, port</var><big>]</big><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt>
<dd>
This class implements the actual POP3 protocol.  The connection is
created when the instance is initialized.
If <var>port</var> is omitted, the standard POP3 port (110) is used.
</dl>

<P>
<dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline">
  <td><nobr><b><span class="typelabel">class</span>&nbsp;<tt id='l2h-3374' xml:id='l2h-3374' class="class">POP3_SSL</tt></b>(</nobr></td>
  <td><var>host</var><big>[</big><var>, port</var><big>[</big><var>, keyfile</var><big>[</big><var>, certfile</var><big>]</big><var></var><big>]</big><var></var><big>]</big><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt>
<dd>
This is a subclass of <tt class="class">POP3</tt> that connects to the server over an
SSL encrypted socket.  If <var>port</var> is not specified, 995, the
standard POP3-over-SSL port is used.  <var>keyfile</var> and <var>certfile</var>
are also optional - they can contain a PEM formatted private key and
certificate chain file for the SSL connection.

<P>

<span class="versionnote">New in version 2.4.</span>

</dl>

<P>
One exception is defined as an attribute of the <tt class="module">poplib</tt> module:

<P>
<dl><dt><b><span class="typelabel">exception</span>&nbsp;<tt id='l2h-3375' xml:id='l2h-3375' class="exception">error_proto</tt></b></dt>
<dd>
Exception raised on any errors.  The reason for the exception is
passed to the constructor as a string.
</dd></dl>

<P>
<div class="seealso">
  <p class="heading">See Also:</p>

  <dl compact="compact" class="seemodule">
    <dt>Module <b><tt class="module"><a href="module-imaplib.html">imaplib</a></tt>:</b>
    <dd>The standard Python IMAP module.
  </dl>
  <dl compact="compact" class="seetitle">
    <dt><em class="citetitle"><a href="http://www.catb.org/~esr/fetchmail/fetchmail-FAQ.html"
        >Frequently Asked Questions About Fetchmail</a></em></dt>
    <dd>The FAQ for the <b class="program">fetchmail</b> POP/IMAP client collects
         information on POP3 server variations and RFC noncompliance
         that may be useful if you need to write an application based
         on the POP protocol.</dd>
  </dl>
</div>

<P>

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<LI><A href="pop3-objects.html">11.9.1 POP3 Objects</a>
<LI><A href="pop3-example.html">11.9.2 POP3 Example</a>
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<span class="release-info">Release 2.4.2, documentation updated on 28 September 2005.</span>
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