javax.mail package

The Jakarta Mail API provides classes that model a mail system. The javax.mail package defines classes that are common to all mail systems. The javax.mail.internet package defines classes that are specific to mail systems based on internet standards such as MIME, SMTP, POP3, and IMAP. The Jakarta Mail API includes the javax.mail package and subpackages.

For an overview of the Jakarta Mail API, read the Jakarta Mail specification.

The code to send a plain text message can be as simple as the following:

    Properties props = new Properties();
    props.put("mail.smtp.host", "my-mail-server");
    Session session = Session.getInstance(props, null);

    try {
	MimeMessage msg = new MimeMessage(session);
	msg.setFrom("me@example.com");
	msg.setRecipients(Message.RecipientType.TO,
			  "you@example.com");
	msg.setSubject("Jakarta Mail hello world example");
	msg.setSentDate(new Date());
	msg.setText("Hello, world!\n");
	Transport.send(msg, "me@example.com", "my-password");
    } catch (MessagingException mex) {
	System.out.println("send failed, exception: " + mex);
    }

The Jakarta Mail download bundle contains many more complete examples in the "demo" directory.

Don't forget to see the Jakarta Mail API FAQ for answers to the most common questions. The Jakarta Mail web site contains many additional resources.

Properties

The Jakarta Mail API supports the following standard properties, which may be set in the Session object, or in the Properties object used to create the Session object. The properties are always set as strings; the Type column describes how the string is interpreted. For example, use

	props.put("mail.debug", "true");

to set the mail.debug property, which is of type boolean.

Jakarta Mail properties
Name	Type	Description
mail.debug	boolean	The initial debug mode. Default is false.
mail.from	String	The return email address of the current user, used by the `InternetAddress` method `getLocalAddress`.
mail.mime.address.strict	boolean	The MimeMessage class uses the `InternetAddress` method `parseHeader` to parse headers in messages. This property controls the strict flag passed to the `parseHeader` method. The default is true.
mail.host	String	The default host name of the mail server for both Stores and Transports. Used if the `mail.protocol.host` property isn't set.
mail.store.protocol	String	Specifies the default message access protocol. The `Session` method `getStore()` returns a Store object that implements this protocol. By default the first Store provider in the configuration files is returned.
mail.transport.protocol	String	Specifies the default message transport protocol. The `Session` method `getTransport()` returns a Transport object that implements this protocol. By default the first Transport provider in the configuration files is returned.
mail.user	String	The default user name to use when connecting to the mail server. Used if the `mail.protocol.user` property isn't set.
mail.protocol.class	String	Specifies the fully qualified class name of the provider for the specified protocol. Used in cases where more than one provider for a given protocol exists; this property can be used to specify which provider to use by default. The provider must still be listed in a configuration file.
mail.protocol.host	String	The host name of the mail server for the specified protocol. Overrides the `mail.host` property.
mail.protocol.port	int	The port number of the mail server for the specified protocol. If not specified the protocol's default port number is used.
mail.protocol.user	String	The user name to use when connecting to mail servers using the specified protocol. Overrides the `mail.user` property.

The following properties are supported by the EE4J implementation of Jakarta Mail, but are not currently a required part of the specification. The names, types, defaults, and semantics of these properties may change in future releases.

Jakarta Mail implementation properties
Name	Type	Description
mail.debug.auth	boolean	Include protocol authentication commands (including usernames and passwords) in the debug output. Default is false.
mail.debug.auth.username	boolean	Include the user name in non-protocol debug output. Default is true.
mail.debug.auth.password	boolean	Include the password in non-protocol debug output. Default is false.
mail.transport.protocol.address-type	String	Specifies the default message transport protocol for the specified address type. The `Session` method `getTransport(Address)` returns a Transport object that implements this protocol when the address is of the specified type (e.g., "rfc822" for standard internet addresses). By default the first Transport configured for that address type is used. This property can be used to override the behavior of the {@link javax.mail.Transport#send send} method of the {@link javax.mail.Transport Transport} class so that (for example) the "smtps" protocol is used instead of the "smtp" protocol by setting the property `mail.transport.protocol.rfc822` to `"smtps"`.
mail.event.scope	String	Controls the scope of events. (See the javax.mail.event package.) By default, a separate event queue and thread is used for events for each Store, Transport, or Folder. If this property is set to "session", all such events are put in a single event queue processed by a single thread for the current session. If this property is set to "application", all such events are put in a single event queue processed by a single thread for the current application. (Applications are distinguished by their context class loader.)
mail.event.executor	java.util.concurrent.Executor	By default, a new Thread is created for each event queue. This thread is used to call the listeners for these events. If this property is set to an instance of an Executor, the Executor.execute method is used to run the event dispatcher for an event queue. The event dispatcher runs until the event queue is no longer in use.

The Jakarta Mail API also supports several System properties; see the {@link javax.mail.internet} package documentation for details.

The Jakarta Mail reference implementation includes protocol providers in subpackages of com.sun.mail. Note that the APIs to these protocol providers are not part of the standard Jakarta Mail API. Portable programs will not use these APIs.

Nonportable programs may use the APIs of the protocol providers by (for example) casting a returned Folder object to a com.sun.mail.imap.IMAPFolder object. Similarly for Store and Message objects returned from the standard Jakarta Mail APIs.

The protocol providers also support properties that are specific to those providers. The package documentation for the {@link com.sun.mail.imap IMAP}, {@link com.sun.mail.pop3 POP3}, and {@link com.sun.mail.smtp SMTP} packages provide details.

In addition to printing debugging output as controlled by the {@link javax.mail.Session Session} configuration, the current implementation of classes in this package log the same information using {@link java.util.logging.Logger} as described in the following table:

Jakarta Mail Loggers
Logger Name	Logging Level	Purpose
javax.mail	CONFIG	Configuration of the Session
javax.mail	FINE	General debugging output