POP3TEST(1)

📦
version 3.12.4 · 6 versions
, in fedora 44

💖 POP3TEST(1) — the pop3test girlies' guide 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to pop3test, a lil page from the Cyrus IMAP documentation set. it's an interactive POP3 test program — and here's the tea: it's actually installed as a hard linked copy of imtest(1). so if it's acting like imtest, that's not a glitch, that's the whole bit. 🫶

what it lets you do is authenticate and send POP commands to the server. that's the vibe. slay.

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

imtest [ -t keyfile ] [ -p port ] [ -m mechanism ]
    [ -a userid ] [ -u userid ] [ -k num ] [ -l num ]
    [ -r realm ] [ -f file ] [ -n num ] [ -s ] [ -q ]
    [ -c ] [ -i ] [ -z ] [ -v ] [ -I file ] [ -x file ]
    [ -X file ] [ -w passwd ] [ -o option=value ]
    [ -H client-ip ] hostname

yeah she's got a lot of flags. we love a girl with range. 💅

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so imtest is a utility that lets you authenticate to an IMAP server and then interactively issue commands to it. once you're authenticated you can literally just type in any IMAP command and off it goes. main character energy fr fr.

she's capable of multiple SASL authentication mechanisms and handles encryption layers transparently — like, you don't even have to think about it bestie, she's got you. 🧚

this utility is often used for testing the operation of an IMAP server. and also, the girlies developing IMAP clients find it super useful. iykyk. ⭐

💅 OPTIONS 💅

okay here's the full roster, no skips, no cuts, every single one of them because we do NOT gatekeep:

  • -t keyfile, --keyfile=*keyfile* — Enable TLS. keyfile contains the TLS public and private keys. Specify "" to negotiate a TLS encryption layer but not use TLS authentication.
  • -p port, --port=*port* — Port to connect to. If left off this defaults to imap as defined in /etc/services.
  • -m mechanism, --mechanism=*mechanism* — Force imtest to use mechanism for authentication. If not specified the strongest authentication mechanism supported by the server is chosen. Specify login to use the LOGIN command instead of AUTHENTICATE.
  • -a userid, --authname=*userid* — Userid to use for authentication; defaults to the current user. This is the userid whose password or credentials will be presented to the server for verification.
  • -u userid, --username=*userid* — Userid to use for authorization; defaults to the current user. This is the userid whose identity will be assumed after authentication.
NOTE: This is only used with SASL mechanisms that allow proxying (e.g. PLAIN).
  • -k num, --minssf=*num* — Minimum protection layer required.
  • -l num, --maxssf=*num* — Maximum protection layer to use (0=none; 1=integrity; etc). For example if you are using the GSSAPI authentication mechanism, specifying 0 will force imtest to not use any layer and specifying 1 will force it to use the integrity layer. By default the maximum supported protection layer will be used.
  • -r realm, --realm=*realm* — Specify the realm to use. Certain authentication mechanisms may require one to specify the realm.
  • -f file, --input-filename=*file* — Pipe file into connection after authentication.
  • -n num, --reauth-attempts=*num* — Number of authentication attempts; default = 1. The client will attempt to do SSL/TLS session reuse and/or fast reauth if possible.
  • -s, --require-tls — Enable SSL over chosen protocol.
  • -q, --require-compression — Enable IMAP COMPRESSion (after authentication).
  • -c, --do-challenge — Enable challenge prompt callbacks. This will cause the OTP mechanism to ask for the one-time password instead of the secret pass-phrase (library generates the correct response).
  • -i, --no-initial-response — Don't send an initial client response for SASL mechanisms, even if the protocol supports it.
  • -I file, --pidfile=*file* — Echo the PID of the running process into file (This can be useful with -X).
  • -v, --verbose — Verbose. Print out more information than usual. 🗣️
  • -z, --run-stress-test — Timing test.
  • -x file, --output-socket=*file* — Open the named socket for the interactive portion.
  • -X file — Like -x, only close all file descriptors & daemonize the process.
  • -w password, --password=*password* — Password to use (if not supplied, we will prompt).
  • -o option=value, --sasl-option=*option=value* — Set the SASL option to value.
  • -H client-ip — Enable the HAProxy protocol and send the specified client IP address in a v1 header. If the address is "unknown", a v1 header with UNKNOWN protocol will be sent. If the address is "local", a v2 header with LOCAL command will be sent.
lowkey a whole alphabet of options but every single one of them is here, no cap. 💀

🦋 EXAMPLES 🦋

bestie. there are literally no examples in this section. iconic of them honestly. 🙈 the section is here, the content is not. we move.

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

go read these too, they're the extended universe:

👑 AUTHOR 👑

The Cyrus Team, Nic Bernstein (Onlight)

1993–2026, The Cyrus Team

okay that's the whole page bestie, you ate that 💖✨ this was Cyrus IMAP 3.12.4, dated Sep 09, 2026. go forth and pop3 test, periodt. 💅🌸

📦 where this page comes from