POP3D(8)

💌 POP3D(8) — the Cyrus IMAP glow-up 💌

okay bestie, sit down, hydrate, because we're talking about pop3d — that's the Cyrus IMAP documentation girlie, and she is literally a POP3 server process. no cap. 🎀

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

pop3d [ -C config-file ] [ -U uses ] [ -T timeout ] [ -D ]
    [ -H ] [ -s ] [ -p ssf ]

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so pop3d is a POP3 server, periodt. she takes commands on her standard input and claps back on her standard output. 💅

lowkey important: she MUST be invoked by master(8) with those descriptors attached to a remote client connection. like, that's not a suggestion, that's the whole vibe. if you try to launch her solo she will simply not serve the moment.

pop3d reads her configuration options out of the imapd.conf(5) file, unless you say otherwise with -C. 🫶

now here's the cute part — if the directory log/user exists under the directory specified in the configdirectory configuration option, then pop3d will create protocol telemetry logs for sessions authenticating as user. she's keeping receipts, bestie, but the respectful kind. 🙈

those telemetry logs get stored in the log/user directory with a filename of the pop3d process-id. iconic behaviour honestly. ✨

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💖 OPTIONS 💖

• -C config-file — use the config file config-file instead of the default imapd.conf(5). she'll read your custom file, no questions asked. 🦋
• -U uses — the max number of times the process should be used for new connections before shutting down. the default is 250. that's her social battery limit fr fr. 🔋
• -T timeout — how many seconds the process will wait for a new connection before shutting down. heads up: a value of 0 (zero) disables the timeout entirely. the default is 60. 💀
• -D — run the external debugger specified in debug_command. detective mode activated. 🔍
• -H — tell httpd to expect a HAProxy protocol header from the sender. 👑
• -s — serve POP3 over SSL (pop3s). all data to and from pop3d is encrypted using the Secure Sockets Layer. she's private, she's mysterious, she's encrypted. 🔐
• -p ssf — tell pop3d that an external layer exists. an SSF (security strength factor) of 1 means an integrity protection layer exists. any higher SSF implies some form of privacy protection. 🌈

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⭐ EXAMPLES ⭐

pop3d is commonly included in the SERVICES section of cyrus.conf(5) like so:

SERVICES {
    imap        cmd="imapd -U 30" listen="imap" prefork=0
    imaps       cmd="imapd -s -U 30" listen="imaps" prefork=0 maxchild=100
    pop3        cmd="pop3d -U 30" listen="pop3" prefork=0
    pop3s       cmd="pop3d -s -U 30" listen="pop3s" prefork=0 maxchild=100
    lmtpunix    cmd="lmtpd" listen="/var/run/cyrus/socket/lmtp" prefork=0 maxchild=20
    sieve       cmd="timsieved" listen="sieve" prefork=0
    notify      cmd="notifyd" listen="/var/run/cyrus/socket/notify" proto="udp" prefork=1
    httpd       cmd="httpd" listen=8080 prefork=1 maxchild=20
}

see how she's sitting right there next to pop3s with her -s flag on? main character energy, truly. 🎀

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🍓 FILES 🍓

• /etc/imapd.conf

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🧚 SEE ALSO 🧚

imapd.conf(5), master(8)

iykyk. go read those next, bestie, they're her whole support system. 💜

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👑 AUTHOR 👑

The Cyrus Team, Nic Bernstein (Onlight)

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💜 COPYRIGHT 💜

1993–2026, The Cyrus Team

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and that's the tea, bestie 🫶 this was Cyrus IMAP, version 3.12.4, dated Sep 09, 2026, page POP3D(8) — slay, ate, no crumbs, and she will literally wait 60 seconds for you before she logs off. 💅✨🌸