11.9 poplib -- POP3 protocol client
Keywords: lib

# 11.9 `poplib` -- POP3 protocol client

This module defines a class, `POP3`, which encapsulates a connection to an POP3 server and implements the protocol as defined in RFC 1725. The `POP3` class supports both the minimal and optional command sets.

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 ``imaplib`.`IMAP4`` class, as IMAP servers tend to be better implemented.

A single class is provided by the `poplib` module:

class `POP3`(host[, port])
  This class implements the actual POP3 protocol. The connection is created when the instance is initialized. If port is omitted, the standard POP3 port (110) is used.

One exception is defined as an attribute of the `poplib` module:

exception `error_proto`
  Exception raised on any errors. The reason for the exception is passed to the constructor as a string.

See Also:

Module `imaplib`:
  The standard Python IMAP module.

Frequently Asked Questions About Fetchmail
  The FAQ for the fetchmail 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.

Subsections

- 11.9.1 POP3 Objects
- 11.9.2 POP3 Example