NAME

       imapd - Cyrus IMAP documentation

       IMAP server process

SYNOPSIS

          imapd [ -C config-file ] [ -U uses ] [ -T timeout ] [ -D ]
              [ -s ] [ -N ] [ -p ssf ]

DESCRIPTION

       imapd  is  an IMAP4rev1 server.  It accepts commands on its standard input and responds on
       its standard output.  It MUST be invoked by master(8) with those descriptors attached to a
       remote client connection.

       imapd  reads  its  configuration  options  out  of the imapd.conf(5) file unless specified
       otherwise by -C.

       If the file msg/shutdown is created under the directory specified in  the  configdirectory
       configuration  option,  then  imapd  will shut down the connection, sending the first line
       contained in the file to the client as the reason.  New connections are denied.

       If the file msg/motd is created under  the  directory  specified  in  the  configdirectory
       configuration option, then imapd will send the first line contained in the file to clients
       upon connect as an ALERT message which IMAP-compliant clients are required to display.

       This option serves to annoy users mostly.  Unfortunately clients tend to connect far  more
       frequently than is apparent, generating a separate server ALERT for each connection.  Many
       clients do not display these properly, if they do anything with them at all.

       If the directory log/user exists under the  directory  specified  in  the  configdirectory
       configuration  option,  then  imapd  will  create  protocol  telemetry  logs  for sessions
       authenticating as user.

       The telemetry logs will be stored in the log/user directory with a filename of  the  imapd
       process-id.

OPTIONS

       -C config-file
              Use   the   specified  configuration  file  config-file  rather  than  the  default
              imapd.conf(5).

       -U uses
              The maximum number of times that the process should be  used  for  new  connections
              before shutting down.  The default is 250.

       -T timeout
              The  number  of  seconds  that  the  process  will wait for a new connection before
              shutting down.  Note that a value of  0  (zero)  will  disable  the  timeout.   The
              default is 60.

       -D     Run external debugger specified in debug_command.

       -s     Serve  IMAP  over  SSL  (imaps).  All data to and from imapd is encrypted using the
              Secure Sockets Layer.

       -N     Bypass password checking.  (Not recommended unless you know what you're doing.)

       -p ssf Tell imapd 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.

EXAMPLES

       imapd 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
              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
          }

FILES

       /etc/imapd.conf

SEE ALSO

       imapd.conf(5), master(8)

AUTHOR

       The Cyrus Team, Nic Bernstein (Onlight)

COPYRIGHT

       1993–2024, The Cyrus Team