Connect a mailbox
Mail providers
Supported mail providers:
- iCloud Mail, Fastmail and Yahoo Mail over IMAP and SMTP with an app-specific password, plus any IMAP server the operator configures;
- Outlook.com and Microsoft 365 with “Sign in with Microsoft”, through Microsoft Graph;
- Gmail with “Sign in with Google”, through the Gmail API.
Outlook and Gmail need an OAuth app that the operator registers once with Microsoft or Google.
- iCloud MailAn app-specific password. The sign-in page shows the steps.
- GmailSign in with Google. Labels show up as folders.
- Outlook.com and Microsoft 365Outlook and Microsoft 365Sign in with Microsoft, with a personal or a work or school account.
- FastmailAn app password.
- Yahoo MailAn app password.
- Your own IMAP serverAdded by the server's operator, with IMAP and SMTP settings.
The tools behave the same for every provider, with these differences:
| IMAP (iCloud, Fastmail, Yahoo, custom) | Outlook | Gmail | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Folders | IMAP folders | Mail folders, including nested ones (Inbox/Receipts) |
Labels: INBOX, Sent, Drafts, Trash, Spam, Starred, Important, All Mail and your own |
| Message ids | imap.…, change when a message moves |
graph.…, stay the same when a message moves |
gmail.…, stay the same |
folder + uid |
Accepted | Not accepted; use id |
Not accepted; use id |
| Sent copy | Saved to Sent unless save_to_sent is false |
Saved by Outlook | Saved by Gmail |
| Permanent delete | Supported | Supported | Refused: postkeep doesn’t request the scope that allows it, so messages go to Trash |
| Search totals | Exact | Exact, or estimated for text searches | Estimated |
What the sign-in page offers
Users sign in with an app password at one of the providers this server
offers. The sign-in page shows a provider picker when more than one is
offered; “Detect from my address” picks the provider from the address’s
domain (@icloud.com, @fastmail.com, @yahoo.com, …) and falls back to
the default provider for other domains. An address at a provider’s own
domain always uses that provider, even when the picker names another one.
Users can’t type in a server address: only the operator can add a custom server, so the sign-in form can’t be used to make this server connect to arbitrary hosts. The variables are on the Any IMAP server page and in the configuration reference.