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author | Juanma Barranquero <lekktu@gmail.com> |
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date | Sun, 13 Jul 2003 17:20:34 +0000 |
parents | c678565b9253 |
children | 25d8603103b7 |
rev | line source |
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49924 | 1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*- |
2 @setfilename ../info/smtpmail | |
3 @settitle Emacs SMTP Library | |
4 @syncodeindex vr fn | |
5 @copying | |
6 Copyright @copyright{} 2003 Free Software Foundation, Inc. | |
7 | |
8 @quotation | |
9 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document | |
10 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or | |
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11 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no |
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12 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU Manual'', |
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13 and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license |
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14 is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License'' |
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15 in the Emacs manual. |
49924 | 16 |
17 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify | |
18 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free | |
19 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.'' | |
20 | |
21 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free | |
22 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document | |
23 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the | |
24 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license. | |
25 @end quotation | |
26 @end copying | |
27 | |
28 @dircategory Emacs | |
29 @direntry | |
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30 * SMTP: (smtpmail). Emacs library for sending mail via SMTP. |
49924 | 31 @end direntry |
32 | |
33 @titlepage | |
34 @title{Emacs SMTP Library} | |
35 @subtitle{An Emacs package for sending mail via SMTP} | |
49937 | 36 @author{Simon Josefsson, Alex Schroeder} |
37 @page | |
38 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll | |
39 @insertcopying | |
49924 | 40 @end titlepage |
41 | |
49937 | 42 @contents |
43 | |
44 @ifnottex | |
49924 | 45 @node Top |
49937 | 46 @top Emacs SMTP Library |
47 | |
48 @insertcopying | |
49 @end ifnottex | |
50 | |
51 @menu | |
52 * How Mail Works:: Brief introduction to mail concepts. | |
53 * Emacs Speaks SMTP:: How to use the SMTP library in Emacs. | |
54 * Authentication:: Authenticating yourself to the server. | |
55 * Queued delivery:: Sending mail without an Internet connection. | |
56 * Server workarounds:: Mail servers with special requirements. | |
57 * Debugging:: Tracking down problems. | |
58 | |
59 Indices | |
60 | |
61 * Index:: Index over variables and functions. | |
62 @end menu | |
63 | |
64 @node How Mail Works | |
65 @chapter How Mail Works | |
66 | |
49924 | 67 @cindex SMTP |
49937 | 68 @cindex MTA |
69 On the Internet, mail is sent from mail host to mail host using the | |
70 simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP). To send and receive mail, you | |
71 must get it from and send it to a mail host. Every mail host runs a | |
72 mail transger agent (MTA) such as Exim that accepts mails and passes | |
73 them on. The communication between a mail host and other clients does | |
74 not necessarily involve SMTP, however. Here is short overview of what | |
75 is involved. | |
76 | |
77 @cindex MUA | |
78 The mail program --- also called a mail user agent (MUA) --- | |
79 usually sends outgoing mail to a mail host. When your computer is | |
80 permanently connected to the internet, it might even be a mail host | |
81 itself. In this case, the MUA will pipe mail to the | |
82 @file{/usr/lib/sendmail} application. It will take care of your mail | |
83 and pass it on to the next mail host. | |
49924 | 84 |
49937 | 85 @cindex ISP |
86 When you are only connected to the internet from time to time, your | |
87 internet service provider (ISP) has probably told you which mail host | |
88 to use. You must configure your MUA to use that mail host. Since you | |
89 are reading this manual, you probably want to configure Emacs to use | |
90 SMTP to send mail to that mail host. More on that in the next | |
91 section. | |
92 | |
93 @cindex MDA | |
94 Things are different when reading mail. The mail host responsible | |
95 for your mail keeps it in a file somewhere. The messages get into the | |
96 file by way of a mail delivery agent (MDA) such as procmail. These | |
97 delivery agents often allow you to filter and munge your mails before | |
98 you get to see it. When your computer is that mail host, this file is | |
99 called a spool, and sometimes located in the directory | |
100 /var/spool/mail/. All your MUA has to do is read mail from the spool, | |
101 then. | |
102 | |
103 @cindex POP3 | |
104 @cindex IMAP | |
105 When your computer is not always connected to the Internet, you | |
106 must get the mail from the remote mail host using a protocol such as | |
107 POP3 or IMAP. POP3 essentially downloads all your mail from the mail | |
108 host to your computer. The mail is stored in some file on your | |
109 computer, and again, all your MUA has to do is read mail from the | |
110 spool. | |
111 | |
112 When you read mail from various machines, downloading mail from the | |
113 mail host to your current machine is not convenient. In that case, | |
114 you will probably want to use the IMAP protocol. Your mail is kept on | |
115 the mail host, and you can read it while you are connected via IMAP to | |
116 the mail host. | |
117 | |
118 @cindex Webmail | |
119 So how does reading mail via the web work, you ask. In that case, | |
120 the web interface just allows you to remote-control a MUA on the web | |
121 host. Whether the web host is also a mail host, and how all the | |
122 pieces interact is completely irrelevant. You usually cannot use | |
123 Emacs to read mail via the web, unless you use software that parses | |
124 the ever-changing HTML of the web interface. | |
125 | |
126 @node Emacs Speaks SMTP | |
127 @chapter Emacs Speaks SMTP | |
49924 | 128 |
129 Emacs includes a package for sending your mail to a SMTP server and | |
130 have it take care of delivering it to the final destination, rather | |
131 than letting the MTA on your local system take care of it. This can | |
132 be useful if you don't have a MTA set up on your host, or if your | |
133 machine is often disconnected from the Internet. | |
134 | |
135 Sending mail via SMTP requires configuring your mail user agent | |
136 (@pxref{Mail Methods,,,emacs}) to use the SMTP library. How to do | |
137 this should be described for each mail user agent; for the default | |
138 mail user agent the variable @code{send-mail-function} (@pxref{Mail | |
139 Sending,,,emacs}) is used; for the Message and Gnus user agents the | |
140 variable @code{message-send-mail-function} (@pxref{Mail | |
141 Variables,,,message}) is used. | |
142 | |
143 @example | |
144 ;; If you use the default mail user agent. | |
145 (setq send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it) | |
146 ;; If you use Message or Gnus. | |
147 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it) | |
148 @end example | |
149 | |
150 Before using SMTP you must find out the hostname of the SMTP server | |
151 to use. Your system administrator should provide you with this | |
152 information, but often it is the same as the server you receive mail | |
153 from. | |
154 | |
155 @table @code | |
156 @item smtpmail-smtp-server | |
157 @vindex smtpmail-smtp-server | |
158 @vindex SMTPSERVER | |
159 The variable @code{smtpmail-smtp-server} controls the hostname of | |
160 the server to use. It is a string with an IP address or hostname. It | |
161 defaults to the contents of the @code{SMTPSERVER} environment | |
162 variable, or, if empty, the contents of | |
163 @code{smtpmail-default-smtp-server}. | |
164 | |
165 @item smtpmail-default-smtp-server | |
166 @vindex smtpmail-default-smtp-server | |
167 The variable @code{smtpmail-default-smtp-server} controls the | |
168 default hostname of the server to use. It is a string with an IP | |
169 address or hostname. It must be set before the SMTP library is | |
170 loaded. It has no effect if set after the SMTP library has been | |
171 loaded, or if @code{smtpmail-smtp-server} is defined. It is usually | |
172 set by system administrators in a site wide initialization file. | |
173 @end table | |
174 | |
175 The following example illustrates what you could put in | |
176 @file{~/.emacs} to set the SMTP server name. | |
177 | |
178 @example | |
179 ;; Send mail using SMTP via mail.example.org. | |
180 (setq smtpmail-smtp-server "mail.example.org") | |
181 @end example | |
182 | |
183 @cindex Mail Submission | |
184 SMTP is normally used on the registered ``smtp'' TCP service port 25. | |
185 Some environments use SMTP in ``Mail Submission'' mode, which uses | |
186 port 587. Using other ports is not uncommon, either for security by | |
187 obscurity purposes, port forwarding, or otherwise. | |
188 | |
189 @table @code | |
190 @item smtpmail-smtp-service | |
191 @vindex smtpmail-smtp-service | |
192 The variable @code{smtpmail-smtp-service} controls the port on the | |
193 server to contact. It is either a string, in which case it will be | |
194 translated into an integer using system calls, or an integer. | |
195 @end table | |
196 | |
197 The following example illustrates what you could put in | |
198 @file{~/.emacs} to set the SMTP service port. | |
199 | |
200 @example | |
201 ;; Send mail using SMTP on the mail submission port 587. | |
202 (setq smtpmail-smtp-service 587) | |
203 @end example | |
204 | |
49937 | 205 @node Authentication |
206 @chapter Authentication | |
49924 | 207 |
49937 | 208 @cindex SASL |
209 @cindex CRAM-MD5 | |
210 @cindex PLAIN | |
211 @cindex LOGIN | |
212 @cindex STARTTLS | |
49924 | 213 Many environments require SMTP clients to authenticate themselves |
214 before they are allowed to route mail via a server. The two following | |
215 variables contains the authentication information needed for this. | |
216 The first variable, @code{smtpmail-auth-credentials}, instructs the | |
217 SMTP library to use a SASL authentication step, currently only the | |
218 CRAM-MD5, PLAIN and LOGIN-MD5 mechanisms are supported and will be | |
219 selected in that order if the server supports them. The second | |
220 variable, @code{smtpmail-starttls-credentials}, instructs the SMTP | |
221 library to connect to the server using STARTTLS. This means the | |
222 protocol exchange can be integrity protected and confidential by using | |
223 TLS, and optionally also authentication of the client. It is common | |
224 to use both these mechanisms, e.g., to use STARTTLS to achieve | |
225 integrity and confidentiality and then use SASL for client | |
226 authentication. | |
227 | |
228 @table @code | |
229 @item smtpmail-auth-credentials | |
230 @vindex smtpmail-auth-credentials | |
231 The variable @code{smtpmail-auth-credentials} contains a list of | |
232 hostname, port, username and password tuples. When the SMTP library | |
233 connects to a host on a certain port, this variable is searched to | |
234 find a matching entry for that hostname and port. If an entry is | |
235 found, the authentication process is invoked and the credentials are | |
236 used. The hostname field follows the same format as | |
237 @code{smtpmail-smtp-server} (i.e., a string) and the port field the | |
238 same format as @code{smtpmail-smtp-service} (i.e., a string or an | |
239 integer). The username and password fields, which either can be | |
240 @samp{nil} to indicate that the user is queried for the value | |
241 interactively, should be strings with the username and password, | |
242 respectively, information that is normally provided by system | |
243 administrators. | |
244 | |
245 @item smtpmail-starttls-credentials | |
246 @vindex smtpmail-starttls-credentials | |
247 The variable @code{smtpmail-starttls-credentials} contains a list of | |
248 tuples with hostname, port, name of file containing client key, and | |
249 name of file containing client certificate. The processing is similar | |
250 to the previous variable. The client key and certificate may be | |
251 @samp{nil} if you do not wish to use client authentication. The use | |
252 of this variable requires the @samp{starttls} external program to be | |
253 installed, you can get @file{starttls-*.tar.gz} from | |
254 @uref{ftp://ftp.opaopa.org/pub/elisp/}. | |
255 @end table | |
256 | |
257 The following example illustrates what you could put in | |
258 @file{~/.emacs} to enable both SASL authentication and STARTTLS. The | |
259 server name (@code{smtpmail-smtp-server}) is @var{hostname}, the | |
260 server port (@code{smtpmail-smtp-service}) is @var{port}, and the | |
261 username and password are @var{username} and "@var{password} | |
262 respectively. | |
263 | |
264 @example | |
265 ;; Authenticate using this username and password against my server. | |
266 (setq smtpmail-auth-credentials | |
267 '(("@var{hostname}" "@var{port}" "@var{username}" "@var{password}"))) | |
268 ;; Use STARTTLS without authentication against the server. | |
269 (setq smtpmail-starttls-credentials | |
270 '(("@var{hostname}" "@var{port}" nil nil))) | |
271 @end example | |
272 | |
273 @node Queued delivery | |
49937 | 274 @chapter Queued delivery |
49924 | 275 |
49937 | 276 @cindex Dialup connection |
49924 | 277 If you connect to the Internet via a dialup connection, or for some |
278 other reason doesn't have permanent Internet connection, sending mail | |
279 will fail when you are not connected. The SMTP library implements | |
280 queued delivery, and the following variable control its behaviour. | |
281 | |
282 @table @code | |
283 @item smtpmail-queue-mail | |
284 @vindex smtpmail-queue-mail | |
285 The variable @code{smtpmail-queue-mail} controls whether a simple | |
286 off line mail sender is active. This variable is a boolean, and | |
287 defaults to @samp{nil} (disabled). If this is non-nil, mail is not | |
288 sent immediately but rather queued in the directory | |
289 @code{smtpmail-queue-dir} and can be later sent manually by invoking | |
290 @code{smtpmail-send-queued-mail} (typically when you connect to the | |
291 Internet). | |
292 | |
293 @item smtpmail-queue-mail | |
294 @vindex smtpmail-queue-dir | |
295 The variable @code{smtpmail-queue-dir} specifies the name of the | |
296 directory to hold queued messages. It defaults to | |
297 @file{~/Mail/queued-mail/}. | |
49938 | 298 @end table |
49924 | 299 |
300 @findex smtpmail-send-queued-mail | |
301 The function @code{smtpmail-send-queued-mail} can be used to send | |
302 any queued mail when @code{smtpmail-queue-mail} is enabled. It is | |
303 typically invoked interactively with @kbd{M-x RET | |
304 smtpmail-send-queued-mail RET} when you are connected to the Internet. | |
305 | |
306 @node Server workarounds | |
49937 | 307 @chapter Server workarounds |
49924 | 308 |
309 Some SMTP servers have special requirements. The following variables | |
310 implement support for common requirements. | |
311 | |
312 @table @code | |
313 | |
314 @item smtpmail-local-domain | |
315 @vindex smtpmail-local-domain | |
316 The variable @code{smtpmail-local-domain} controls the hostname sent | |
317 in the first @code{EHLO} or @code{HELO} command sent to the server. | |
318 It should only be set if the @code{system-name} function returns a | |
319 name that isn't accepted by the server. Do not set this variable | |
320 unless your server complains. | |
321 | |
322 @item smtpmail-sendto-domain | |
323 @vindex smtpmail-sendto-domain | |
324 The variable @code{smtpmail-sendto-domain} makes the SMTP library | |
325 add @samp{@@} and the specified value to recipients specified in the | |
326 message when they are sent using the @code{RCPT TO} command. Some | |
327 configurations of sendmail requires this behaviour. Don't bother to | |
328 set this unless you have get an error like: | |
329 | |
330 @example | |
331 Sending failed; SMTP protocol error | |
332 @end example | |
333 | |
334 when sending mail, and the debug buffer (@pxref{Debugging})) contains | |
335 an error such as: | |
336 | |
337 @example | |
338 RCPT TO: @var{someone} | |
339 501 @var{someone}: recipient address must contain a domain | |
340 @end example | |
341 | |
342 @end table | |
343 | |
344 | |
345 @node Debugging | |
49937 | 346 @chapter Debugging |
49924 | 347 |
348 Sometimes delivery fails, often with the generic error message | |
349 @samp{Sending failed; SMTP protocol error}. Enabling one or both of | |
350 the following variables and inspecting a trace buffer will often give | |
351 clues to the reason for the error. | |
352 | |
353 @table @code | |
354 | |
355 @item smtpmail-debug-info | |
356 @vindex smtpmail-debug-info | |
357 The variable @code{smtpmail-debug-info} controls whether to print | |
358 the SMTP protocol exchange in the minibuffer, and retain the entire | |
359 exchange in a buffer @samp{*trace of SMTP session to @var{server}*}, | |
360 where @var{server} is the name of the mail server to which you send | |
361 mail. | |
362 | |
363 @item smtpmail-debug-verb | |
364 @vindex smtpmail-debug-verb | |
365 The variable @code{smtpmail-debug-verb} controls whether to send the | |
366 @code{VERB} token to the server. The @code{VERB} server instructs the | |
367 server to be more verbose, and often also to attempt final delivery | |
368 while your SMTP session is still running. It is usually only useful | |
369 together with @code{smtpmail-debug-info}. Note that this may cause | |
370 mail delivery to take considerable time if the final destination | |
371 cannot accept mail. | |
372 | |
373 @end table | |
374 | |
375 @node Index | |
49937 | 376 @chapter Index |
377 | |
378 @section Concept Index | |
379 | |
380 @printindex cp | |
381 | |
49924 | 382 @section Function and Variable Index |
49937 | 383 |
49924 | 384 @printindex fn |
385 | |
386 @contents | |
387 @bye |