Testing with POP3 and IMAP

Overview

If you need to interact with email from a Mailosaur inbox in real-time — for example, inside an email client or another service — you can connect using POP3 or IMAP.

To check how your emails look across different email clients and devices, see email previews instead.

What is POP3?

POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3) downloads email from a server to a local client. Messages remain on the Mailosaur server by default after download. POP3 is a one-way protocol: it retrieves messages but does not sync changes such as read status or folder moves back to the server.

What is IMAP?

IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) provides two-way access to email stored on a server. Unlike POP3, IMAP syncs changes between the client and the server. This makes IMAP a better choice when you access the same inbox from multiple clients or need to keep messages organised on the server.

When to use POP3 or IMAP

• Use POP3 when you only need to download messages to a single client.
• Use IMAP when you need to access the inbox from multiple clients or keep server-side state in sync.

Plan availability

POP3 and IMAP require the Business or Enterprise plan.

Find your connection details

Each inbox has unique POP3 and IMAP credentials. To view them:

1. Navigate to the inbox you want to connect to.
2. Click the Connect tab.
3. Copy the POP3 or IMAP credentials shown on screen.

For full connection details, including port numbers and security options, see SMTP, POP3, and IMAP connection details.

You can use these credentials with any email client or service that supports POP3 or IMAP.