What is This Library?

This library provides functionality to send internet mail via SMTP, the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. For details of SMTP itself, see [RFC2821] (www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2821.txt).

What is This Library NOT?

This library does NOT provide functions to compose internet mails. You must create them by yourself. If you want better mail support, try RubyMail or TMail or search for alternatives in RubyGems.org or The Ruby Toolbox.

FYI: the official documentation on internet mail is: [RFC2822] (www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2822.txt).

Examples

Sending Messages

You must open a connection to an SMTP server before sending messages. The first argument is the address of your SMTP server, and the second argument is the port number. Using ::start with a block is the simplest way to do this. This way, the SMTP connection is closed automatically after the block is executed.

require 'net/smtp'
Net::SMTP.start('your.smtp.server', 25) do |smtp|
  # Use the SMTP object smtp only in this block.
end

Replace 'your.smtp.server' with your SMTP server. Normally your system manager or internet provider supplies a server for you.

Then you can send messages.

msgstr = <<END_OF_MESSAGE
From: Your Name <your@mail.address>
To: Destination Address <someone@example.com>
Subject: test message
Date: Sat, 23 Jun 2001 16:26:43 +0900
Message-Id: <unique.message.id.string@example.com>

This is a test message.
END_OF_MESSAGE

require 'net/smtp'
Net::SMTP.start('your.smtp.server', 25) do |smtp|
  smtp.send_message msgstr,
                    'your@mail.address',
                    'his_address@example.com'
end

Closing the Session

You MUST close the SMTP session after sending messages, by calling the finish method:

# using SMTP#finish
smtp = Net::SMTP.start('your.smtp.server', 25)
smtp.send_message msgstr, 'from@address', 'to@address'
smtp.finish

You can also use the block form of ::start/SMTP#start. This closes the SMTP session automatically:

# using block form of SMTP.start
Net::SMTP.start('your.smtp.server', 25) do |smtp|
  smtp.send_message msgstr, 'from@address', 'to@address'
end

I strongly recommend this scheme. This form is simpler and more robust.

HELO domain

In almost all situations, you must provide a third argument to ::start/SMTP#start. This is the domain name which you are on (the host to send mail from). It is called the “HELO domain”. The SMTP server will judge whether it should send or reject the SMTP session by inspecting the HELO domain.

Net::SMTP.start('your.smtp.server', 25,
                'mail.from.domain') { |smtp| ... }

SMTP Authentication

The Net::SMTP class supports three authentication schemes; PLAIN, LOGIN and CRAM MD5. (SMTP Authentication: [RFC2554]) To use SMTP authentication, pass extra arguments to ::start/SMTP#start.

# PLAIN
Net::SMTP.start('your.smtp.server', 25, 'mail.from.domain',
                'Your Account', 'Your Password', :plain)
# LOGIN
Net::SMTP.start('your.smtp.server', 25, 'mail.from.domain',
                'Your Account', 'Your Password', :login)

# CRAM MD5
Net::SMTP.start('your.smtp.server', 25, 'mail.from.domain',
                'Your Account', 'Your Password', :cram_md5)
Namespace
Methods
A
C
D
E
F
H
I
M
N
O
Q
R
S
T
Constants
Revision = %q$Revision$.split[1]
 
DEFAULT_AUTH_TYPE = :plain
 

Authentication
IMASK = 0x36
 
OMASK = 0x5c
 
CRAM_BUFSIZE = 64
 
Attributes
[R] address

The address of the SMTP server to connect to.
[RW] esmtp

Set whether to use ESMTP or not. This should be done before calling start. Note that if start is called in ESMTP mode, and the connection fails due to a ProtocolError, the SMTP object will automatically switch to plain SMTP mode and retry (but not vice versa).
[RW] esmtp?

Set whether to use ESMTP or not. This should be done before calling start. Note that if start is called in ESMTP mode, and the connection fails due to a ProtocolError, the SMTP object will automatically switch to plain SMTP mode and retry (but not vice versa).
[RW] open_timeout

Seconds to wait while attempting to open a connection. If the connection cannot be opened within this time, a Net::OpenTimeout is raised. The default value is 30 seconds.
[R] port

The port number of the SMTP server to connect to.
[R] read_timeout

Seconds to wait while reading one block (by one read(2) call). If the read(2) call does not complete within this time, a Net::ReadTimeout is raised. The default value is 60 seconds.
Class Public methods
default_port()

The default SMTP port number, 25.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 177
def SMTP.default_port
  25
end
default_ssl_context()

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 195
def SMTP.default_ssl_context
  OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext.new
end
default_ssl_port()
Alias for: default_tls_port
default_submission_port()

The default mail submission port number, 587.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 182
def SMTP.default_submission_port
  587
end
default_tls_port()

The default SMTPS port number, 465.

Also aliased as: default_ssl_port

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 187
def SMTP.default_tls_port
  465
end
new(address, port = nil)

Creates a new Net::SMTP object.

address is the hostname or ip address of your SMTP server. port is the port to connect to; it defaults to port 25.

This method does not open the TCP connection. You can use ::start instead of ::new if you want to do everything at once. Otherwise, follow ::new with #start.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 210
def initialize(address, port = nil)
  @address = address
  @port = (port || SMTP.default_port)
  @esmtp = true
  @capabilities = nil
  @socket = nil
  @started = false
  @open_timeout = 30
  @read_timeout = 60
  @error_occurred = false
  @debug_output = nil
  @tls = false
  @starttls = false
  @ssl_context = nil
end
start(address, port = nil, helo = 'localhost', user = nil, secret = nil, authtype = nil)

Creates a new Net::SMTP object and connects to the server.

This method is equivalent to:

Net::SMTP.new(address, port).start(helo_domain, account, password, authtype)

Example

Net::SMTP.start('your.smtp.server') do |smtp|
  smtp.send_message msgstr, 'from@example.com', ['dest@example.com']
end

Block Usage

If called with a block, the newly-opened Net::SMTP object is yielded to the block, and automatically closed when the block finishes. If called without a block, the newly-opened Net::SMTP object is returned to the caller, and it is the caller's responsibility to close it when finished.

Parameters

address is the hostname or ip address of your smtp server.

port is the port to connect to; it defaults to port 25.

helo is the HELO domain provided by the client to the server (see overview comments); it defaults to 'localhost'.

The remaining arguments are used for SMTP authentication, if required or desired. user is the account name; secret is your password or other authentication token; and authtype is the authentication type, one of :plain, :login, or :cram_md5. See the discussion of SMTP Authentication in the overview notes.

Errors

This method may raise:

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 454
def SMTP.start(address, port = nil, helo = 'localhost',
               user = nil, secret = nil, authtype = nil,
               &block)   # :yield: smtp
  new(address, port).start(helo, user, secret, authtype, &block)
end
Instance Public methods
auth_cram_md5(user, secret)

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 755
def auth_cram_md5(user, secret)
  check_auth_args user, secret
  res = critical {
    res0 = get_response('AUTH CRAM-MD5')
    check_auth_continue res0
    crammed = cram_md5_response(secret, res0.cram_md5_challenge)
    get_response(base64_encode("#{user} #{crammed}"))
  }
  check_auth_response res
  res
end
auth_login(user, secret)

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 744
def auth_login(user, secret)
  check_auth_args user, secret
  res = critical {
    check_auth_continue get_response('AUTH LOGIN')
    check_auth_continue get_response(base64_encode(user))
    get_response(base64_encode(secret))
  }
  check_auth_response res
  res
end
auth_plain(user, secret)

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 735
def auth_plain(user, secret)
  check_auth_args user, secret
  res = critical {
    get_response('AUTH PLAIN ' + base64_encode("\0#{user}\0#{secret}"))
  }
  check_auth_response res
  res
end
authenticate(user, secret, authtype = DEFAULT_AUTH_TYPE)

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 729
def authenticate(user, secret, authtype = DEFAULT_AUTH_TYPE)
  check_auth_method authtype
  check_auth_args user, secret
  send auth_method(authtype), user, secret
end
capable_auth_types()

Returns supported authentication methods on this server. You cannot get valid value before opening SMTP session.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 282
def capable_auth_types
  return [] unless @capabilities
  return [] unless @capabilities['AUTH']
  @capabilities['AUTH']
end
capable_cram_md5_auth?()

true if server advertises AUTH CRAM-MD5. You cannot get valid value before opening SMTP session.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 269
def capable_cram_md5_auth?
  auth_capable?('CRAM-MD5')
end
capable_login_auth?()

true if server advertises AUTH LOGIN. You cannot get valid value before opening SMTP session.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 263
def capable_login_auth?
  auth_capable?('LOGIN')
end
capable_plain_auth?()

true if server advertises AUTH PLAIN. You cannot get valid value before opening SMTP session.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 257
def capable_plain_auth?
  auth_capable?('PLAIN')
end
capable_starttls?()

true if server advertises STARTTLS. You cannot get valid value before opening SMTP session.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 245
def capable_starttls?
  capable?('STARTTLS')
end
data(msgstr = nil)

This method sends a message. If msgstr is given, sends it as a message. If block is given, yield a message writer stream. You must write message before the block is closed.

# Example 1 (by string)
smtp.data(<<EndMessage)
From: john@example.com
To: betty@example.com
Subject: I found a bug

Check vm.c:58879.
EndMessage

# Example 2 (by block)
smtp.data {|f|
  f.puts "From: john@example.com"
  f.puts "To: betty@example.com"
  f.puts "Subject: I found a bug"
  f.puts ""
  f.puts "Check vm.c:58879."
}

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 889
def data(msgstr = nil, &block)   #:yield: stream
  if msgstr and block
    raise ArgumentError, "message and block are exclusive"
  end
  unless msgstr or block
    raise ArgumentError, "message or block is required"
  end
  res = critical {
    check_continue get_response('DATA')
    if msgstr
      @socket.write_message msgstr
    else
      @socket.write_message_by_block(&block)
    end
    recv_response()
  }
  check_response res
  res
end
debug_output=(arg)

WARNING: This method causes serious security holes. Use this method for only debugging.

Set an output stream for debug logging. You must call this before start.

# example
smtp = Net::SMTP.new(addr, port)
smtp.set_debug_output $stderr
smtp.start do |smtp|
  ....
end
Also aliased as: set_debug_output

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 395
def debug_output=(arg)
  @debug_output = arg
end
disable_ssl()
Alias for: disable_tls
disable_starttls()

Disables SMTP/TLS (STARTTLS) for this object. Must be called before the connection is established to have any effect.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 353
def disable_starttls
  @starttls = false
  @ssl_context = nil
end
disable_tls()

Disables SMTP/TLS for this object. Must be called before the connection is established to have any effect.

Also aliased as: disable_ssl

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 309
def disable_tls
  @tls = false
  @ssl_context = nil
end
ehlo(domain)

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 827
def ehlo(domain)
  getok("EHLO #{domain}")
end
enable_ssl(context = SMTP.default_ssl_context)
Alias for: enable_tls
enable_starttls(context = SMTP.default_ssl_context)

Enables SMTP/TLS (STARTTLS) for this object. context is a OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext object.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 335
def enable_starttls(context = SMTP.default_ssl_context)
  raise 'openssl library not installed' unless defined?(OpenSSL)
  raise ArgumentError, "SMTPS and STARTTLS is exclusive" if @tls
  @starttls = :always
  @ssl_context = context
end
enable_starttls_auto(context = SMTP.default_ssl_context)

Enables SMTP/TLS (STARTTLS) for this object if server accepts. context is a OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext object.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 344
def enable_starttls_auto(context = SMTP.default_ssl_context)
  raise 'openssl library not installed' unless defined?(OpenSSL)
  raise ArgumentError, "SMTPS and STARTTLS is exclusive" if @tls
  @starttls = :auto
  @ssl_context = context
end
enable_tls(context = SMTP.default_ssl_context)

Enables SMTP/TLS (SMTPS: SMTP over direct TLS connection) for this object. Must be called before the connection is established to have any effect. context is a OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext object.

Also aliased as: enable_ssl

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 298
def enable_tls(context = SMTP.default_ssl_context)
  raise 'openssl library not installed' unless defined?(OpenSSL)
  raise ArgumentError, "SMTPS and STARTTLS is exclusive" if @starttls
  @tls = true
  @ssl_context = context
end
finish()

Finishes the SMTP session and closes TCP connection. Raises IOError if not started.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 533
def finish
  raise IOError, 'not yet started' unless started?
  do_finish
end
helo(domain)

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 823
def helo(domain)
  getok("HELO #{domain}")
end
inspect()

Provide human-readable stringification of class state.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 227
def inspect
  "#<#{self.class} #{@address}:#{@port} started=#{@started}>"
end
mailfrom(from_addr)

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 831
def mailfrom(from_addr)
  if $SAFE > 0
    raise SecurityError, 'tainted from_addr' if from_addr.tainted?
  end
  getok("MAIL FROM:<#{from_addr}>")
end
open_message_stream(from_addr, *to_addrs)

Opens a message writer stream and gives it to the block. The stream is valid only in the block, and has these methods:

puts(str = '')

outputs STR and CR LF.

print(str)

outputs STR.

printf(fmt, *args)

outputs sprintf(fmt,*args).

write(str)

outputs STR and returns the length of written bytes.

<<(str)

outputs STR and returns self.

If a single CR (“r”) or LF (“n”) is found in the message, it is converted to the CR LF pair. You cannot send a binary message with this method.

Parameters

from_addr is a String representing the source mail address.

to_addr is a String or Strings or Array of Strings, representing the destination mail address or addresses.

Example

Net::SMTP.start('smtp.example.com', 25) do |smtp|
  smtp.open_message_stream('from@example.com', ['dest@example.com']) do |f|
    f.puts 'From: from@example.com'
    f.puts 'To: dest@example.com'
    f.puts 'Subject: test message'
    f.puts
    f.puts 'This is a test message.'
  end
end

Errors

This method may raise:

Also aliased as: ready

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 713
def open_message_stream(from_addr, *to_addrs, &block)   # :yield: stream
  raise IOError, 'closed session' unless @socket
  mailfrom from_addr
  rcptto_list(to_addrs) {data(&block)}
end
quit()

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 909
def quit
  getok('QUIT')
end
rcptto(to_addr)

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 859
def rcptto(to_addr)
  if $SAFE > 0
    raise SecurityError, 'tainted to_addr' if to_addr.tainted?
  end
  getok("RCPT TO:<#{to_addr}>")
end
rcptto_list(to_addrs)

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 838
def rcptto_list(to_addrs)
  raise ArgumentError, 'mail destination not given' if to_addrs.empty?
  ok_users = []
  unknown_users = []
  to_addrs.flatten.each do |addr|
    begin
      rcptto addr
    rescue SMTPAuthenticationError
      unknown_users << addr.dump
    else
      ok_users << addr
    end
  end
  raise ArgumentError, 'mail destination not given' if ok_users.empty?
  ret = yield
  unless unknown_users.empty?
    raise SMTPAuthenticationError, "failed to deliver for #{unknown_users.join(', ')}"
  end
  ret
end
read_timeout=(sec)

Set the number of seconds to wait until timing-out a read(2) call.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 376
def read_timeout=(sec)
  @socket.read_timeout = sec if @socket
  @read_timeout = sec
end
ready(from_addr, *to_addrs)
Alias for: open_message_stream
send_mail(msgstr, from_addr, *to_addrs)
Alias for: send_message
send_message(msgstr, from_addr, *to_addrs)

Sends msgstr as a message. Single CR (“r”) and LF (“n”) found in the msgstr, are converted into the CR LF pair. You cannot send a binary message with this method. msgstr should include both the message headers and body.

from_addr is a String representing the source mail address.

to_addr is a String or Strings or Array of Strings, representing the destination mail address or addresses.

Example

Net::SMTP.start('smtp.example.com') do |smtp|
  smtp.send_message msgstr,
                    'from@example.com',
                    ['dest@example.com', 'dest2@example.com']
end

Errors

This method may raise:

Also aliased as: send_mail, sendmail

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 660
def send_message(msgstr, from_addr, *to_addrs)
  raise IOError, 'closed session' unless @socket
  mailfrom from_addr
  rcptto_list(to_addrs) {data msgstr}
end
sendmail(msgstr, from_addr, *to_addrs)
Alias for: send_message
set_debug_output(arg)
Alias for: debug_output=
ssl?()
Alias for: tls?
start(helo = 'localhost', user = nil, secret = nil, authtype = nil)

Opens a TCP connection and starts the SMTP session.

Parameters

helo is the HELO domain that you'll dispatch mails from; see the discussion in the overview notes.

If both of user and secret are given, SMTP authentication will be attempted using the AUTH command. authtype specifies the type of authentication to attempt; it must be one of :login, :plain, and :cram_md5. See the notes on SMTP Authentication in the overview.

Block Usage

When this methods is called with a block, the newly-started SMTP object is yielded to the block, and automatically closed after the block call finishes. Otherwise, it is the caller's responsibility to close the session when finished.

Example

This is very similar to the class method ::start.

require 'net/smtp'
smtp = Net::SMTP.new('smtp.mail.server', 25)
smtp.start(helo_domain, account, password, authtype) do |smtp|
  smtp.send_message msgstr, 'from@example.com', ['dest@example.com']
end

The primary use of this method (as opposed to ::start) is probably to set debugging (#set_debug_output) or ESMTP (#esmtp=), which must be done before the session is started.

Errors

If session has already been started, an IOError will be raised.

This method may raise:

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 516
def start(helo = 'localhost',
          user = nil, secret = nil, authtype = nil)   # :yield: smtp
  if block_given?
    begin
      do_start helo, user, secret, authtype
      return yield(self)
    ensure
      do_finish
    end
  else
    do_start helo, user, secret, authtype
    return self
  end
end
started?()

true if the SMTP session has been started.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 461
def started?
  @started
end
starttls()

SMTP command dispatcher

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 819
def starttls
  getok('STARTTLS')
end
starttls?()

Returns truth value if this object uses STARTTLS. If this object always uses STARTTLS, returns :always. If this object uses STARTTLS when the server support TLS, returns :auto.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 319
def starttls?
  @starttls
end
starttls_always?()

true if this object uses STARTTLS.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 324
def starttls_always?
  @starttls == :always
end
starttls_auto?()

true if this object uses STARTTLS when server advertises STARTTLS.

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 329
def starttls_auto?
  @starttls == :auto
end
tls?()

true if this object uses SMTP/TLS (SMTPS).

Also aliased as: ssl?

Source: show | on GitHub 

# File lib/net/smtp.rb, line 289
def tls?
  @tls
end