Read Mail from Your Server

GpgFrontend can fetch messages from your mail server, so you can check and decrypt them right away. It does this with the IMAP Controller.

IMAP is the way email apps talk to the server that keeps your mailbox.

New in v2.2.3

The IMAP Controller is new. Before, you had to save each message as a file in another email app first.

Before You Start

You need a mail account with receiving turned on. See Mail Accounts and Sending. In short: check Use this account to receive, fill in the server, and save a password.

Open the IMAP Controller

1. Click Advanced > Open IMAP Controller.
2. The IMAP Controller window opens and connects to your account.

If you have no account with receiving turned on, GpgFrontend says No mail account and asks you to set one up in Settings first.

The Advanced menu is hidden in sandboxed builds, such as Flatpak or the Mac App Store edition. There, the IMAP Controller is not available.

It Only Reads

The IMAP Controller is for looking, not for changing. It does not delete, move or send anything. Opening a message here does not mark it as read on the server.

To answer, sort or delete mail, use your usual email app.

Find a Message

At the top of the window:

• Account: pick the mail account to look in.
• Folder: pick a folder, such as your inbox.
• Search subject or sender: type a word to find matching messages.
• The refresh button (Reload this folder from the server) fetches the folder again.

The message list shows the subject, the sender and the date. Click a message to see its details on the right: subject, sender, date, size, Message-ID and Folder.

Messages come in pages of 50. Use Previous and Next to move between pages. The bottom of the window shows where you are, for example Page 1 of 4.

If a search finds very many messages, only the first ones are shown. Type more words to narrow it down.

Remembered Folder Lists

When you open an account again, GpgFrontend first shows the list from your last visit, so you do not stare at an empty window. It says Shown from the previous visit to this account; refreshing. while it gets the newest list from the server.

Open a Message

1. Select a message in the list.
2. Click Open.

The message is downloaded and opens in a new tab. The window says Opened in a new tab.

From there you can check and decrypt it like any other message. See Verify and Inspect a Message. You can also save it as an .eml file.

Right-click a message for more: Open, Copy Subject, Copy Sender and Copy Message-ID.

While something is loading, the Close button turns into Stop. Click it to stop.

Very Large Messages

A message larger than 64 MiB cannot be opened. If you select one, the details say: “This message is too large for this application to open, so it cannot be imported.” Use your usual email app for such a message.

Work With Attachments

Attachments are listed under the message, with their Name, Type, Size, and whether they are Signed. Click Expand to see every file, or Collapse to show only a summary.

The Signed column tells you if a file is covered by the message’s signature:

• signed: covered, and the signature is good.
• signed, not checked: covered, but the signature has not been checked yet.
• signed, could not be checked: covered, but the check gave no answer.
• signature not good: covered by a signature that failed. Do not trust it.
• unsigned: not covered. Anyone could have added this file.

Attachment Actions

Click Attachments on the action row, or right-click a file in the list:

• Open: open the file with the app your computer uses for it.
• Save…: save the selected files to a folder.
• Save All…: save every attachment to a folder.
• Import Key: import the file into your key database. This shows only when the file is an OpenPGP key.
• Remove: take the selected files out of the message. This only works on a message you can edit.
• Copy Name: copy the file name.

With Save All…, a file never replaces one that is already in the folder. If a name is taken, GpgFrontend saves the file under a new name and tells you.

Removing an attachment from a message you received cannot be undone. Save it first if you might need it.

Which Files It Will Open

GpgFrontend opens only files that are safe to look at:

• Documents: such as PDF, text, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OpenDocument, CSV, RTF and EPUB.
• Pictures: such as PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP and HEIC.
• Sound and video: such as MP3, WAV, MP4 and MKV.
• Plain data files: such as JSON, XML, YAML, calendar (.ics) and contact (.vcf) files, and other emails (.eml).

Everything else is refused, for example programs, scripts, shortcuts, installers, archives such as ZIP, and SVG images. A file from a stranger that “opens” might really run, and that could harm your computer. An archive is refused because you cannot tell what is inside until it is unpacked.

When a file is refused, GpgFrontend explains why. You can still click Save…, then open the file yourself if you are sure where it came from.

Size Limit When Attaching

When you add a file to your own message with Attach File…, each file can be up to 48 MiB. Bigger files are refused with a message that names them.