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IETF RFC 5490
The Sieve Mail-Filtering Language -- Extensions for Checking Mailbox Status and Accessing Mailbox Metadata
Last modified on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
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Network Working Group A. Melnikov
Request for Comments: 5490 Isode Limited
Category: Standards Track March 2009
The Sieve Mail-Filtering Language --
Extensions for Checking Mailbox Status and Accessing Mailbox Metadata
 Status of This Memo
This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2009 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
Provisions Relating to IETF Documents in effect on the date of
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Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
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This document may contain material from IETF Documents or IETF
Contributions published or made publicly available before November
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material may not have granted the IETF Trust the right to allow
modifications of such material outside the IETF Standards Process.
Without obtaining an adequate license from the person(s) controlling
the copyright in such materials, this document may not be modified
outside the IETF Standards Process, and derivative works of it may
not be created outside the IETF Standards Process, except to format
it for publication as an RFC or to translate it into languages other
than English.
Abstract
This memo defines an extension to the Sieve mail filtering language
(RFC 5228) for accessing mailbox and server annotations, checking for
mailbox existence, and controlling mailbox creation on "fileinto"
action.
Melnikov Standards Track PAGE 1 
RFC 5490 Sieve METADATA March 2009
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................2
2. Conventions Used in This Document ...............................2
3. "mailbox" and "mboxmetadata" Extensions .........................2
3.1. Test "mailboxexists" .......................................2
3.2. ":create" Argument to "fileinto" Command ...................3
3.3. Test "metadata" ............................................4
3.4. Test "metadataexists" ......................................4
4. "servermetadata" Extension ......................................5
4.1. Test "servermetadata" ......................................5
4.2. Test "servermetadataexists" ................................6
5. Security Considerations .........................................6
6. IANA Considerations .............................................7
7. Acknowledgements ................................................7
8. References ......................................................8
8.1. Normative References .......................................8
8.2. Informative References .....................................8
1. Introduction
This memo defines an extension to the Sieve mail filtering language
[SIEVE] for accessing mailbox and server annotations. This allows
for customization of the Sieve engine behaviour based on variables
set using [METADATA].
This document also defines an extension for checking for mailbox
existence and for controlling mailbox creation on "fileinto" action.
2. Conventions Used in This Document
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
document are to be interpreted as described in [KEYWORDS].
Conventions for notations are as in [SIEVE] Section 1.1, including
the use of [ABNF].
This document is written with an assumption that readers are familiar
with the data model and terms defined in Section 3 of [METADATA].
3. "mailbox" and "mboxmetadata" Extensions
3.1. Test "mailboxexists"
Usage: mailboxexists <mailbox-names: string-list>
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RFC 5490 Sieve METADATA March 2009
The "mailboxexists" test is true if all mailboxes listed in the
"mailbox-names" argument exist in the mailstore, and each allows the
user in whose context the Sieve script runs to "deliver" messages
into it. When the mailstore is an IMAP server, "delivery" of
messages is possible if:
a. the READ-WRITE response code is present for the mailbox (see
Section 7.1 of [IMAP]), if IMAP Access Control List (ACL)
[IMAPACL] is not supported by the server, or
b. the user has 'p' or 'i' rights for the mailbox (see Section 5.2
of [IMAPACL]).
Note that a successful "mailboxexists" test for a mailbox doesn't
necessarily mean that a "fileinto" action on this mailbox would
succeed. For example, the "fileinto" action might put user over
quota. The "mailboxexists" only verifies existence of the mailbox
and whether the user in whose context the Sieve script runs has
permissions to execute "fileinto" on it.
The capability string for use with the require command is "mailbox".
Example: The following example assumes that the Sieve engine also
supports "reject" [REJECT] and "fileinto" [SIEVE]. However, these
extensions are not required in order to implement the "mailbox"
extension.
require ["fileinto", "reject", "mailbox"];
if mailboxexists "Partners" {
fileinto "Partners";
} else {
reject "This message was not accepted by the Mailstore";
}
3.2. ":create" Argument to "fileinto" Command
Usage: fileinto [:create] <mailbox: string>
If the optional ":create" argument is specified with "fileinto", it
instructs the Sieve interpreter to create the specified mailbox, if
needed, before attempting to deliver the message into the specified
mailbox. If the mailbox already exists, this argument is ignored.
Failure to create the specified mailbox is considered to be an error.
The capability string for use with the ":create" parameter is
"mailbox".
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RFC 5490 Sieve METADATA March 2009
3.3. Test "metadata"
Usage: metadata [MATCH-TYPE] [COMPARATOR]
<mailbox: string>
<annotation-name: string> <key-list: string-list>
This test retrieves the value of the mailbox annotation "annotation-
name" for the mailbox "mailbox" [METADATA]. The retrieved value is
compared to the "key-list". The test returns true if the annotation
exists and its value matches any of the keys.
The default match type is ":is" [SIEVE]. The default comparator is
"i;ascii-casemap" [SIEVE].
The capability string for use with the require command is
"mboxmetadata".
Annotations MUST be accessed with the permissions of the user in
whose context the Sieve script runs, and annotations starting with
the "/private" prefix MUST be those of the user in whose context the
Sieve script runs.
Example: The following example assumes that the Sieve engine also
supports the "vacation" [VACATION] extension. However, this
extension is not required in order to implement the "mboxmetadata"
extension.
require ["mboxmetadata", "vacation"];
if metadata :is "INBOX"
"/private/vendor/vendor.isode/auto-replies" "on" {
vacation text:
I'm away on holidays till March 2009.
Expect a delay.
.
}
3.4. Test "metadataexists"
Usage: metadataexists <mailbox: string> <annotation-names: string-
list>
The "metadataexists" test is true if all of the annotations listed in
the "annotation-names" argument exist (i.e., have non-NIL values) for
the specified mailbox.
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RFC 5490 Sieve METADATA March 2009
The capability string for use with the require command is
"mboxmetadata".
4. "servermetadata" Extension
4.1. Test "servermetadata"
Usage: servermetadata [MATCH-TYPE] [COMPARATOR]
<annotation-name: string> <key-list: string-list>
This test retrieves the value of the server annotation "annotation-
name" [METADATA]. The retrieved value is compared to the "key-list".
The test returns true if the annotation exists and its value matches
any of the keys.
The default match type is ":is". The default comparator is "i;ascii-
casemap".
The capability string for use with the require command is
"servermetadata".
Annotations MUST be accessed with the permissions of the user in
whose context the Sieve script runs, and annotations starting with
the "/private" prefix MUST be those of the user in whose context the
Sieve script runs.
Example: The following example assumes that the Sieve engine also
supports "variables" [VARIABLES], "enotify" [NOTIFY], and "envelope"
[SIEVE] extensions. However, these extensions are not required in
order to implement the "servermetadata" extension.
require ["enotify", "servermetadata", "variables", "envelope"];
if servermetadata :matches
"/private/vendor/vendor.isode/notification-uri" "*" {
set "notif_uri" "${0}";
}
if not string :is "${notif_uri}" "none" {
# :matches is used to get the MAIL FROM address
if envelope :all :matches "from" "*" {
set "env_from" " [really: ${1}]";
}
# :matches is used to get the value of the Subject header
if header :matches "Subject" "*" {
set "subject" "${1}";
}
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RFC 5490 Sieve METADATA March 2009
# :matches is used to get the address from the From header
if address :matches :all "from" "*" {
set "from_addr" "${1}";
}
notify :message "${from_addr}${env_from}: ${subject}"
"${notif_uri}";
}
4.2. Test "servermetadataexists"
Usage: servermetadataexists
<annotation-names: string-list>
The "servermetadataexists" test is true if all of the server
annotations listed in the "annotation-names" argument exist (i.e.,
have non-NIL values).
The capability string for use with the require command is
"servermetadata".
5. Security Considerations
Extensions defined in this document deliberately don't provide a way
to modify annotations.
A failure to retrieve data due to the server storing the annotations
being down or otherwise inaccessible may alter the result of Sieve
processing. So implementations SHOULD treat a temporary failure to
retrieve annotations in the same manner as a temporary failure to
retrieve a Sieve script. For example, if the Sieve script is stored
in the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) and the script
can't be retrieved when a message is processed, then the agent
performing Sieve processing can, for example, assume that the script
doesn't exist or delay message delivery until the script can be
retrieved successfully. Annotations should be treated as if they are
a part of the script itself, so a temporary failure to retrieve them
should be handled in the same way as a temporary failure to retrieve
the Sieve script itself.
Protocols/APIs used to retrieve annotations MUST provide at least the
same level of confidentiality as protocols/APIs used to retrieve
Sieve scripts. For example, if Sieve scripts are retrieved using
LDAP secured with Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption, then the
protocol used to retrieve annotations must use a comparable mechanism
for providing connection confidentiality. In particular, the
protocol used to retrieve annotations must not be lacking encryption.
Melnikov Standards Track PAGE 6
RFC 5490 Sieve METADATA March 2009
6. IANA Considerations
IANA has added the following registrations to the list of Sieve
extensions:
To: iana@iana.org
Subject: Registration of new Sieve extension
Capability name: mailbox
Description: adds test for checking for mailbox existence and a new
optional argument to fileinto for creating a mailbox
before attempting mail delivery.
RFC number: this RFC
Contact address:
The Sieve discussion list <ietf-mta-filters@imc.org>
Capability name: mboxmetadata
Description: adds tests for checking for mailbox metadata item
existence and for retrieving of a mailbox metadata
value.
RFC number: this RFC
Contact address:
The Sieve discussion list <ietf-mta-filters@imc.org>
Capability name: servermetadata
Description: adds tests for checking for server metadata item
existence and for retrieving of a server metadata
value.
RFC number: this RFC
Contact address:
The Sieve discussion list <ietf-mta-filters@imc.org>
7. Acknowledgements
Thanks to Cyrus Daboo for initial motivation for this document.
Thanks to Barry Leiba, Randall Gellens, and Aaron Stone for helpful
comments on this document.
The author also thanks the Open Mobile Alliance's Mobile Email
working group for providing a set of requirements for mobile devices,
guiding some of the extensions in this document.
Melnikov Standards Track PAGE 7
RFC 5490 Sieve METADATA March 2009
8. References
8.1. Normative References
[ABNF] Crocker, D. and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for Syntax
Specifications: ABNF", STD 68, RFC 5234, January 2008.
[IMAP] Crispin, M., "Internet Message Access Protocol - Version
4rev1", RFC 3501, March 2003.
[IMAPACL] Melnikov, A., "IMAP4 Access Control List (ACL)
Extension", RFC 4314, December 2005.
[KEYWORDS] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
[METADATA] Daboo, C., "The IMAP METADATA Extension", RFC 5464,
February 2009.
[SIEVE] Guenther, P. and T. Showalter, "Sieve: An Email
Filtering Language", RFC 5228, January 2008.
8.2. Informative References
[NOTIFY] Melnikov, A., Leiba, B., Segmuller, W., and T. Martin,
"Sieve Email Filtering: Extension for Notifications",
RFC 5435, January 2009.
[REJECT] Stone, A., "Sieve Email Filtering: Reject and Extended
Reject Extensions", RFC 5429, March 2009.
[VACATION] Showalter, T. and N. Freed, "Sieve Email Filtering:
Vacation Extension", RFC 5230, January 2008.
[VARIABLES] Homme, K., "Sieve Email Filtering: Variables Extension",
RFC 5229, January 2008.
Author's Address
Alexey Melnikov
Isode Limited
5 Castle Business Village
36 Station Road
Hampton, Middlesex TW12 2BX
UK
EMail: Alexey.Melnikov@isode.com
Melnikov Standards Track PAGE 8
The Sieve Mail-Filtering Language -- Extensions for Checking Mailbox Status and Accessing Mailbox Metadata
RFC TOTAL SIZE: 16065 bytes
PUBLICATION DATE: Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
LEGAL RIGHTS: The IETF Trust (see BCP 78)
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