RFC 3028 (rfc3028) - Page 1 of 36
Sieve: A Mail Filtering Language
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Network Working Group T. Showalter
Request for Comments: 3028 Mirapoint, Inc.
Category: Standards Track January 2001
Sieve: A Mail Filtering Language
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) The Internet Society (2001). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
This document describes a language for filtering e-mail messages at
time of final delivery. It is designed to be implementable on either
a mail client or mail server. It is meant to be extensible, simple,
and independent of access protocol, mail architecture, and operating
system. It is suitable for running on a mail server where users may
not be allowed to execute arbitrary programs, such as on black box
Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) servers, as it has no
variables, loops, or ability to shell out to external programs.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ........................................... 3
1.1. Conventions Used in This Document ..................... 4
1.2. Example mail messages ................................. 4
2. Design ................................................. 5
2.1. Form of the Language .................................. 5
2.2. Whitespace ............................................ 5
2.3. Comments .............................................. 6
2.4. Literal Data .......................................... 6
2.4.1. Numbers ............................................... 6
2.4.2. Strings ............................................... 7
2.4.2.1. String Lists .......................................... 7
2.4.2.2. Headers ............................................... 8
2.4.2.3. Addresses ............................................. 8
2.4.2.4. MIME Parts ............................................ 9
2.5. Tests ................................................. 9
2.5.1. Test Lists ............................................ 9
Showalter Standards Track