MailMimeParser (zbateson/mail-mime-parser)

MailMimeParser

https://github.com/zbateson/mail-mime-parser
Admin
An email parser written in PHP

Tokens:34,413
Snippets:64
Trust Score:8
Update:5 months ago
Show doc for...
Context Summary (auto-generated)
Raw
# zbateson/mail-mime-parser

## Introduction

zbateson/mail-mime-parser is a PSR-compliant PHP library for parsing MIME email messages in Internet Message Format (RFC 822, RFC 2822, RFC 5322). It provides a modern, testable alternative to PHP's imap* functions and legacy Pear libraries. The library handles the complete parsing and manipulation of email messages, including headers, multipart content, attachments, and various encoding schemes (quoted-printable, base64, UUEncode).

Built with PHP 8.0+, the library uses PHP-DI for dependency injection, Guzzle PSR-7 streams for efficient content handling, and Upstash for vector embeddings support. It provides both procedural and object-oriented APIs with comprehensive error handling, validation, and logging capabilities. The parser is standards-compliant yet forgiving, handling malformed emails gracefully while maintaining strict adherence to RFC specifications.

## Core APIs and Functions

### Parsing a MIME message from file handle

Parse email messages from file handles, strings, or PSR-7 streams with automatic resource management and charset detection.

```php
<?php
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\MailMimeParser;
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\Header\HeaderConsts;

$parser = new MailMimeParser();
$handle = fopen('/path/to/email.eml', 'r');

// Parse with handle attached (auto-closes when message destroyed)
$message = $parser->parse($handle, true);

// Access basic headers
echo $message->getSubject() . "\n";
echo $message->getHeaderValue(HeaderConsts::FROM) . "\n";
echo $message->getHeaderValue(HeaderConsts::TO) . "\n";
echo $message->getHeaderValue(HeaderConsts::DATE) . "\n";

// Get message content
echo $message->getTextContent();      // Plain text version
echo $message->getHtmlContent();      // HTML version

// Output:
// Meeting Tomorrow
// sender@example.com
// recipient@example.com
// Mon, 14 Oct 2025 10:30:00 +0000
// Let's meet at 3pm...
```

### Parsing a MIME message from string

Static factory method for quick parsing without instantiating MailMimeParser explicitly.

```php
<?php
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\Message;
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\Header\HeaderConsts;

$rawEmail = "From: alice@example.com\r\n"
    . "To: bob@example.com\r\n"
    . "Subject: Test Email\r\n"
    . "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8\r\n"
    . "\r\n"
    . "Hello Bob,\r\n\r\nThis is a test message.\r\n";

// Parse string directly
$message = Message::from($rawEmail, false);

echo $message->getSubject() . "\n";
echo $message->getHeaderValue(HeaderConsts::FROM) . "\n";
echo $message->getTextContent();

// Output:
// Test Email
// alice@example.com
// Hello Bob,
//
// This is a test message.
```

### Extracting sender and recipient information

Access detailed address information including names and email addresses from address headers.

```php
<?php
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\Message;
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\Header\HeaderConsts;

$rawEmail = "From: Alice Smith <alice@example.com>\r\n"
    . "To: Bob Jones <bob@example.com>, charlie@example.com\r\n"
    . "Cc: Diana Wilson <diana@example.com>\r\n"
    . "Subject: Team Update\r\n"
    . "\r\n"
    . "Message body here.\r\n";

$message = Message::from($rawEmail, false);

// Get FROM header details
$fromHeader = $message->getHeader(HeaderConsts::FROM);
echo "From Email: " . $fromHeader->getEmail() . "\n";
echo "From Name: " . $fromHeader->getPersonName() . "\n";

// Get all TO addresses
$toHeader = $message->getHeader(HeaderConsts::TO);
foreach ($toHeader->getAddresses() as $address) {
    echo "To: " . $address->getEmail();
    if ($address->getName()) {
        echo " (" . $address->getName() . ")";
    }
    echo "\n";
}

// Get CC addresses
$ccHeader = $message->getHeader(HeaderConsts::CC);
if ($ccHeader) {
    foreach ($ccHeader->getAddresses() as $address) {
        echo "Cc: " . $address->getEmail() . " (" . $address->getName() . ")\n";
    }
}

// Output:
// From Email: alice@example.com
// From Name: Alice Smith
// To: bob@example.com (Bob Jones)
// To: charlie@example.com
// Cc: diana@example.com (Diana Wilson)
```

### Reading attachments

Access, enumerate, and save email attachments with automatic decoding of content-transfer-encoding.

```php
<?php
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\Message;

$handle = fopen('/path/to/email-with-attachments.eml', 'r');
$message = Message::from($handle, true);

// Count attachments
$attachmentCount = $message->getAttachmentCount();
echo "Found {$attachmentCount} attachment(s)\n";

// Iterate through all attachments
for ($i = 0; $i < $attachmentCount; $i++) {
    $attachment = $message->getAttachmentPart($i);

    // Get attachment metadata
    $filename = $attachment->getFilename();
    $mimeType = $attachment->getContentType();
    $size = $attachment->getBinaryContentStream()->getSize();

    echo "Attachment {$i}: {$filename}\n";
    echo "  Type: {$mimeType}\n";
    echo "  Size: {$size} bytes\n";

    // Save to file (automatically decodes base64/quoted-printable)
    $attachment->saveContent("/tmp/attachments/{$filename}");

    // Or get content as string
    $content = $attachment->getContent();

    // Or copy to stream
    $stream = $attachment->getContentStream();
    $destHandle = fopen("/tmp/copy-{$filename}", 'w');
    while (!$stream->eof()) {
        fwrite($destHandle, $stream->read(8192));
    }
    fclose($destHandle);
}

// Output:
// Found 2 attachment(s)
// Attachment 0: document.pdf
//   Type: application/pdf
//   Size: 245760 bytes
// Attachment 1: image.jpg
//   Type: image/jpeg
//   Size: 102400 bytes
```

### Working with multipart messages

Navigate and extract content from multipart/alternative and multipart/mixed messages.

```php
<?php
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\Message;

$rawEmail = "Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=\"boundary123\"\r\n"
    . "Subject: Rich Email\r\n"
    . "\r\n"
    . "--boundary123\r\n"
    . "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8\r\n"
    . "\r\n"
    . "Plain text version of the email.\r\n"
    . "--boundary123\r\n"
    . "Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8\r\n"
    . "\r\n"
    . "<html><body><p>HTML version of the email.</p></body></html>\r\n"
    . "--boundary123--\r\n";

$message = Message::from($rawEmail, false);

// Check if message is multipart
if ($message->isMultiPart()) {
    echo "This is a multipart message\n";
}

// Get text part count
$textPartCount = $message->getTextPartCount();
$htmlPartCount = $message->getHtmlPartCount();
echo "Text parts: {$textPartCount}, HTML parts: {$htmlPartCount}\n";

// Access specific parts
$textPart = $message->getTextPart(0);
echo "Plain text:\n" . $textPart->getContent() . "\n\n";

$htmlPart = $message->getHtmlPart(0);
echo "HTML:\n" . $htmlPart->getContent() . "\n";

// Get charset information
echo "Text charset: " . $textPart->getCharset() . "\n";

// Output:
// This is a multipart message
// Text parts: 1, HTML parts: 1
// Plain text:
// Plain text version of the email.
//
// HTML:
// <html><body><p>HTML version of the email.</p></body></html>
// Text charset: UTF-8
```

### Creating and modifying messages

Build new messages or modify existing ones with text/html content and attachments.

```php
<?php
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\Message;
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\Header\HeaderConsts;

// Create a new message
$message = new Message();

// Set headers
$message->setRawHeader(HeaderConsts::FROM, 'sender@example.com');
$message->setRawHeader(HeaderConsts::TO, 'recipient@example.com');
$message->setRawHeader(HeaderConsts::SUBJECT, 'Welcome Email');

// Set text and HTML content
$message->setTextPart('Welcome! This is the plain text version.');
$message->setHtmlPart('<html><body><h1>Welcome!</h1><p>This is the HTML version.</p></body></html>');

// Add an attachment from file
$message->addAttachmentPartFromFile(
    '/path/to/document.pdf',
    'application/pdf',
    'welcome-guide.pdf',
    'attachment',
    'base64'
);

// Add an attachment from string/resource
$csvData = "Name,Email\nJohn,john@example.com\n";
$message->addAttachmentPart(
    $csvData,
    'text/csv',
    'contacts.csv',
    'attachment',
    'base64'
);

// Save complete message to file
$message->save('/tmp/new-message.eml');

// Or get as string
$emailString = (string)$message;

// Modify existing message - remove HTML part
$existingMessage = Message::from($emailString, false);
$existingMessage->removeHtmlPart(0);
$existingMessage->setTextPart('Updated text content only.');

echo "Message created and modified successfully\n";
```

### Working with signed messages

Handle multipart/signed messages for S/MIME and PGP signatures.

```php
<?php
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\Message;

// Create a message and prepare for signing
$message = new Message();
$message->setRawHeader('From', 'alice@example.com');
$message->setRawHeader('To', 'bob@example.com');
$message->setRawHeader('Subject', 'Signed Message');
$message->setTextPart('This message will be signed.');

// Convert to multipart/signed format
$message->setAsMultipartSigned('sha256', 'application/pgp-signature');

// Get normalized content to sign
$contentToSign = $message->getSignedMessageAsString();

// Generate signature (example using external signing)
// In real usage, use openssl or gpg functions
$signature = "-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----\n"
    . base64_encode(hash('sha256', $contentToSign, true))
    . "\n-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----";

// Attach the signature
$message->setSignature($signature);

// Save signed message
$message->save('/tmp/signed-message.eml');

// Later, verify the signature
$signedMessage = Message::from(fopen('/tmp/signed-message.eml', 'r'), true);
$signaturePart = $signedMessage->getSignaturePart();

if ($signaturePart) {
    echo "Signature found:\n";
    echo $signaturePart->getContent() . "\n";

    // Get signed content for verification
    $signedContent = $signedMessage->getSignedMessageAsString();

    // Verify signature (implementation depends on signature type)
    echo "Content to verify hash: " . hash('sha256', $signedContent) . "\n";
}

// Output:
// Signature found:
// -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
// [base64 encoded signature]
// -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
// Content to verify hash: [hash value]
```

### Advanced header manipulation

Access and modify various header types including custom headers and parameters.

```php
<?php
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\Message;
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\Header\HeaderConsts;

$message = new Message();

// Set standard headers
$message->setRawHeader(HeaderConsts::FROM, 'alice@example.com');
$message->setRawHeader(HeaderConsts::SUBJECT, 'Test Email');
$message->setRawHeader(HeaderConsts::DATE, date('r'));

// Set custom headers
$message->setRawHeader('X-Mailer', 'MyMailer 1.0');
$message->setRawHeader('X-Priority', '1');

// Add multiple headers with same name
$message->addRawHeader(HeaderConsts::RECEIVED, 'from mx1.example.com by mx2.example.com');
$message->addRawHeader(HeaderConsts::RECEIVED, 'from mx0.example.com by mx1.example.com');

// Get Content-Type with parameters
$message->setRawHeader(
    HeaderConsts::CONTENT_TYPE,
    'text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed'
);

$contentType = $message->getHeaderValue(HeaderConsts::CONTENT_TYPE);
$charset = $message->getHeaderParameter(HeaderConsts::CONTENT_TYPE, 'charset');
$format = $message->getHeaderParameter(HeaderConsts::CONTENT_TYPE, 'format');

echo "Content-Type: {$contentType}\n";
echo "Charset: {$charset}\n";
echo "Format: {$format}\n";

// Get all headers with a specific name
$receivedHeaders = $message->getAllHeadersByName(HeaderConsts::RECEIVED);
echo "Received headers count: " . count($receivedHeaders) . "\n";

// Iterate all headers
foreach ($message->getAllHeaders() as $header) {
    echo $header->getName() . ": " . $header->getValue() . "\n";
}

// Remove headers
$message->removeSingleHeader(HeaderConsts::RECEIVED, 0);  // Remove first Received header
$message->removeHeader('X-Priority');                      // Remove all X-Priority headers

// Output:
// Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
// Charset: ISO-8859-1
// Format: flowed
// Received headers count: 2
// From: alice@example.com
// Subject: Test Email
// [... other headers ...]
```

### Handling charset encoding

Work with different character encodings and perform charset conversions.

```php
<?php
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\Message;
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\MailMimeParser;

$rawEmail = "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1\r\n"
    . "Subject: Grüße\r\n"
    . "\r\n"
    . "Grüße aus Deutschland!\r\n";

$message = Message::from($rawEmail, false);

// Get content in original charset
$part = $message->getTextPart(0);
echo "Original charset: " . $part->getCharset() . "\n";

// Get content converted to UTF-8 (default)
$utf8Content = $message->getTextContent(0, MailMimeParser::DEFAULT_CHARSET);
echo "UTF-8 content: {$utf8Content}\n";

// Get content in specific charset
$isoContent = $message->getTextContent(0, 'ISO-8859-1');
echo "ISO-8859-1 content: {$isoContent}\n";

// Override charset if incorrectly specified
$part->setCharsetOverride('UTF-8', false);
$correctedContent = $part->getContent();
echo "Corrected content: {$correctedContent}\n";

// Set charset override only if none specified
$part->setCharsetOverride('UTF-8', true);

// Work with streams in specific charset
$stream = $message->getTextStream(0, 'UTF-8');
while (!$stream->eof()) {
    echo $stream->read(1024);
}

// Output:
// Original charset: ISO-8859-1
// UTF-8 content: Grüße aus Deutschland!
// ISO-8859-1 content: [ISO-8859-1 encoded bytes]
// Corrected content: Grüße aus Deutschland!
```

### Error handling and validation

Access parsing errors and validation issues with PSR-3 logging support.

```php
<?php
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\MailMimeParser;
use Monolog\Logger;
use Monolog\Handler\StreamHandler;

// Set up logging
$logger = new Logger('mail-parser');
$logger->pushHandler(new StreamHandler('/tmp/parser.log', Logger::DEBUG));

// Create parser with logger
$parser = new MailMimeParser($logger);

// Parse potentially malformed message
$malformedEmail = "From: broken@example.com\r\n"
    . "Subject: Test\r\n"
    . "Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary=\r\n"  // Missing boundary value
    . "\r\n"
    . "Body content\r\n";

$message = $parser->parse($malformedEmail, false);

// Check for errors
if ($message->hasErrors()) {
    echo "Parsing errors found:\n";
    foreach ($message->getAllErrors() as $error) {
        echo "  - " . $error->getMessage() . " (Level: " . $error->getLevel() . ")\n";
        echo "    Context: " . $error->getPsrLevel() . "\n";
    }
}

// Get errors with specific severity
$criticalErrors = $message->getErrorsWithLogLevel(\Psr\Log\LogLevel::ERROR);
echo "\nCritical errors: " . count($criticalErrors) . "\n";

// Check specific headers for errors
$fromHeader = $message->getHeader('From');
if ($fromHeader && $fromHeader->hasErrors()) {
    echo "From header has errors\n";
}

// Access attachment with error handling
try {
    $attachment = $message->getAttachmentPart(0);
    if ($attachment) {
        $content = $attachment->getContent();
    }
} catch (\Exception $e) {
    echo "Error reading attachment: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
}

// Output:
// Parsing errors found:
//   - Boundary value missing in Content-Type header (Level: error)
//     Context: error
//
// Critical errors: 1
```

### Custom dependency injection

Configure custom services and logging using PHP-DI container.

```php
<?php
use ZBateson\MailMimeParser\MailMimeParser;
use Psr\Log\LoggerInterface;
use Monolog\Logger;
use Monolog\Handler\StreamHandler;

// Create custom logger
$logger = new Logger('custom-parser');
$logger->pushHandler(new StreamHandler('/var/log/mail-parser.log', Logger::WARNING));

// Option 1: Pass logger to single instance
$parser = new MailMimeParser($logger);

// Option 2: Set global logger for all instances
MailMimeParser::setGlobalLogger($logger);
$parser1 = new MailMimeParser();
$parser2 = new MailMimeParser();  // Also uses global logger

// Option 3: Custom PHP-DI configuration
$customConfig = [
    LoggerInterface::class => $logger,
    'custom.setting' => 'value'
];

MailMimeParser::addGlobalPhpDiContainerDefinition($customConfig);

// Option 4: Per-instance custom configuration
$instanceConfig = [
    'instance.specific' => 'config'
];
$parser = new MailMimeParser(null, $instanceConfig, true);

// Option 5: Use container directly
$container = MailMimeParser::getGlobalContainer();
$container->set('MyCustomService', function() {
    return new \MyNamespace\CustomService();
});

// Reset global configuration
MailMimeParser::resetGlobalPhpDiContainerDefinitions();

echo "Custom configuration applied\n";

// Output:
// Custom configuration applied
```

## Summary and Integration

zbateson/mail-mime-parser excels at parsing and manipulating RFC-compliant email messages in PHP applications. Primary use cases include building email clients, processing incoming mail in web applications, extracting attachments from automated emails, archiving and analyzing email data, and implementing email forwarding or transformation services. The library handles complex multipart messages, various character encodings, and attachment formats seamlessly while maintaining strict RFC compliance and providing graceful error handling for malformed messages.

Integration is straightforward through Composer (`composer require zbateson/mail-mime-parser`), with support for both quick procedural usage via `Message::from()` and full object-oriented patterns with dependency injection. The library integrates with PSR-7 streams for memory-efficient processing of large messages, PSR-3 loggers for debugging and monitoring, and supports custom service configurations through PHP-DI. Advanced features include multipart/signed message support for S/MIME and PGP verification, charset conversion capabilities, and comprehensive error tracking, making it suitable for both simple email parsing tasks and complex enterprise mail processing systems.