RFC 1081 UNKNOWN EMAIL · MAIL RETRIEVAL · PROTOCOL
POP3: Post Office Protocol: Version 3
A protocol for workstations to retrieve mail from a server.
RFC EDITOR
Rose, M.T., "Post Office Protocol: Version 3", RFC 1081, DOI 10.17487/RFC1081, November 1988, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1081>.
BIBTEX
@misc{rfc1081,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 1081,
howpublished = {RFC 1081},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC1081},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1081},
author = {M.T. Rose},
title = {{Post Office Protocol: Version 3}},
pagetotal = 16,
year = 1988,
month = nov,
} LINEAGE · FROM THE RFC INDEXOpen full graph →
RFC text
Contents
Network Working Group M. Rose
Request for Comments: 1081 TWG
November 1988
Post Office Protocol - Version 3
Status of this Memo
This memo suggests a simple method for workstations to dynamically
access mail from a mailbox server. This RFC specifies a proposed
protocol for the Internet community, and requests discussion and
suggestions for improvements. Distribution of this memo is
unlimited.
This memo is based on RFC 918 (since revised as RFC 937). Although
similar in form to the original Post Office Protocol (POP) proposed
for the Internet community, the protocol discussed in this memo is
similar in spirit to the ideas investigated by the MZnet project at
the University of California, Irvine.
Further, substantial work was done on examining POP in a PC-based
environment. This work, which resulted in additional functionality
in this protocol, was performed by the ACIS Networking Systems Group
at Stanford University. The author gratefully acknowledges their
interest.
Introduction
On certain types of smaller nodes in the Internet it is often
impractical to maintain a message transport system (MTS). For
example, a workstation may not have sufficient resources (cycles,
disk space) in order to permit a SMTP server and associated local
mail delivery system to be kept resident and continuously running.
Similarly, it may be expensive (or impossible) to keep a personal
computer interconnected to an IP-style network for long amounts of
time (the node is lacking the resource known as "connectivity").
Despite this, it is often very useful to be able to manage mail on
these smaller nodes, and they often support a user agent (UA) to aid
the tasks of mail handling. To solve this problem, a node which can
support an MTS entity offers a maildrop service to these less endowed
nodes. The Post Office Protocol - Version 3 (POP3) is intended to
permit a workstation to dynamically access a maildrop on a server
host in a useful fashion. Usually, this means that the POP3 is used
to allow a workstation to retrieve mail that the server is holding
for it.
For the remainder of this memo, the term "client host" refers to a
host making use of the POP3 service, while the term "server host"
refers to a host which offers the POP3 service.
A Short Digression
This memo does not specify how a client host enters mail into the
transport system, although a method consistent with the philosophy of
this memo is presented here:
When the user agent on a client host wishes to enter a message
into the transport system, it establishes an SMTP connection to
its relay host (this relay host could be, but need not be, the
POP3 server host for the client host).
If this method is followed, then the client host appears to the MTS
as a user agent, and should NOT be regarded as a "trusted" MTS entity
in any sense whatsoever. This concept, along with the role of the
POP3 as a part of a split-UA model is discussed later in this memo.
Initially, the server host starts the POP3 service by listening on
TCP port 110. When a client host wishes to make use of the service,
it establishes a TCP connection with the server host. When the
connection is established, the POP3 server sends a greeting. The
client and POP3 server then exchange commands and responses
(respectively) until the connection is closed or aborted.
Commands in the POP3 consist of a keyword possibly followed by an
argument. All commands are terminated by a CRLF pair.
Responses in the POP3 consist of a success indicator and a keyword
possibly followed by additional information. All responses are
terminated by a CRLF pair. There are currently two success
indicators: positive ("+OK") and negative ("-ERR").
Responses to certain commands are multi-line. In these cases, which
are clearly indicated below, after sending the first line of the
response and a CRLF, any additional lines are sent, each terminated
by a CRLF pair. When all lines of the response have been sent, a
final line is sent, consisting of a termination octet (decimal code
046, ".") and a CRLF pair. If any line of the multi-line response
begins with the termination octet, the line is "byte-stuffed" by
pre-pending the termination octet to that line of the response.
Hence a multi-line response is terminated with the five octets
"CRLF.CRLF". When examining a multi-line response, the client checks
to see if the line begins with the termination octet. If so and if
octets other than CRLF follow, the the first octet of the line (the
termination octet) is stripped away. If so and if CRLF immediately
follows the termination character, then the response from the POP
server is ended and the line containing ".CRLF" is not considered
part of the multi-line response.
A POP3 session progresses through a number of states during its
lifetime. Once the TCP connection has been opened and the POP3
server has sent the greeting, the session enters the AUTHORIZATION
state. In this state, the client must identify itself to the POP3
server. Once the client has successfully done this, the server
acquires resources associated with the client's maildrop, and the
session enters the TRANSACTION state. In this state, the client
requests actions on the part of the POP3 server. When the client has
finished its transactions, the session enters the UPDATE state. In
this state, the POP3 server releases any resources acquired during
the TRANSACTION state and says goodbye. The TCP connection is then
closed.
The AUTHORIZATION State
Once the TCP connection has been opened by a POP3 client, the POP3
server issues a one line greeting. This can be any string terminated
by CRLF. An example might be:
S. +OK dewey POP3 server ready (Comments to: PostMaster@UDEL.EDU)
Note that this greeting is a POP3 reply. The POP3 server should
always give a positive response as the greeting.
The POP3 session is now in the AUTHORIZATION state. The client must
now issue the USER command. If the POP3 server responds with a
positive success indicator ("+OK"), then the client may issue either
the PASS command to complete the authorization, or the QUIT command
to terminate the POP3 session. If the POP3 server responds with a
negative success indicator ("-ERR") to the USER command, then the
client may either issue a new USER command or may issue the QUIT
command.
When the client issues the PASS command, the POP3 server uses the
argument pair from the USER and PASS commands to determine if the
client should be given access to the appropriate maildrop. If so,
the POP3 server then acquires an exclusive-access lock on the
maildrop. If the lock is successfully acquired, the POP3 server
parses the maildrop into individual messages (read note below),
determines the last message (if any) present in the maildrop that was
referenced by the RETR command, and responds with a positive success
indicator. The POP3 session now enters the TRANSACTION state. If
the lock can not be acquired or the client should is denied access to
the appropriate maildrop or the maildrop can't be parsed for some
reason, the POP3 server responds with a negative success indicator.
(If a lock was acquired but the POP3 server intends to respond with a
negative success indicator, the POP3 server must release the lock
prior to rejecting the command.) At this point, the client may
either issue a new USER command and start again, or the client may
issue the QUIT command.
NOTE: Minimal implementations of the POP3 need only be
able to break a maildrop into its component messages;
they need NOT be able to parse individual messages.
More advanced implementations may wish to have this
capability, for reasons discussed later.
After the POP3 server has parsed the maildrop into individual
messages, it assigns a message-id to each message, and notes the size
of the message in octets. The first message in the maildrop is
assigned a message-id of "1", the second is assigned "2", and so on,
so that the n'th message in a maildrop is assigned a message-id of
"n". In POP3 commands and responses, all message-id's and message
sizes are expressed in base-10 (i.e., decimal).
It sets the "highest number accessed" to be that of the last message
referenced by the RETR command.
Here are summaries for the three POP3 commands discussed thus far:
USER name
Arguments: a server specific user-id (required)
Restrictions: may only be given in the AUTHORIZATION
state after the POP3 greeting or after an
unsuccessful USER or PASS command
Possible Responses:
+OK name is welcome here
-ERR never heard of name
Examples:
C: USER mrose
S: +OK mrose is a real hoopy frood
...
C: USER frated
S: -ERR sorry, frated doesn't get his mail here
PASS string
Arguments: a server/user-id specific password (required)
Restrictions: may only be given in the AUTHORIZATION
state after a successful USER command
Possible Responses:
+OK maildrop locked and ready
-ERR invalid password
-ERR unable to lock maildrop
Examples:
C: USER mrose
S: +OK mrose is a real hoopy frood
C: PASS secret
S: +OK mrose's maildrop has 2 messages
(320 octets)
...
C: USER mrose
S: +OK mrose is a real hoopy frood
C: PASS secret
S: -ERR unable to lock mrose's maildrop, file
already locked
QUIT
Arguments: none
Restrictions: none
Possible Responses:
+OK
Examples:
C: QUIT
S: +OK dewey POP3 server signing off
The TRANSACTION State
Once the client has successfully identified itself to the POP3 server
and the POP3 server has locked and burst the appropriate maildrop,
the POP3 session is now in the TRANSACTION state. The client may now
issue any of the following POP3 commands repeatedly. After each
command, the POP3 server issues a response. Eventually, the client
issues the QUIT command and the POP3 session enters the UPDATE state.
Here are the POP3 commands valid in the TRANSACTION state:
STAT
Arguments: none
Restrictions: may only be given in the TRANSACTION state.
Discussion:
The POP3 server issues a positive response with a line
containing information for the maildrop. This line is
called a "drop listing" for that maildrop.
In order to simplify parsing, all POP3 servers are
required to use a certain format for drop listings.
The first octets present must indicate the number of
messages in the maildrop. Following this is the size
of the maildrop in octets. This memo makes no
requirement on what follows the maildrop size.
Minimal implementations should just end that line of
the response with a CRLF pair. More advanced
implementations may include other information.
NOTE: This memo STRONGLY discourages
implementations from supplying additional
information in the drop listing. Other,
optional, facilities are discussed later on
which permit the client to parse the messages
in the maildrop.
Note that messages marked as deleted are not counted in
either total.
Possible Responses:
+OK nn mm
Examples:
C: STAT
S: +OK 2 320
LIST [msg]
Arguments: a message-id (optionally) If a message-id is
given, it may NOT refer to a message marked as
deleted.
Restrictions: may only be given in the TRANSACTION state.
Discussion:
If an argument was given and the POP3 server issues a
positive response with a line containing information
for that message. This line is called a "scan listing"
for that message.
If no argument was given and the POP3 server issues a
positive response, then the response given is
multi-line. After the initial +OK, for each message
in the maildrop, the POP3 server responds with a line
containing information for that message. This line
is called a "scan listing" for that message.
In order to simplify parsing, all POP3 servers are
required to use a certain format for scan listings.
The first octets present must be the message-id of
the message. Following the message-id is the size of
the message in octets. This memo makes no requirement
on what follows the message size in the scan listing.
Minimal implementations should just end that line of
the response with a CRLF pair. More advanced
implementations may include other information, as
parsed from the message.
NOTE: This memo STRONGLY discourages
implementations from supplying additional
information in the scan listing. Other, optional,
facilities are discussed later on which permit
the client to parse the messages in the maildrop.
Note that messages marked as deleted are not listed.
Possible Responses:
+OK scan listing follows
-ERR no such message
Examples:
C: LIST
S: +OK 2 messages (320 octets)
S: 1 120
S: 2 200
S: .
...
C: LIST 2
S: +OK 2 200
...
C: LIST 3
S: -ERR no such message, only 2 messages in
maildrop
RETR msg
Arguments: a message-id (required) This message-id may
NOT refer to a message marked as deleted.
Restrictions: may only be given in the TRANSACTION state.
Discussion:
If the POP3 server issues a positive response, then the
response given is multi-line. After the initial +OK,
the POP3 server sends the message corresponding to the
given message-id, being careful to byte-stuff the
termination character (as with all multi-line
responses).
If the number associated with this message is higher
than the "highest number accessed" in the maildrop, the
POP3 server updates the "highest number accessed" to
the number associated with this message.
Possible Responses:
+OK message follows
-ERR no such message
Examples:
C: RETR 1
S: +OK 120 octets
S: <the POP3 server sends the entire message here>
S: .
DELE msg
Arguments: a message-id (required) This message-id
may NOT refer to a message marked as deleted.
Restrictions: may only be given in the TRANSACTION state.
Discussion:
The POP3 server marks the message as deleted. Any
future reference to the message-id associated with the
message in a POP3 command generates an error. The POP3
server does not actually delete the message until the
POP3 session enters the UPDATE state.
If the number associated with this message is higher
than the "highest number accessed" in the maildrop,
the POP3 server updates the "highest number accessed"
to the number associated with this message.
Possible Responses:
+OK message deleted
-ERR no such message
Examples:
C: DELE 1
S: +OK message 1 deleted
...
C: DELE 2
S: -ERR message 2 already deleted
NOOP
Arguments: none
Restrictions: may only be given in the TRANSACTION state.
Discussion:
The POP3 server does nothing, it merely replies with a
positive response.
Possible Responses:
+OK
Examples:
C: NOOP
S: +OK
LAST
Arguments: none
Restrictions: may only be issued in the TRANSACTION state.
Discussion:
The POP3 server issues a positive response with a line
containing the highest message number which accessed.
Zero is returned in case no message in the maildrop has
been accessed during previous transactions. A client
may thereafter infer that messages, if any, numbered
greater than the response to the LAST command are
messages not yet accessed by the client.
Possible Response:
+OK nn
Examples:
C: STAT
S: +OK 4 320
C: LAST
S: +OK 1
C: RETR 3
S: +OK 120 octets
S: <the POP3 server sends the entire message
here>
S: .
C: LAST
S: +OK 3
C: DELE 2
S: +OK message 2 deleted
C: LAST
S: +OK 3
C: RSET
S: +OK
C: LAST
S: +OK 1
RSET
Arguments: none
Restrictions: may only be given in the TRANSACTION
state.
Discussion:
If any messages have been marked as deleted by the POP3
server, they are unmarked. The POP3 server then
replies with a positive response. In addition, the
"highest number accessed" is also reset to the value
determined at the beginning of the POP3 session.
Possible Responses:
+OK
Examples:
C: RSET
S: +OK maildrop has 2 messages (320 octets)
The UPDATE State
When the client issues the QUIT command from the TRANSACTION state,
the POP3 session enters the UPDATE state. (Note that if the client
issues the QUIT command from the AUTHORIZATION state, the POP3
session terminates but does NOT enter the UPDATE state.)
QUIT
Arguments: none
Restrictions: none
Discussion:
The POP3 server removes all messages marked as deleted
from the maildrop. It then releases the
exclusive-access lock on the maildrop and replies as
to the success of
these operations. The TCP connection is then closed.
Possible Responses:
+OK
Examples:
C: QUIT
S: +OK dewey POP3 server signing off (maildrop
empty)
...
C: QUIT
S: +OK dewey POP3 server signing off (2 messages
left)
...
Optional POP3 Commands
The POP3 commands discussed above must be supported by all minimal
implementations of POP3 servers.
The optional POP3 commands described below permit a POP3 client
greater freedom in message handling, while preserving a simple POP3
server implementation.
NOTE: This memo STRONGLY encourages implementations to
support these commands in lieu of developing augmented
drop and scan listings. In short, the philosophy of
this memo is to put intelligence in the part of the
POP3 client and not the POP3 server.
TOP msg n
Arguments: a message-id (required) and a number. This
message-id may NOT refer to a message marked as
deleted.
Restrictions: may only be given in the TRANSACTION state.
Discussion:
If the POP3 server issues a positive response, then
the response given is multi-line. After the initial
+OK, the POP3 server sends the headers of the message,
the blank line separating the headers from the body,
and then the number of lines indicated message's body,
being careful to byte-stuff the termination character
(as with all multi-line responses).
Note that if the number of lines requested by the POP3
client is greater than than the number of lines in the
body, then the POP3 server sends the entire message.
Possible Responses:
+OK top of message follows
-ERR no such message
Examples:
C: TOP 10
S: +OK
S: <the POP3 server sends the headers of the
message, a blank line, and the first 10 lines
of the body of the message>
S: .
...
C: TOP 100
S: -ERR no such message
RPOP user
Arguments: a client specific user-id (required)
Restrictions: may only be given in the AUTHORIZATION
state after a successful USER command; in addition,
may only be given if the client used a reserved
(privileged) TCP port to connect to the server.
Discussion:
The RPOP command may be used instead of the PASS
command to authenticate access to the maildrop. In
order for this command to be successful, the POP3
client must use a reserved TCP port (port < 1024) to
connect tothe server. The POP3 server uses the
argument pair from the USER and RPOP commands to
determine if the client should be given access to
the appropriate maildrop. Unlike the PASS command
however, the POP3 server considers if the remote user
specified by the RPOP command who resides on the POP3
client host is allowed to access the maildrop for the
user specified by the USER command (e.g., on Berkeley
UNIX, the .rhosts mechanism is used). With the
exception of this differing in authentication, this
command is identical to the PASS command.
Note that the use of this feature has allowed much wider
penetration into numerous hosts on local networks (and
sometimes remote networks) by those who gain illegal
access to computers by guessing passwords or otherwise
breaking into the system.
Possible Responses:
+OK maildrop locked and ready
-ERR permission denied
Examples:
C: USER mrose
S: +OK mrose is a real hoopy frood
C: RPOP mrose
S: +OK mrose's maildrop has 2 messages (320
octets)
Minimal POP3 Commands:
USER name valid in the AUTHORIZATION state
PASS string
QUIT
STAT valid in the TRANSACTION state
LIST [msg]
RETR msg
DELE msg
NOOP
LAST
RSET
QUIT valid in the UPDATE state
Optional POP3 Commands:
RPOP user valid in the AUTHORIZATION state
TOP msg n valid in the TRANSACTION state
POP3 Replies:
+OK
-ERR
Note that with the exception of the STAT command, the reply given
by the POP3 server to any command is significant only to "+OK"
and "-ERR". Any text occurring after this reply may be ignored
by the client.
Example POP3 Session
S: <wait for connection on TCP port 110>
...
C: <open connection>
S: +OK dewey POP3 server ready (Comments to: PostMaster@UDEL.EDU)
C: USER mrose
S: +OK mrose is a real hoopy frood
C: PASS secret
S: +OK mrose's maildrop has 2 messages (320 octets)
C: STAT
S: +OK 2 320
C: LIST
S: +OK 2 messages (320 octets)
S: 1 120
S: 2 200
S: .
C: RETR 1
S: +OK 120 octets
S: <the POP3 server sends message 1>
S: .
C: DELE 1
S: +OK message 1 deleted
C: RETR 2
S: +OK 200 octets
S: <the POP3 server sends message 2>
S: .
C: DELE 2
S: +OK message 2 deleted
C: QUIT
S: +OK dewey POP3 server signing off (maildrop empty)
C: <close connection>
S: <wait for next connection>
Message Format
All messages transmitted during a POP3 session are assumed to conform
to the standard for the format of Internet text messages [RFC822].
It is important to note that the byte count for a message on the
server host may differ from the octet count assigned to that message
due to local conventions for designating end-of-line. Usually,
during the AUTHORIZATION state of the POP3 session, the POP3 client
can calculate the size of each message in octets when it parses the
maildrop into messages. For example, if the POP3 server host
internally represents end-of-line as a single character, then the
POP3 server simply counts each occurrence of this character in a
message as two octets. Note that lines in the message which start
with the termination octet need not be counted twice, since the POP3
client will remove all byte-stuffed termination characters when it
receives a multi-line response.
The POP and the Split-UA model
The underlying paradigm in which the POP3 functions is that of a
split-UA model. The POP3 client host, being a remote PC based
workstation, acts solely as a client to the message transport system.
It does not provide delivery/authentication services to others.
Hence, it is acting as a UA, on behalf of the person using the
workstation. Furthermore, the workstation uses SMTP to enter mail
into the MTS.
In this sense, we have two UA functions which interface to the
message transport system: Posting (SMTP) and Retrieval (POP3). The
entity which supports this type of environment is called a split-UA
(since the user agent is split between two hosts which must
interoperate to provide these functions).
ASIDE: Others might term this a remote-UA instead.
There are arguments supporting the use of both terms.
This memo has explicitly referenced TCP as the underlying transport
agent for the POP3. This need not be the case. In the MZnet split-
UA, for example, personal micro-computer systems are used which do
not have IP-style networking capability. To connect to the POP3
server host, a PC establishes a terminal connection using some simple
protocol (PhoneNet). A program on the PC drives the connection,
first establishing a login session as a normal user. The login shell
for this pseudo-user is a program which drives the other half of the
terminal protocol and communicates with one of two servers. Although
MZnet can support several PCs, a single pseudo-user login is present
on the server host. The user-id and password for this pseudo-user
login is known to all members of MZnet. Hence, the first action of
the login shell, after starting the terminal protocol, is to demand a
USER/PASS authorization pair from the PC. This second level of
authorization is used to ascertain who is interacting with the MTS.
Although the server host is deemed to support a "trusted" MTS entity,
PCs in MZnet are not. Naturally, the USER/PASS authorization pair
for a PC is known only to the owner of the PC (in theory, at least).
After successfully verifying the identity of the client, a modified
SMTP server is started, and the PC posts mail with the server host.
After the QUIT command is given to the SMTP server and it terminates,
a modified POP3 server is started, and the PC retrieves mail from the
server host. After the QUIT command is given to the POP3 server and
it terminates, the login shell for the pseudo-user terminates the
terminal protocol and logs the job out. The PC then closes the
terminal connection to the server host.
The SMTP server used by MZnet is modified in the sense that it knows
that it's talking to a user agent and not a "trusted" entity in the
message transport system. Hence, it does performs the validation
activities normally performed by an entity in the MTS when it accepts
a message from a UA.
The POP3 server used by MZnet is modified in the sense that it does
not require a USER/PASS combination before entering the TRANSACTION
state. The reason for this (of course) is that the PC has already
identified itself during the second-level authorization step
described above.
NOTE: Truth in advertising laws require that the author
of this memo state that MZnet has not actually been
fully implemented. The concepts presented and proven
by the project led to the notion of the MZnet
split-slot model. This notion has inspired the
split-UA concept described in this memo, led to the
author's interest in the POP, and heavily influenced
the the description of the POP3 herein.
In fact, some UAs present in the Internet already support the notion
of posting directly to an SMTP server and retrieving mail directly
from a POP server, even if the POP server and client resided on the
same host!
ASIDE: this discussion raises an issue which this memo
purposedly avoids: how does SMTP know that it's talking
to a "trusted" MTS entity?
References
[MZnet] Stefferud, E., J. Sweet, and T. Domae, "MZnet: Mail
Service for Personal Micro-Computer Systems",
Proceedings, IFIP 6.5 International Conference on
Computer Message Systems, Nottingham, U.K., May 1984.
[RFC821] Postel, J., "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol",
USC/Information Sciences Institute, August 1982.
[RFC822] Crocker, D., "Standard for the Format of ARPA-Internet
Text Messages", University of Delaware, August 1982.
[RFC937] Butler, M., J. Postel, D. Chase, J. Goldberger, and J.
Reynolds, "Post Office Protocol - Version 2", RFC 937,
USC/Information Sciences Institute, February 1985.
[RFC1010] Reynolds, J., and J. Postel, "Assigned Numbers", RFC
1010, USC/Information Sciences Institute, May 1987.
Author's Address:
Marshall Rose
The Wollongong Group
1129 San Antonio Rd.
Palo Alto, California 94303
Phone: (415) 962-7100
Email: MRose@TWG.COM
AI ELI5
On this page
PROBLEMWorkstations and personal computers often lack the resources to run a full mail server, but users want to access mail stored on a central server.
MECHANISMPOP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3) lets a client connect to a server, authenticate with a username and password, list and retrieve messages, and mark messages for deletion before disconnecting.
WIDELY DEPLOYEDRFC 1081 was replaced by RFC 1225, which improved the protocol. POP3 remains widely used for mail retrieval.
§1The Need for Remote Mail Access
Not all computers on the Internet can afford to run a full mail transport system. Workstations may lack sufficient disk space or processing power to run an SMTP server and local mail delivery system continuously. Personal computers may only be connected to the network intermittently and cannot maintain a constantly running mail service. Yet users of these systems want to manage their mail.
The solution is the split-UA model: a central server holds everyone's mail, and lightweight clients connect to retrieve it as needed. POP3 provides the protocol for this mail retrieval. Clients send mail via SMTP to a relay host (which may or may not be the POP3 server), and they fetch mail via POP3 from the server. This divides the user agent functions between two systems, each optimized for its role.
Some computers do not have room for a post office. Instead, mail waits at a shared post office and your computer asks for it when you want it.
§2Connection States
A POP3 session progresses through three states. The AUTHORIZATION state begins when the TCP connection opens (port 110). The server sends a greeting, and the client must authenticate using the USER command (to provide the username) and PASS command (to provide the password). If authentication succeeds, the server acquires an exclusive lock on the mailbox and the session moves to the TRANSACTION state.
In the TRANSACTION state, the client can issue commands like STAT (to get mailbox statistics), LIST (to list messages), RETR (to retrieve a message), DELE (to mark a message for deletion), and others. When the client issues QUIT, the session enters the UPDATE state. In UPDATE, the server removes all messages marked for deletion, releases the mailbox lock, and closes the connection.
When you call the post office, you first prove who you are. Then you can ask for mail. When you are done, they throw away any letters you said to throw away.
§3Messages and Commands
After successful authentication, the server parses the mailbox into individual messages and assigns each a message ID starting from 1. The server also tracks the highest message ID accessed by previous sessions using the LAST command. During the TRANSACTION state, the client can retrieve individual messages with RETR, get a list of all messages with LIST, or retrieve just the headers and first few lines of the body with the optional TOP command.
The protocol uses a simple response scheme: all server responses are either +OK (positive) or -ERR (negative) followed by a description. Multi-line responses (such as the full text of a message) are terminated with a line containing only a period. Any line in the message that starts with a period is preceded by another period (byte-stuffed) to avoid confusion.
Each letter gets a number. You can ask for it by number, or ask for a list of all numbers. You can say 'throw this one away' without reading it. The post office talks back with simple yes or no answers.
§4Optional Commands and Variants
RFC 1081 defines two optional commands. The TOP command retrieves just the message headers plus a specified number of lines from the body, allowing clients to preview messages without downloading them fully. The RPOP command provides an alternate authentication method: instead of a password, a client connecting from a privileged TCP port (less than 1024) can authenticate using the sender's identity on the client host, checked via the host's .rhosts mechanism. This allowed trust-based authentication in local networks but has security drawbacks (as noted in the RFC, this feature enabled unauthorized access).
The RFC emphasizes that POP3 implementations should put intelligence in the client, not the server. Rather than having the server parse and format message data, it should send raw messages and let smart clients decide what to do with them. This keeps the server simple and allows clients to evolve independently.
There are fancy ways to do extra things: ask for just the beginning of a letter, or prove you are you by your computer's identity instead of a password. But the basic idea is to keep the post office simple.
§5The Split User Agent Model
RFC 1081 introduces the split-UA (user agent) model for email. Traditionally, a single program on a user's computer handles both sending and receiving mail. But in the split-UA model, sending and receiving are split: SMTP handles outbound mail from the workstation to a relay, and POP3 handles retrieval from the server back to the workstation. This reflects the reality that workstations are not always fully connected and cannot run a mail server.
The RFC notes that the client host appears to the mail system as a user agent only, not as a trusted mail server. This is important for security: mail sent from a workstation goes through a relay that validates it, rather than the workstation presenting mail directly as if it were the origin. The architecture enables light clients (like early PCs) to participate in Internet mail without the overhead of a full MTS implementation.
One program on your computer sends mail (using SMTP), another gets mail (using POP3). This works well because your computer might not always be on, so it cannot be a full post office.
§6References
[RFC821]RFC 821Postel, J., "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol", USC/Information Sciences Institute, August 1982.August 1982[RFC822]RFC 822Crocker, D., "Standard for the Format of ARPA-Internet Text Messages", University of Delaware, August 1982.August 1982[RFC937]RFC 937Butler, M., J. Postel, D. Chase, J. Goldberger, and J. Reynolds, "Post Office Protocol - Version 2", RFC 937, USC/Information Sciences Institute, February 1985.February 1985[RFC1010]RFC 1010Reynolds, J., and J. Postel, "Assigned Numbers", RFC 1010, USC/Information Sciences Institute, May 1987.May 1987