Javascript IMAP and SMTP client?

Question

Is it possible to build a SMTP/IMAP client that can run in the browser that uses only Javascript?

Answer 1

It's currently not possible to do in a normal web app in the browser. It is however possible to do in packaged apps with access to privileged apis:

• Firefox Apps use the emerging W3C standard (TCPSocket): https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/TCPSocket
• Chrome Apps use a proprietary api (chrome.socket): https://developer.chrome.com/apps/socket

If you're looking for a battle proven library, whiteout.io develops and maintains a well tested IMAP / SMTP / MIME-codec implementation in pure JS:

http://emailjs.org

It's MIT licensed and free to use.