Fetch email from a remote server to a local user mailbox

Posted on in Categories , , last updated November 2, 2006

Q. How do I fetch email from a remote server to a local user mailbox (localhost or desktop Linux system) ?

A. You need to use simple program called fetchmail. It is an utility which retrieves email from remote mailservers and delivers it to the local mail server or MTA. The fetchmail utility supports following common mail-retrieval protocols:
POP3
IMAP4
POP2 etc

You need to create a .fetchmailrc file in your home directory i.e. /home/you/.fetchmailrc and setup permission to 644.

Posted by: Vivek Gite

The author is the creator of nixCraft and a seasoned sysadmin and a trainer for the Linux operating system/Unix shell scripting. He has worked with global clients and in various industries, including IT, education, defense and space research, and the nonprofit sector. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+.

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  1. i want to configure of redhat linux server and configure so pleas help me how to configure web server and mail server and samba server ftp & telnet & scp & ssh & squide proxy & firewall with ip table and more so pleas help me and send me document off this particular topik

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  5. hi,

    can someone please suggest any alternative for fetchmail, i’m using fetchmail with catchall account on my hosting but its giving problem in fetching mail like delivering mails of one user to another or not fetching mails with bcc headers

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