MailServerList

The Mail Server List is a public domain list of email providers and the correct configuration for their mail servers. It is designed to enable services which make autoconfiguration of email clients as easy as giving name, email address and password.

You must read this page before you edit the list. By editing it, you place your contributions in the public domain (insofar as copyright can apply to collections of facts).

Please test config information before submitting it. If you go to add a provider and find it's already there, please double-check the information.

Formatting Notes

  • Please insert new entries in Unicode code point ('alphabetical') order by Provider Name (Field 1).
  • Place a question mark "?" in any field for which you do not know the value. Place "-", if you know that there is no value.
  • Do include data for major providers which don't offer POP or IMAP (e.g. Hotmail). Clients can then inform the user of this lack of support.

Formatting Notes for Particular Fields

See also the formatting instructions at the head of each column. If you have further questions, email Gerv.

  • Short Name (Field 4): The common, short name of the email service. If it has no shorter name, leave blank.
  • Preferred (Field 5): If the provider offers multiple mail access methods, which one is better. Leave blank if there is no reason to prefer one over the other except for the technical merits of each protocol. Include reason for the choice and who said so. If in doubt, leave blank.
  • DNS Names (Fields 6, 11, 16) : Include port numbers after server names (separated by a colon) if and only if non-default for (service + encryption type). But do check if port 587 is supported for SMTP and, if so, list it; it’s preferable to 25.
  • Encryption (Fields 7, 12, 17): SSL is SSL 2/3, TLS is TLS 1. Don't put anything if the server only supports STARTTLS; it's no good for security.
  • Usernames (Fields 9, 14, 19): "email" for whole email address, "localpart" for the part of the email address before the "@" (e.g. fred in fred@foo.com), or "prompt (example)" to get the client to prompt, giving the example "example" (put in actual example, no "x").
  • Enable URL (Fields 10, 15): Some providers do not provide IMAP or POP service by default, but require it to be enabled via a web UI. Paste the URL that a logged-in user would use into this field, and a description (in language of ISP users), and the application can prompt the user to visit it.

Gathering data

Try to get authorative information from the ISP's online tutorials, documentation or similar first (e.g. search "site:example.net Thunderbird" or "POP3" or "Outlook". Only when that fails, do try/error.

Secure Auth

This is whether the password must be sent in clear or can be encrypted (hashed via MD5).

To find out manually, you can contact the server directly and talk the POP/IMAP/SMTP protocol manually. Use netcat -v hostname port (preferred) or telnet hostname port as "client".

  • POP3: when you see "+OK WEB.DE POP3-Server" or similar, enter CAPA, hit return.
  • IMAP: when you see "+OK WEB.DE POP3-Server" or similar, enter CAPA, hit return.
  • SMTP: when you see "220 mail.gmx.net GMX Mailservices ESMTP" or similar, enter EHLO example.net, hit return.

In all cases, if you see "CRAM-MD5" or "DIEGST-MD5" in the response, the server should support "secure auth". If you only see "AUTH" "LOGIN" and/or "PLAIN", the server probably does not support secure auth.

Test

Please test the resulting settings with an actual login with these settings. You are probably in the best position within the Mozilla project to try this, as other people don't have accounts and even less chances to find one. Save users the hassle of finding out it does not work.

Using the List

  • You may use the list for any purpose. Good community members are expected to contribute back any improvements they make to the list.
  • Entries in the list may move around; the unique identifiers are the individual mail domains (note: not the whole field contents) in field 2.
  • Columns may also move around if we find more data is required. Field numbers are guaranteed not to change. You can find the Field Number row because it is the row identified by "Field Number" in column 1. Use these numbers to recognise the columns.
  • The number of header rows may also change. The data starts after the marker DATA_STARTS_BELOW_THIS_LINE.

Location

The list is here.