POP3

POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3) is an older, simpler protocol for fetching emails from a remote mailbox. Unlike IMAP, it was designed for simple offline mail readers where emails are downloaded to a single local device and immediately deleted from the mail server.

In Mandala, the POP3 block operates strictly as a standalone tool to download batches of emails or retrieve historical documents.

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[!CAUTION]

POP3 Chaining Restriction

Unlike IMAP, POP3 does not support fetching individual emails by a persistent message UID. POP3 servers number messages sequentially starting from 1 up to N during each connection session, and these numbers reset every time a connection is established.

Therefore:

• POP3 cannot be used to fetch attachments for a specific email that triggered a workflow.
• If you need a workflow that triggers on incoming emails and downloads their attachments, you MUST use IMAP and the IMAP: Get Attachments block instead.

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Configuration Inputs

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Outputs

• emails: Array of downloaded emails:

  [
    {
      "subject": "Weekly Report",
      "from": "manager@company.com",
      "to": "staff@company.com",
      "date": "2026-06-16T12:00:00.000Z",
      "bodyText": "Hello, here is the report...",
      "bodyHtml": "<p>Hello, here is the report...</p>",
      "attachments": []
    }
  ]

• count: Number of emails successfully downloaded.

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When to Use POP3 vs IMAP