Sieve Extensions
2000-11
2024-10-15
Sieve Extensions
Sieve Extensions
vendor-controlled (name begins with "vnd.")
First Come First Served
IETF-controlled (no "vnd." prefix)
Standards track or IESG-approved experimental RFC
body
Provides a test for matching against the
the body of the message being processed
comparator-* (anything starting with "comparator-")
adds the indicated comparator for use with the
:comparator argument
(Sieve base spec)
convert
adds a new Sieve test and action that enable Sieve
scripts to perform data conversions on the message being
delivered.
copy
date
The "date" extension gives Sieve the ability
to test date and time values.
duplicate
Adds test 'duplicate' that can be used to test whether a
particular message is a duplicate, i.e., whether a copy of it was seen before
by the delivery agent that is executing the Sieve script.
editheader
Adds actions 'addheader' and 'deleteheader'
that modify the header of the message being
processed
enclose
adds the "enclose" action for enclosing a message with a
wrapper.
encoded-character
changes the interpretation of strings to allow
arbitrary octets and Unicode characters to be
represented using US-ASCII
(Sieve base spec)
enotify
adds the 'notify' action for notifying user about the
received message. It also provides two new tests:
valid_notify_method checks notification URIs for
validity; notify_method_capability can check recipients
capabilities.
envelope
adds the 'envelope' test for testing the message
transport sender and recipient address
(Sieve base spec)
envelope-deliverby
The "envelope-deliverby" extension extends the
envelope test to allow checking of information
associated with the Deliver-By ESMTP extension
defined in .
envelope-dsn
The "envelope-dsn" extension extends the envelope
test to allow checking of information associated
with the DSN ESMTP extension defined in .
environment
The "environment" extension provides a new
environment test that can be used to implement
scripts that behave differently when moved
from one system to another or otherwise
operated in different contexts.
ereject
adds the 'ereject' action for refusing delivery
of a message. The refusal should happen as early
as possible (e.g. at the protocol level) and might
not preserve the exact reason for refusal if it
contains non-US-ASCII text.
extlists
Adds the ":list" match type to certain Sieve tests, and
the ":list" argument to the "redirect" action. The ":list" match
type changes tests to match values against values stored in one
or more externally stored lists. The ":list" argument to the
redirect action changes the redirect action to forward the
message to email addresses stored in the externally stored list.
extracttext
adds the "extracttext" action for extracting text from a
MIME body part.
fcc
Adds the ":fcc" parameter to Sieve action commands
that generate additional messages.
fileinto
adds the 'fileinto' action for delivering to a
mailbox other than the default
(Sieve base spec),
(:create),
(:copy),
(:flags)
foreverypart
adds the "foreverypart" and "break" actions for
iterating through MIME parts of a message.
ihave
The "ihave" extension provides a means to write
scripts that make use of other extensions only
when they are actually available.
imapsieve
Add Sieve processing for IMAP events.
imap4flags
Adds actions and tests for manipulating IMAP flags
include
adds the "include" command to execute other Sieve
scripts, the "return" action from an included script, and the "global" command and "global"
variables namespace to access variables shared among included scripts.
index
The "index" extension provides a means to
limit header and address tests to specific
instances when more than one field of a
given type is present.
mailbox
adds test for checking for mailbox existence and a new
optional argument to fileinto for creating a mailbox
before attempting mail delivery.
mailboxid
adds a test for checking mailbox existence by OBJECTID,
and new optional arguments to fileinto and :fcc that
allow selecting the destination mailbox by OBJECTID.
mboxmetadata
adds tests for checking for mailbox metadata item
existence and for retrieving of a mailbox metadata
value.
mime
adds the ":mime" and ":anychild" tagged arguments to the
"header", "address", and "exists" tests. Adds the ":type", ":subtype",
":contenttype", and ":param" options when ":mime" is used with the
"header" test.
processcalendar
Adds the "processcalendar" action command to add and update items on a user's calendars.
redirect-deliverby
The "redirect-deliverby" extension extends the
redirect action to allow specification of the BY
ESMTP parameter associated with the Deliver-By SMTP
extension defined in .
redirect-dsn
The "redirect-dsn" extension extends the redirect
action to allow specification of the NOTIFY and
RET ESMTP parameters associated with the DSN SMTP
extension defined in .
regex
reject
adds the "reject" action for refusing delivery
of a message. The exact reason for refusal is
conveyed back to the client.
relational
Extends existing conditional tests in Sieve language
to allow relational operators
replace
adds the "replace" action for replacing a MIME body part
of a message.
servermetadata
adds tests for checking for server metadata item
existence and for retrieving of a server metadata value.
spamtest
Provides a test to check for varying likelihood of
an email message being spam.
spamtestplus
Provides a test to check for varying likelihood of
an email message being spam, possibly using a percentage
range.
special-use
adds a test for checking whether an IMAP
special-use attribute is assigned for a particular mailbox
or any mailbox, and it adds the ability to file messages into
a mailbox identified solely by a special-use attribute.
subaddress
adds the ':user' and ':detail' address parts
for use with the address and envelope tests
vacation
adds an action for generating an auto-reply saying
that the original message will not be read or
answered immediately
vacation-seconds
adds the ":seconds" parameter to the Sieve Vacation
extension. Implementations that support this MUST also support
"vacation".
variables
Adds support for variables to the Sieve filtering language.
virustest
Provides a test to check for varying likelihood of
there being malicious content in an email message.
vnd.cyrus.* (anything starting with "vnd.cyrus.")
Extends the Sieve language with vendor-defined functionality specific to
the Cyrus IMAP server ().
Not applicable
vnd.dovecot.* (anything starting with "vnd.dovecot.")
Extends the Sieve language with vendor-defined functionality specific to
the Dovecot Secure IMAP server ().
Not applicable
vnd.stalwart.* (anything starting with "vnd.stalwart.")
Extends the Sieve language with vendor-defined functionality specific to
the Stalwart JMAP server .
Not applicable
Sieve URN Parameters
Specification Required
Unassigned
addrbook
, section 2.6
Sieve Actions
Expert Review
Alexey Melnikov, Ken Murchison
addheader
Add a header field to the existing message header
"editheader"
All subsequent tests and actions apply to the altered message
No
Yes
addflag
Add IMAP flags to a list of IMAP flags that would be set on the message if it gets delivered to a mailbox
"imap4flags", "variables"
No
Yes
convert
Convert body parts from one MIME type to another
"convert"
All subsequent tests and actions apply to the altered message
No
Yes
deleteheader
Remove a header field from the existing message header
"editheader"
All subsequent tests and actions apply to the altered message
No
Yes
discard
Silently throw away the message
Yes
Yes
enclose
Enclose a message as an attachment to a new message
"enclose"
All subsequent tests and actions except "redirect" apply to the altered message
No
Yes
ereject
Refuse delivery of the message
"ereject"
This action is incompatible with the "vacation" action. Typically is not permitted with actions that cause mail delivery, such as "keep", "fileinto", and "redirect"
Yes
No
extracttext
Store text of a MIME part into a variable
"extracttext", "variables"
No
Yes
fileinto
Deliver the message into the specified mailbox
"fileinto", "copy", "imap4flags", "mailbox", "mailboxid", "special-use"
Use of :copy suppresses cancellation of implicit keep
Yes
Yes
keep
File the message into the user's main mailbox
"imap4flags"
Yes
Yes
notify
Send a notification to a user
"enotify", "fcc"
No
Yes
processcalendar
Add and update items on a user's calendars
"processcalendar", "variables", "extlists"
This action is incompatible with the "reject" and "ereject" actions.
No
No
redirect
Send (forward) the message to another user
"copy", "redirect-dsn", "redirect-deliverby", "extlists"
Use of :copy suppresses cancellation of implicit keep
Yes
Yes
reject
Refuse delivery of the message
"reject"
This action is incompatible with the "vacation" action. Typically is not permitted with actions that cause mail delivery, such as "keep", "fileinto", and "redirect"
Yes
No
removeflag
Remove IMAP flags from a list of IMAP flags that would be set on the message if it gets delivered to a mailbox
"imap4flags", "variables"
No
Yes
replace
Replace a MIME part
"replace"
All subsequent tests and actions except "redirect" apply to the altered message
No
Yes
set
Store a value in a variable
"variables"
No
Yes
setflag
Set IMAP system flags or keywords that would be set on the message if it gets delivered to a mailbox
"imap4flags", "variables"
No
Yes
vacation
Implement a vacation autoresponder
"vacation", "vacation-seconds", "fcc"
This action is incompatible with the "reject" and "ereject" actions.
No
No
Jutta Degener
Sendmail, Inc. 6425 Christie Ave, 4th Floor Emeryville, CA 94608
mailto:jutta&sendmail.com
Kenneth Murchison
mailto:sieve&cyrusimap.org
2020-05-05
Mauro De Gennaro
mailto:mauro&stalw.art
2022-11-02
Sieve discussion list
mailto:sieve&ietf.org
Stephan Bosch
mailto:stephan&rename-it.nl
Timo Sirainen
mailto:tss&iki.fi