Documentation

SMTP
in package

PHPMailer RFC821 SMTP email transport class.

Implements RFC 821 SMTP commands and provides some utility methods for sending mail to an SMTP server.

Tags
author

Chris Ryan

author

Marcus Bointon phpmailer@synchromedia.co.uk

Table of Contents

DEBUG_CLIENT  = 1
Debug level to show client -> server messages.
DEBUG_CONNECTION  = 3
Debug level to show connection status, client -> server and server -> client messages.
DEBUG_LOWLEVEL  = 4
Debug level to show all messages.
DEBUG_OFF  = 0
Debug level for no output.
DEBUG_SERVER  = 2
Debug level to show client -> server and server -> client messages.
DEFAULT_PORT  = 25
The SMTP port to use if one is not specified.
LE  = " "
SMTP line break constant.
MAX_LINE_LENGTH  = 998
The maximum line length allowed by RFC 2822 section 2.1.1.
VERSION  = '6.0.1'
The PHPMailer SMTP version number.
$Debugoutput  : string|callable|LoggerInterface
How to handle debug output.
$do_debug  : int
Debug output level.
$do_verp  : bool
Whether to use VERP.
$Timelimit  : int
How long to wait for commands to complete, in seconds.
$Timeout  : int
The timeout value for connection, in seconds.
$error  : array<string|int, mixed>
Error information, if any, for the last SMTP command.
$helo_rply  : string|null
The reply the server sent to us for HELO.
$last_reply  : string
The most recent reply received from the server.
$last_smtp_transaction_id  : string|bool|null
The last transaction ID issued in response to a DATA command, if one was detected.
$server_caps  : array<string|int, mixed>|null
The set of SMTP extensions sent in reply to EHLO command.
$smtp_conn  : resource|null
The socket for the server connection.
$smtp_transaction_id_patterns  : array<string|int, string>
Patterns to extract an SMTP transaction id from reply to a DATA command.
authenticate()  : bool
Perform SMTP authentication.
client_send()  : int|bool
Send raw data to the server.
close()  : mixed
Close the socket and clean up the state of the class.
connect()  : bool
Connect to an SMTP server.
connected()  : bool
Check connection state.
data()  : bool
Send an SMTP DATA command.
getDebugLevel()  : int
Get debug output level.
getDebugOutput()  : string
Get debug output method.
getError()  : array<string|int, mixed>
Get the latest error.
getLastReply()  : string
Get the last reply from the server.
getLastTransactionID()  : bool|null|string
Get the queue/transaction ID of the last SMTP transaction If no reply has been received yet, it will return null.
getServerExt()  : mixed
Get metadata about the SMTP server from its HELO/EHLO response.
getServerExtList()  : array<string|int, mixed>|null
Get SMTP extensions available on the server.
getTimeout()  : int
Get SMTP timeout.
getVerp()  : bool
Get VERP address generation mode.
hello()  : bool
Send an SMTP HELO or EHLO command.
mail()  : bool
Send an SMTP MAIL command.
noop()  : bool
Send an SMTP NOOP command.
quit()  : bool
Send an SMTP QUIT command.
recipient()  : bool
Send an SMTP RCPT command.
reset()  : bool
Send an SMTP RSET command.
sendAndMail()  : bool
Send an SMTP SAML command.
setDebugLevel()  : mixed
Set debug output level.
setDebugOutput()  : mixed
Set debug output method.
setTimeout()  : mixed
Set SMTP timeout.
setVerp()  : mixed
Enable or disable VERP address generation.
startTLS()  : bool
Initiate a TLS (encrypted) session.
turn()  : bool
Send an SMTP TURN command.
verify()  : bool
Send an SMTP VRFY command.
edebug()  : mixed
Output debugging info via a user-selected method.
errorHandler()  : mixed
Reports an error number and string.
get_lines()  : string
Read the SMTP server's response.
hmac()  : string
Calculate an MD5 HMAC hash.
parseHelloFields()  : mixed
Parse a reply to HELO/EHLO command to discover server extensions.
recordLastTransactionID()  : bool|null|string
Extract and return the ID of the last SMTP transaction based on a list of patterns provided in SMTP::$smtp_transaction_id_patterns.
sendCommand()  : bool
Send a command to an SMTP server and check its return code.
sendHello()  : bool
Send an SMTP HELO or EHLO command.
setError()  : mixed
Set error messages and codes.

Constants

DEBUG_CLIENT

Debug level to show client -> server messages.

public mixed DEBUG_CLIENT = 1

DEBUG_CONNECTION

Debug level to show connection status, client -> server and server -> client messages.

public mixed DEBUG_CONNECTION = 3

DEBUG_LOWLEVEL

Debug level to show all messages.

public mixed DEBUG_LOWLEVEL = 4

DEBUG_OFF

Debug level for no output.

public mixed DEBUG_OFF = 0

DEBUG_SERVER

Debug level to show client -> server and server -> client messages.

public mixed DEBUG_SERVER = 2

DEFAULT_PORT

The SMTP port to use if one is not specified.

public int DEFAULT_PORT = 25

LE

SMTP line break constant.

public string LE = " "

MAX_LINE_LENGTH

The maximum line length allowed by RFC 2822 section 2.1.1.

public int MAX_LINE_LENGTH = 998

VERSION

The PHPMailer SMTP version number.

public string VERSION = '6.0.1'

Properties

$Debugoutput

How to handle debug output.

public string|callable|LoggerInterface $Debugoutput = 'echo'

Options:

  • echo Output plain-text as-is, appropriate for CLI
  • html Output escaped, line breaks converted to <br>, appropriate for browser output
  • error_log Output to error log as configured in php.ini Alternatively, you can provide a callable expecting two params: a message string and the debug level:
$smtp->Debugoutput = function($str, $level) {echo "debug level $level; message: $str";};

Alternatively, you can pass in an instance of a PSR-3 compatible logger, though only debug level output is used:

$mail->Debugoutput = new myPsr3Logger;

$do_debug

Debug output level.

public int $do_debug = self::DEBUG_OFF

Options:

  • self::DEBUG_OFF (0) No debug output, default
  • self::DEBUG_CLIENT (1) Client commands
  • self::DEBUG_SERVER (2) Client commands and server responses
  • self::DEBUG_CONNECTION (3) As DEBUG_SERVER plus connection status
  • self::DEBUG_LOWLEVEL (4) Low-level data output, all messages.

$Timelimit

How long to wait for commands to complete, in seconds.

public int $Timelimit = 300

Default of 5 minutes (300sec) is from RFC2821 section 4.5.3.2.

$Timeout

The timeout value for connection, in seconds.

public int $Timeout = 300

Default of 5 minutes (300sec) is from RFC2821 section 4.5.3.2. This needs to be quite high to function correctly with hosts using greetdelay as an anti-spam measure.

Tags
see
http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2821#section-4.5.3.2

$error

Error information, if any, for the last SMTP command.

protected array<string|int, mixed> $error = ['error' => '', 'detail' => '', 'smtp_code' => '', 'smtp_code_ex' => '']

$helo_rply

The reply the server sent to us for HELO.

protected string|null $helo_rply = null

If null, no HELO string has yet been received.

$last_reply

The most recent reply received from the server.

protected string $last_reply = ''

$last_smtp_transaction_id

The last transaction ID issued in response to a DATA command, if one was detected.

protected string|bool|null $last_smtp_transaction_id

$server_caps

The set of SMTP extensions sent in reply to EHLO command.

protected array<string|int, mixed>|null $server_caps = null

Indexes of the array are extension names. Value at index 'HELO' or 'EHLO' (according to command that was sent) represents the server name. In case of HELO it is the only element of the array. Other values can be boolean TRUE or an array containing extension options. If null, no HELO/EHLO string has yet been received.

$smtp_conn

The socket for the server connection.

protected resource|null $smtp_conn

$smtp_transaction_id_patterns

Patterns to extract an SMTP transaction id from reply to a DATA command.

protected array<string|int, string> $smtp_transaction_id_patterns = ['exim' => '/[0-9]{3} OK id=(.*)/', 'sendmail' => '/[0-9]{3} 2.0.0 (.*) Message/', 'postfix' => '/[0-9]{3} 2.0.0 Ok: queued as (.*)/', 'Microsoft_ESMTP' => '/[0-9]{3} 2.[0-9].0 (.*)@(?:.*) Queued mail for delivery/', 'Amazon_SES' => '/[0-9]{3} Ok (.*)/']

The first capture group in each regex will be used as the ID. MS ESMTP returns the message ID, which may not be correct for internal tracking.

Methods

authenticate()

Perform SMTP authentication.

public authenticate(string $username, string $password[, string $authtype = null ][, OAuth $OAuth = null ]) : bool

Must be run after hello().

Parameters
$username : string

The user name

$password : string

The password

$authtype : string = null

The auth type (CRAM-MD5, PLAIN, LOGIN, XOAUTH2)

$OAuth : OAuth = null

An optional OAuth instance for XOAUTH2 authentication

Tags
see
hello()
Return values
bool —

True if successfully authenticated

client_send()

Send raw data to the server.

public client_send(string $data) : int|bool
Parameters
$data : string

The data to send

Return values
int|bool —

The number of bytes sent to the server or false on error

close()

Close the socket and clean up the state of the class.

public close() : mixed

Don't use this function without first trying to use QUIT.

Tags
see
quit()
Return values
mixed —

connect()

Connect to an SMTP server.

public connect(string $host[, int $port = null ][, int $timeout = 30 ][, array<string|int, mixed> $options = [] ]) : bool
Parameters
$host : string

SMTP server IP or host name

$port : int = null

The port number to connect to

$timeout : int = 30

How long to wait for the connection to open

$options : array<string|int, mixed> = []

An array of options for stream_context_create()

Return values
bool —

connected()

Check connection state.

public connected() : bool
Return values
bool —

True if connected

data()

Send an SMTP DATA command.

public data(string $msg_data) : bool

Issues a data command and sends the msg_data to the server, finializing the mail transaction. $msg_data is the message that is to be send with the headers. Each header needs to be on a single line followed by a with the message headers and the message body being separated by an additional . Implements RFC 821: DATA .

Parameters
$msg_data : string

Message data to send

Return values
bool —

getDebugLevel()

Get debug output level.

public getDebugLevel() : int
Return values
int —

getDebugOutput()

Get debug output method.

public getDebugOutput() : string
Return values
string —

getError()

Get the latest error.

public getError() : array<string|int, mixed>
Return values
array<string|int, mixed> —

getLastReply()

Get the last reply from the server.

public getLastReply() : string
Return values
string —

getLastTransactionID()

Get the queue/transaction ID of the last SMTP transaction If no reply has been received yet, it will return null.

public getLastTransactionID() : bool|null|string

If no pattern was matched, it will return false.

Tags
see
recordLastTransactionID()
Return values
bool|null|string —

getServerExt()

Get metadata about the SMTP server from its HELO/EHLO response.

public getServerExt(string $name) : mixed

The method works in three ways, dependent on argument value and current state:

  1. HELO/EHLO has not been sent - returns null and populates $this->error.
  2. HELO has been sent - $name == 'HELO': returns server name $name == 'EHLO': returns boolean false $name == any other string: returns null and populates $this->error
  3. EHLO has been sent - $name == 'HELO'|'EHLO': returns the server name $name == any other string: if extension $name exists, returns True or its options (e.g. AUTH mechanisms supported). Otherwise returns False.
Parameters
$name : string

Name of SMTP extension or 'HELO'|'EHLO'

Return values
mixed —

getServerExtList()

Get SMTP extensions available on the server.

public getServerExtList() : array<string|int, mixed>|null
Return values
array<string|int, mixed>|null —

getTimeout()

Get SMTP timeout.

public getTimeout() : int
Return values
int —

getVerp()

Get VERP address generation mode.

public getVerp() : bool
Return values
bool —

hello()

Send an SMTP HELO or EHLO command.

public hello([string $host = '' ]) : bool

Used to identify the sending server to the receiving server. This makes sure that client and server are in a known state. Implements RFC 821: HELO and RFC 2821 EHLO.

Parameters
$host : string = ''

The host name or IP to connect to

Return values
bool —

mail()

Send an SMTP MAIL command.

public mail(string $from) : bool

Starts a mail transaction from the email address specified in $from. Returns true if successful or false otherwise. If True the mail transaction is started and then one or more recipient commands may be called followed by a data command. Implements RFC 821: MAIL FROM: .

Parameters
$from : string

Source address of this message

Return values
bool —

noop()

Send an SMTP NOOP command.

public noop() : bool

Used to keep keep-alives alive, doesn't actually do anything.

Return values
bool —

quit()

Send an SMTP QUIT command.

public quit([bool $close_on_error = true ]) : bool

Closes the socket if there is no error or the $close_on_error argument is true. Implements from RFC 821: QUIT .

Parameters
$close_on_error : bool = true

Should the connection close if an error occurs?

Return values
bool —

recipient()

Send an SMTP RCPT command.

public recipient(string $address) : bool

Sets the TO argument to $toaddr. Returns true if the recipient was accepted false if it was rejected. Implements from RFC 821: RCPT TO: .

Parameters
$address : string

The address the message is being sent to

Return values
bool —

reset()

Send an SMTP RSET command.

public reset() : bool

Abort any transaction that is currently in progress. Implements RFC 821: RSET .

Return values
bool —

True on success

sendAndMail()

Send an SMTP SAML command.

public sendAndMail(string $from) : bool

Starts a mail transaction from the email address specified in $from. Returns true if successful or false otherwise. If True the mail transaction is started and then one or more recipient commands may be called followed by a data command. This command will send the message to the users terminal if they are logged in and send them an email. Implements RFC 821: SAML FROM: .

Parameters
$from : string

The address the message is from

Return values
bool —

setDebugLevel()

Set debug output level.

public setDebugLevel(int $level) : mixed
Parameters
$level : int
Return values
mixed —

setDebugOutput()

Set debug output method.

public setDebugOutput([string|callable $method = 'echo' ]) : mixed
Parameters
$method : string|callable = 'echo'

The name of the mechanism to use for debugging output, or a callable to handle it

Return values
mixed —

setTimeout()

Set SMTP timeout.

public setTimeout(int $timeout) : mixed
Parameters
$timeout : int

The timeout duration in seconds

Return values
mixed —

setVerp()

Enable or disable VERP address generation.

public setVerp([bool $enabled = false ]) : mixed
Parameters
$enabled : bool = false
Return values
mixed —

startTLS()

Initiate a TLS (encrypted) session.

public startTLS() : bool
Return values
bool —

turn()

Send an SMTP TURN command.

public turn() : bool

This is an optional command for SMTP that this class does not support. This method is here to make the RFC821 Definition complete for this class and may be implemented in future. Implements from RFC 821: TURN .

Return values
bool —

verify()

Send an SMTP VRFY command.

public verify(string $name) : bool
Parameters
$name : string

The name to verify

Return values
bool —

edebug()

Output debugging info via a user-selected method.

protected edebug(string $str, int $level) : mixed
Parameters
$str : string

Debug string to output

$level : int

The debug level of this message; see DEBUG_* constants

Tags
see
SMTP::$Debugoutput
see
SMTP::$do_debug
Return values
mixed —

errorHandler()

Reports an error number and string.

protected errorHandler(int $errno, string $errmsg[, string $errfile = '' ], int $errline) : mixed
Parameters
$errno : int

The error number returned by PHP

$errmsg : string

The error message returned by PHP

$errfile : string = ''

The file the error occurred in

$errline : int

The line number the error occurred on

Return values
mixed —

get_lines()

Read the SMTP server's response.

protected get_lines() : string

Either before eof or socket timeout occurs on the operation. With SMTP we can tell if we have more lines to read if the 4th character is '-' symbol. If it is a space then we don't need to read anything else.

Return values
string —

hmac()

Calculate an MD5 HMAC hash.

protected hmac(string $data, string $key) : string

Works like hash_hmac('md5', $data, $key) in case that function is not available.

Parameters
$data : string

The data to hash

$key : string

The key to hash with

Return values
string —

parseHelloFields()

Parse a reply to HELO/EHLO command to discover server extensions.

protected parseHelloFields(string $type) : mixed

In case of HELO, the only parameter that can be discovered is a server name.

Parameters
$type : string

HELO or EHLO

Return values
mixed —

recordLastTransactionID()

Extract and return the ID of the last SMTP transaction based on a list of patterns provided in SMTP::$smtp_transaction_id_patterns.

protected recordLastTransactionID() : bool|null|string

Relies on the host providing the ID in response to a DATA command. If no reply has been received yet, it will return null. If no pattern was matched, it will return false.

Return values
bool|null|string —

sendCommand()

Send a command to an SMTP server and check its return code.

protected sendCommand(string $command, string $commandstring, int|array<string|int, mixed> $expect) : bool
Parameters
$command : string

The command name - not sent to the server

$commandstring : string

The actual command to send

$expect : int|array<string|int, mixed>

One or more expected integer success codes

Return values
bool —

True on success

sendHello()

Send an SMTP HELO or EHLO command.

protected sendHello(string $hello, string $host) : bool

Low-level implementation used by hello().

Parameters
$hello : string

The HELO string

$host : string

The hostname to say we are

Tags
see
hello()
Return values
bool —

setError()

Set error messages and codes.

protected setError(string $message[, string $detail = '' ][, string $smtp_code = '' ][, string $smtp_code_ex = '' ]) : mixed
Parameters
$message : string

The error message

$detail : string = ''

Further detail on the error

$smtp_code : string = ''

An associated SMTP error code

$smtp_code_ex : string = ''

Extended SMTP code

Return values
mixed —

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