Mail::Message::Construct::Read(3)

NAME
Mail::Message::Construct::Read - read a Mail::Message from a file handle

SYNOPSIS
  my $msg1 = Mail::Message->read(\*STDIN);
  my $msg2 = Mail::Message->read(\@lines);

DESCRIPTION
When complex methods are called on a "Mail::Message" object, this package is autoloaded to support the reading of messages directly from any file handle.

METHODS

  Constructing a message

$class->read($fh|$text|\$text|\@lines, %options)
    Read a message from a $fh, $text string, reference to a text string, or an ARRAY of @lines. Most %options are passed to the new() of the message which is created, but a few extra are defined.

    Please have a look at build() and buildFromBody() before thinking about this "read" method. Use this "read" only when you have a file-handle like STDIN to parse from, or some external source of message lines. When you already have a separate set of head and body lines, then "read" is certainly not your best choice.

    Some people use this method in a procmail script: the message arrives at stdin, so we only have a filehandle. In this case, you are stuck with this method. The message is preceded by a line which can be used as message separator in mbox folders. See the example how to handle that one.

    This method will remove "Status" and "X-Status" fields when they appear in the source, to avoid the risk that these fields accidentally interfere with your internal administration, which may have security implications.

     -Option             --Default
      body_type            undef
      parser_class         undef
      seekable             false
      strip_status_fields  true
      trusted              true

    body_type => $type
        Force a body $type (any specific extension of the Mail::Message::Body class) to be used to store the message content. Multipart and nested message parts pick their own type.

    parser_class => $type
        Enforce a certain parser $type to be used, which must be an extension of the Mail::Box::Parser class otherwise taken.

    seekable => BOOLEAN
        Indicate that a seekable file-handle has been passed. In this case, we can use the Mail::Box::Parser::Perl parser which reads messages directly from the input stream.

    strip_status_fields => BOOLEAN
        Remove the "Status" and "X-Status" fields from the message after reading, to lower the risk that received messages from external sources interfere with your internal administration. If you want fields not to be stripped (you would like to disable the stripping) you probably process folders yourself, which is a Bad Thing!

    trusted => BOOLEAN

    » example:

      my $msg1 = Mail::Message->read(\*STDIN);
      my $msg2 = Mail::Message->read(\@lines);
      $folder->addMessages($msg1, $msg2);

      my $msg3 = Mail::Message->read(<<MSG);
      Subject: hello world
      To: you@example.com
                           # warning: empty line required !!!
      Hi, greetings!
      MSG

      # procmail example
      my $fromline = <STDIN>;
      my $msg      = Mail::Message->read(\*STDIN);
      my $coerced  = $mboxfolder->addMessage($msg);
      $coerced->fromLine($fromline);

DIAGNOSTICS

Error: cannot read message from a $source.
    Cast by "read()"

SEE ALSO
This module is part of Mail-Message version 4.05, built on April 10, 2026. Website: http://perl.overmeer.net/mailbox/

LICENSE
For contributors see file ChangeLog.

This software is copyright (c) 2001-2026 by Mark Overmeer.

This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.