AbriMail

.Net | Blazor Server Email Client (IMAP/SMTP)

About

AbriMail is a minimal, open-source Blazor Server email client built on raw IMAP4rev1 and SMTP protocols over implicit TLS. It demonstrates how to implement both receiving and sending email functionality without relying on third-party libraries.

A simple implementation of a Blazor Server web-based email client.

• The client will use the IMAP4rev1 and SMTP protocols over implicit TLS/SSL to fetch and send emails.
• The solution is structured as three separate .NET projects to enforce a clean separation of concerns.
• At the beggining only the basic email features will be implemented, focusing on clarity and simplicity while acknowledging limitations.

Who Can Use It

• Developers learning how IMAP and SMTP work under the hood
• Teams needing a simple web-based email client prototype
• Anyone curious about building secure networked applications in .NET and Blazor

Key Features

• Server-side Blazor UI with asynchronous operations and responsive design
• Settings page with email provider presets (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo) and connection testing
• Inbox page with email list, loading states, and refresh functionality
• Message viewer with formatted display and navigation controls
• Compose page with multi-recipient support, validation, and user feedback
• Professional styling with Bootstrap integration and custom CSS enhancements
• Error handling with user-friendly messages and retry mechanisms
• Session-based state management without persistent storage
• Clean architecture with proper separation of concerns across three layers

What’s Included

1. AbriMail.Transport – Low-level protocol implementation
   • ImapClient for secure IMAP4rev1 connections and message retrieval
   • SmtpClient for secure SMTP (implicit TLS) and email sending
   • Data models: EmailHeader, EmailMessage, MailMessageDetails, and settings
   • Exception handling with ImapException for protocol errors
2. AbriMail.App – Business logic layer
   • IMailboxService interface for high-level email operations
   • MailboxService implementation with session-based state management
   • DTOs for clean data transfer: MailHeaderDto, MailMessageDto, SendEmailDto
   • Connection state tracking and validation
3. AbriMail.Web – Blazor Server application
   • Razor components for Settings, Mailbox (inbox), Message view, and Compose
   • Professional UI with Bootstrap styling and loading states
   • Email provider presets (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo) for quick setup
   • Comprehensive error handling and user feedback
   • Dependency injection setup in Program.cs

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository and open AbriEmailClient.sln in Visual Studio or VS Code.
2. Update your IMAP/SMTP server details in the Settings page at runtime.
3. Navigate to Inbox to fetch new messages.
4. Use Compose to send emails immediately.

Limitations

• No persistent storage or caching of messages
• No support for attachments or advanced MIME parts
• Read-only message retrieval (no flags, search, or folder management)
• No OAuth or modern token-based authentication (plain username/password only)

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

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Project Structure & Responsibilities

AbriMail.Transport (Class Library):

• handles low-level email protocol communication.
• contains classes to connect to mail servers and execute raw IMAP and SMTP commands over TLS.
• establishing SslStream connections, sending protocol commands, and reading server responses.
• isolates the complexity of the IMAP/SMTP protocols from the rest of the app.
• Documentation: AbriMail.Transport README

AbriMail.App (Class Library):

• business logic layer that uses Mailbox.Transport.
• provides methods to the UI for common operations: e.g. “fetch inbox messages” or “send email”.
• calls Transport to perform IMAP/SMTP actions and then parses the results into simple C# models.
• handles any necessary logic like selecting the mailbox or formatting an email for sending.
• acts as a service that the Blazor UI can consume (via dependency injection) without dealing with protocol details.
• Documentation: AbriMail.App README

AbriMail.Web (Blazor Server App):

• Blazor Server web application providing the user interface
• contains Razor pages/components for settings, inbox list, email viewing, and composition.
• uses dependency injection to get the AbriMail.App services
• wires up configuration and registers the services from AbriMail.App and AbriMail.Transport in the DI container