| Author: | Eric S. Raymond |
| Latest Preview Version: | 6.5.0-beta3 |
| Latest Preview Date: | --> |
| Operating System: | Unix-like |
| Genre: | Mail delivery agent |
| License: | GNU General Public License |
Fetchmail is an open-source software utility for POSIX-compliant operating systems which is used to retrieve e-mail from a remote POP3, IMAP, or ODMR mail server to the user's local system. It was developed from the popclient program, written by Carl Harris.[1]
Its chief significance is perhaps that its author, Eric S. Raymond, used it as a model to discuss his theories of open-source software development in a widely read and influential essay on software development methodologies The Cathedral and the Bazaar.
By design, Fetchmail's only means of delivering messages is by submitting them to the local MTA/Message transfer agent or invoking a mail delivery agent[2] like procmail, maildrop, or sendmail; delivering directly to mail folders such as maildir is not supported.
It is a C program evolved by gradual mutation from an ancestor already written in C.[3]
Dan Bernstein, getmail creator Charles Cazabon and FreeBSD developer Terry Lambert, have criticized Fetchmail's design,[4] its number of security holes,[5] and that it was prematurely put into "maintenance mode". In 2004, a new team of maintainers took over Fetchmail development,[6] and laid out development plans that broke with design decisions that Eric Raymond had made in earlier versions.[7]
https://sourceforge.net/directory/os:windows/?q=fetchmail