List Email Folders on IMAP Server in C# and VB.NET

On the IMAP email server, you can store the messages in a folder-like structure. Users can categorize their messages in these folders, also called labels by some email providers, to facilitate how they handle work emails.

With GemBox.Email you can create, access, and remove folders on the email server via the IMAP protocol, using C# and VB.NET.

To list all the folders on the server, including the predefined ones like Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Trash, and etc.), you can use the ImapClient.ListFolders method. The result is a collection of ImapFolderInfo objects, which contain information about the IMAP folder.

To navigate or to access a specific folder to read its messages, you can use the ImapClient.SelectFolder or ImapClient.SelectInbox methods.

The example below shows how you can list all the folders, create a new custom folder, and remove it.

Folders with IMAP client in C# and VB.NET — Screenshot of folders from ImapClient

C#
VB.NET

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using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using GemBox.Email;
using GemBox.Email.Imap;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // If using the Professional version, put your serial key below.
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");

        using (ImapClient imap = new ImapClient("<ADDRESS> (e.g. imap.gmail.com)"))
        {
            imap.Connect();
            imap.Authenticate("<USERNAME>", "<PASSWORD>");

            // Create new folder.
            imap.CreateFolder("GemBox");

            // List all folders on the server and display their information.
            // Notice the presence of new "GemBox" folder.
            IList<ImapFolderInfo> folders = imap.ListFolders();
            foreach (ImapFolderInfo folder in folders)
                Console.WriteLine($"{folder.Name,-18}: {string.Join(", ", folder.Flags)}");

            // Delete newly created folder.
            imap.DeleteFolder("GemBox");

            Console.WriteLine(new string('-', 40));

            // Again, list folders and display their information.
            // Notice the absence of new "GemBox" folder.
            folders = imap.ListFolders();
            foreach (ImapFolderInfo folder in folders)
                Console.WriteLine($"{folder.Name,-18}: {string.Join(", ", folder.Flags)}");
        }
    }
}

Imports System
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports GemBox.Email
Imports GemBox.Email.Imap

Module Program

    Sub Main()

        ' If using the Professional version, put your serial key below.
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY")

        Using imap As New ImapClient("<ADDRESS> (e.g. imap.gmail.com)")

            imap.Connect()
            imap.Authenticate("<USERNAME>", "<PASSWORD>")

            ' Create new folder.
            imap.CreateFolder("GemBox")

            ' List all folders on the server and display their information.
            ' Notice the presence of new "GemBox" folder.
            Dim folders As IList(Of ImapFolderInfo) = imap.ListFolders()
            For Each folder As ImapFolderInfo In folders
                Console.WriteLine($"{folder.Name,-18}: {String.Join(", ", folder.Flags)}")
            Next

            ' Delete newly created folder.
            imap.DeleteFolder("GemBox")

            Console.WriteLine(New String("-"c, 40))

            ' Again, list folders and display their information.
            ' Notice the absence of new "GemBox" folder.
            folders = imap.ListFolders()
            For Each folder As ImapFolderInfo In folders
                Console.WriteLine($"{folder.Name,-18}: {String.Join(", ", folder.Flags)}")
            Next
        End Using
    End Sub
End Module

For more information about ImapClient, check out our IMAP Client Connection example.

Next steps

GemBox.Email is a .NET component that enables you to read, write, receive, and send emails from your .NET applications using one simple API.

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List Email Folders on IMAP Server in C# and VB.NET

See also

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