Account Configuration

This page describes the classes and interfaces involved in configuring mail accounts.

Chat accounts use very similar mechanisms, but we won't go into that here to avoid confusion.

The Account Manager

The account manager controls the objects described here. It is defined by nsIMsgAccountManager and implemented by nsMsgAccountManager.

To get to the account manager from JS, use MailServices.accounts. To get to it from C++, use mozilla::components::AccountManager::Service(). (The rest of this page will describe things in JS terms only for ease of reading.)

Accounts

Accounts are simple containers for incoming servers and identities. The are defined by nsIMsgAccount and implemented by nsMsgAccount. If you're looking to use something in a mail account, you'll probably first get a reference to an nsIMsgAccount.

Accounts are identified by a key property, which is the word account and then a number. Preferences for an account have the prefix mail.accounts.accountX .

All accounts can be found at MailServices.accounts.accounts. To get a particular account, use MailServices.accounts.getAccount(accountKey).

Incoming Servers

Incoming Server objects describe a connection to a mail server, e.g. an IMAP or POP3 server, or for local mail. They are defined by nsIMsgIncomingServer and a sub-interface and implementation exists for each type of server Thunderbird can connect to.

Incoming Servers are identified by a key property, which is the word server and then a number. Preferences for an account have the prefix mail.servers.serverX .

There is a 1:1 relationship between an account and an incoming server. To get to the server from an account, use the account's incomingServer property. To get the account for a server, use MailServices.accounts.FindAccountForServer(server).

All incoming servers can be found at MailServices.accounts.allServers. To get a particular server, use MailServices.accounts.getIncomingServer(serverKey).

Identities

Identities describe everything about sending mail from an account, such as the user's name and email address, which SMTP server to use, and where to put sent mail. They are defined by nsIMsgIdentity and implemented by nsMsgIdentity.

Identities are identified by a key property, which is the word id and then a number. Preferences for an account have the prefix mail.identity.idX .

Accounts can have any number of identities, although removing the last identity generally isn't allowed. Use the account's identities and defaultIdentity properties to access them.

Typically an identity belongs to only one account, although it's technically possible for it to belong to multiple accounts. Use MailServices.accounts.getServersForIdentity(identity) to get the server(s) for an identity, and go from there to get the accounts. (Yes, this is weird.)

All identities can be found at MailServices.accounts.allIdentities. To get a particular identity, use MailServices.accounts.getIdentity(identityKey).

SMTP

SMTP breaks some of the pattern you might've noticed in the previous classes. The SMTP service, MailServices.smtp or mozilla::Components::Smtp::Service(), implements nsISmtpService as SmtpService.

SMTP server configuration is kept by objects implementing nsISmtpServer as SmtpServer. They also are identified by a key property, which is the word smtp and then a number. Preferences for an account have the prefix mail.smtpserver.smtpX .

Identity objects reference SMTP servers in their smtpServerKey attribute.

All SMTP servers can be found at MailServices.smtp.servers. To get a particular server, use MailServices.smtp.getServerByKey(smtpKey).