Titanous

Mailman 0.3.0 released

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:07:35 -0400

Mailman 0.3.0 has been released. There are three new features:

CC condition

Messages can now be matched based on the CC header:

cc 'bob@example.com' do
  # Process message
end

Class routing

You can now use instance methods as well as blocks to process messages. This allows you to use a #receive method in a Rails mailers:

class Notifier < ActionMailer::Base
  default :from => 'notifier@example.com'
  # Regular mailer setup and methods here

  def receive(message, params)
    # Process reply to notification messages
  end
end

Mailman app:

Mailman::Application.run do
  to 'notifier@example.com', Notifier
end

POP3 SSL

SSL is now supported by the POP3 receiver, which means that you can use Gmail out of the box with Mailman:

Mailman.config.pop3 = {
  :username => 'chunkybacon@gmail.com',
  :password => 'foobar',
  :server   => 'pop.gmail.com',
  :port     => 995,
  :ssl      => true
}

For more information on these features, and how to use Mailman, take a look at the User Guide.

As always if you have any problems or feature requests, please open an issue on the GitHub issue tracker. Even better, if you can fix it or write the feature yourself, then fork the project, and send me a pull request (please remember to write specs for features).

This is the last release under the sponsorship of the Ruby Summer of Code. I’d like to thank all the sponsors and my mentor, Steven Soroka for helping me to create Mailman.

Mailman Released!

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:59:00 -0400

I just released my Ruby Summer of Code project, Mailman as a gem. You can install it by running gem install mailman.

What is Mailman?

Mailman is an incoming email processing microframework. You point it at a source of email, such as a POP3 account or a Maildir, and it will execute routes based on the messages that come in.

For instance if you had a ticketing system, and wanted to add replies via email to the database, this application would be a good start:

require 'mailman'

Mailman.config.maildir = '~/Maildir'

Mailman::Application.run do
  to 'ticket-%id%@vipsupport.com' do 
    Ticket.find(params[:id]).add_reply(message)
  end
end

For more information take a look at the User Guide.

How can I help?

If you are already processing incoming email for an app using a different system, please give Mailman a try, and let me know where the docs are thin, what features are missing, and any bugs you run into.

If you are starting a new project with incoming email, please use Mailman for it, and give me feedback.

The best way to leave feedback is through the GitHub Issue Tracker.

If you have some spare time and want to write documentation or patches, feel free to write them, and send me a pull request on GitHub.

Thanks!

This project is sponsored by the Ruby Summer of Code. My mentor is Steven Soroka. I’ve been working from a desk that Shopify is kindly providing in their office.

Mailman Midterm Update

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:38:00 -0400

Mailman is my Ruby Summer of Code project. It’s an incoming email processing microframework. The basic functionality is to receive messages, and route them to blocks of code based on conditions.

Before Mailman, there was no standard way of processing incoming emails in Ruby. Many Rails apps use one-off IMAP or POP3 pollers. Mailman aims to replace them with its Rails integration, and upcoming ActionMailer integration.

The DSL is inspired by Sinatra. For example, here is a Mailman route that takes a reply via email to a support ticket, and adds it to the database:

to 'ticket-%id%@vipsupport.com' do 
  Ticket.find(params[:id]).add_reply(message)
end

Conditions (like to) and matchers like the StringMatcher above are all modular, and it is very easy to write more. Currently there are String and Regexp matchers and conditions for most basic email components.

Features

Complete

Router
Basic Conditions
Matchers
DSL
Configuration system
POP3 Receiver
Standard input receiver
Maildir receiver
Rails environment loading
Basic Documentation
Debug logging

Incomplete

ActionMailer integration
Bounce Detection

Thanks

I’d like to thank these organizations/people:

Ruby Summer of Code and all their sponsors for the financial support that allows me to put time into the project.

My mentor Steven Soroka for the motivation and advice that has helped me get this far.

Shopify for providing a desk to work at and great developers to bounce ideas off of.

Engine Yard for their donation of RailsConf tickets to RSoC.