git-imap-send

git imap-send
(mbox from stdin; no arguments required)

--help
    Display short usage message and exit

git-imap-send is a Git command for emailing patches via IMAP by placing them in your email client's Drafts folder.

It reads RFC2822-formatted messages in mbox format from standard input—usually generated by git format-patch --stdout—converts them to MIME multipart emails with patches as attachments or inline diff, and appends to an IMAP Drafts folder.

This enables review and editing in tools like Thunderbird or mutt before sending, ideal for patch-based workflows.

All behavior is controlled via Git config in the [imap] section, with no command-line options beyond standard help. Setup requires IMAP credentials and folder access.

Common use case: Prepare patches with git format-patch --stdout --cover-letter --signed-off -10, pipe to git-imap-send.

Supports TLS/SSL encryption. Less common today with web hosting, but useful for private repos or traditional maintainers.

Passwords stored in plain text in config (avoid; use git-credential); requires write access to IMAP Drafts folder; single-threaded, not for bulk emails; Gmail needs app password and '[Gmail]/Drafts' folder.

imap.Host: Server URL (e.g., imaps://imap.gmail.com)
imap.User: Login username
imap.Pass: Password
imap.Folder: Drafts path (default "Drafts")
imap.Port: Port (default 143)
imap.Encrypt: plain|tls|ssl (default tls)
imap.SSLVerify: true|false (default true)
imap.PreformattedHTML: true|false (default false)

git format-patch --stdout --cover-letter -3 |
git imap-send
(Last 3 patches with cover letter to Drafts)

Introduced in Git 1.5.0 (January 2007) for IMAP-based patch submission workflows, complementing git-send-email. Maintained with minor updates for modern IMAP/TLS; usage declined with hosted Git services.

git-format-patch(1), git-send-email(1), git-config(1)