Email (IMAP/SMTP)

Sophon connects to any email provider via standard IMAP (receiving) and SMTP (sending) protocols. It polls for new messages on a configurable interval and can reply to emails as your agent.

Prerequisites

An email account with IMAP and SMTP access enabled
An app password (recommended over your account password for security)

Step-by-Step Setup

1. Enable IMAP Access

Most email providers require you to explicitly enable IMAP:

Gmail: Settings > See all settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP > Enable IMAP
Outlook.com: Enabled by default
Yahoo: Settings > More Settings > Mailbox > Enable IMAP

2. Generate an App Password

Using an app-specific password is strongly recommended:

Gmail: Google App Passwords (requires 2FA enabled)
Outlook.com: Microsoft App Passwords
Yahoo: Yahoo App Passwords

3. Configure in Sophon Dashboard

Go to Channels and click Add Channel
Select Email (IMAP/SMTP)
Fill in the server details (see provider table below)
Enter your email address and app password
Click Test Connection — Sophon will verify both IMAP and SMTP connectivity
Click Activate

Provider Settings

Provider	IMAP Host	IMAP Port	SMTP Host	SMTP Port
Gmail	`imap.gmail.com`	993	`smtp.gmail.com`	587
Outlook / Hotmail	`outlook.office365.com`	993	`smtp.office365.com`	587
Yahoo Mail	`imap.mail.yahoo.com`	993	`smtp.mail.yahoo.com`	587
iCloud Mail	`imap.mail.me.com`	993	`smtp.mail.me.com`	587
Custom / Self-hosted	Your IMAP server	993	Your SMTP server	587

All connections use TLS/SSL. Port 993 is IMAP over SSL; port 587 is SMTP with STARTTLS.

Configuration Reference

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
`imapHost`	text	Yes	—	IMAP server hostname
`imapPort`	number	No	`993`	IMAP port (SSL/TLS)
`smtpHost`	text	Yes	—	SMTP server hostname
`smtpPort`	number	No	`587`	SMTP port (STARTTLS)
`username`	email	Yes	—	Email address
`password`	secret	Yes	—	App password
`pollIntervalSeconds`	number	No	`60`	How often to check for new emails (seconds)

channels.json Example

{
  "id": "email-main",
  "type": "email",
  "name": "Sophon Email",
  "enabled": true,
  "config": {
    "imapHost": "imap.gmail.com",
    "imapPort": "993",
    "smtpHost": "smtp.gmail.com",
    "smtpPort": "587",
    "username": "sophon@yourcompany.com",
    "password": "<encrypted>",
    "pollIntervalSeconds": "60"
  },
  "routing": {
    "agentId": "default",
    "dmBehavior": "main-session"
  },
  "status": "connected"
}

How Polling Works

Sophon checks for new emails at the configured interval:

Connects to IMAP and looks for unread messages in the inbox
Fetches new messages and converts them to SophonMessage format
Extracts file attachments (images, PDFs, etc.) and processes them
Routes the message to the configured agent
Agent's response is sent back as a reply email via SMTP

Troubleshooting

"Authentication failed" — Use an app password, not your regular account password. For Gmail, you must have 2FA enabled to generate app passwords.
Connection refused on port 993 — Verify IMAP is enabled for your account. Some providers disable it by default.
Emails not arriving — Check the poll interval. Default is 60 seconds. Also verify the email account's inbox isn't full.
"SMTP relay denied" — The SMTP server rejected the send. For Gmail, ensure "Less secure app access" is off and you're using an app password. For custom servers, check relay permissions.
Attachments not processed — Files over 25 MB are skipped. Check ~/.sophon/documents/uploads/ for disk space.

Email (IMAP/SMTP)

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