This class allows you to receive and parse email in PHP efficiently and effortlessly.

attachment.class.php

<?php

/**
 * Model of an Attachment
 */
class MimeMailParser_attachment {

        /**
         * @var $filename Filename
         */
        public  $filename;
        /**
         * @var $content_type Mime Type
         */
        public  $content_type;
        /**
         * @var $content File Content
         */
        private  $content;
        /**
         * @var $extension Filename extension
         */
        private $extension;
        /**
         * @var $content_disposition Content-Disposition (attachment or inline)
         */
        public $content_disposition;
        /**
         * @var $headers An Array of the attachment headers
         */
        public $headers;
        
        private  $stream;

        public function __construct($filename, $content_type, $stream, $content_disposition = 'attachment', $headers = array()) {
                $this->filename = $filename;
                $this->content_type = $content_type;
                $this->stream = $stream;
                $this->content = null;
                $this->content_disposition = $content_disposition;
                $this->headers = $headers;
        }
        
        /**
         * retrieve the attachment filename
         * @return String
         */
        public function getFilename() {
                return $this->filename;
        }
        
        /**
         * Retrieve the Attachment Content-Type
         * @return String
         */
        public function getContentType() {
                return $this->content_type;
        }
        
        /**
         * Retrieve the Attachment Content-Disposition
         * @return String
         */
        public function getContentDisposition() {
                return $this->content_disposition;
        }
        
        /**
         * Retrieve the Attachment Headers
         * @return String
         */
        public function getHeaders() {
                return $this->headers;
        }
        
        /**
         * Retrieve the file extension
         * @return String
         */
        public function getFileExtension() {
                if (!$this->extension) {
                        $ext = substr(strrchr($this->filename, '.'), 1);
                        if ($ext == 'gz') {
                                // special case, tar.gz
                                // todo: other special cases?
                                $ext = preg_match("/\.tar\.gz$/i", $ext) ? 'tar.gz' : 'gz';
                        }
                        $this->extension = $ext;
                }
                return $this->extension;
        }
        
        /**
         * Read the contents a few bytes at a time until completed
         * Once read to completion, it always returns false
         * @return String
         * @param $bytes Int[optional]
         */
        public function read($bytes = 2082) {
                return feof($this->stream) ? false : fread($this->stream, $bytes);
        }
        
        /**
         * Retrieve the file content in one go
         * Once you retreive the content you cannot use MimeMailParser_attachment::read()
         * @return String
         */
        public function getContent() {
                if ($this->content === null) {
                        fseek($this->stream, 0);
                        while(($buf = $this->read()) !== false) { 
                                $this->content .= $buf; 
                        }
                }
                return $this->content;
        }
        
        /**
         * Allow the properties 
         *      MimeMailParser_attachment::$name,
         *      MimeMailParser_attachment::$extension 
         * to be retrieved as public properties
         * @param $name Object
         */
        public function __get($name) {
                if ($name == 'content') {
                        return $this->getContent();
                } else if ($name == 'extension') {
                        return $this->getFileExtension();
                }
                return null;
        }
        
}

?>

MimeMailParser.class.php

<?php

require_once('attachment.class.php');

/**
 * Fast Mime Mail parser Class using PHP's MailParse Extension
 * @author gabe@fijiwebdesign.com
 * @url http://www.fijiwebdesign.com/
 * @license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/
 * @version $Id$
 */
class MimeMailParser {
        
        /**
         * PHP MimeParser Resource ID
         */
        public $resource;
        
        /**
         * A file pointer to email
         */
        public $stream;
        
        /**
         * A text of an email
         */
        public $data;
        
        /**
         * Stream Resources for Attachments
         */
        public $attachment_streams;
        
        /**
         * Inialize some stuff
         * @return 
         */
        public function __construct() {
                $this->attachment_streams = array();
        }
        
        /**
         * Free the held resouces
         * @return void
         */
        public function __destruct() {
                // clear the email file resource
                if (is_resource($this->stream)) {
                        fclose($this->stream);
                }
                // clear the MailParse resource
                if (is_resource($this->resource)) {
                        mailparse_msg_free($this->resource);
                }
                // remove attachment resources
                foreach($this->attachment_streams as $stream) {
                        fclose($stream);
                }
        }
        
        /**
         * Set the file path we use to get the email text
         * @return Object MimeMailParser Instance
         * @param $mail_path Object
         */
        public function setPath($path) {
                // should parse message incrementally from file
                $this->resource = mailparse_msg_parse_file($path);
                $this->stream = fopen($path, 'r');
                $this->parse();
                return $this;
        }
        
        /**
         * Set the Stream resource we use to get the email text
         * @return Object MimeMailParser Instance
         * @param $stream Resource
         */
        public function setStream($stream) {

                // streams have to be cached to file first
                if (get_resource_type($stream) == 'stream') {
                        $tmp_fp = tmpfile();
                        if ($tmp_fp) {
                                while(!feof($stream)) {
                                        fwrite($tmp_fp, fread($stream, 2028));
                                }
                                fseek($tmp_fp, 0);
                                $this->stream =& $tmp_fp;
                        } else {
                                throw new Exception('Could not create temporary files for attachments. Your tmp directory may be unwritable by PHP.');
                                return false;
                        }
                        fclose($stream);
                } else {
                        $this->stream = $stream;
                }
                
                $this->resource = mailparse_msg_create();
                // parses the message incrementally low memory usage but slower
                while(!feof($this->stream)) {
                        mailparse_msg_parse($this->resource, fread($this->stream, 2082));
                }
                $this->parse();
                return $this;
        }
        
        /**
         * Set the email text
         * @return Object MimeMailParser Instance 
         * @param $data String
         */
        public function setText($data) {
                $this->resource = mailparse_msg_create();
                // does not parse incrementally, fast memory hog might explode
                mailparse_msg_parse($this->resource, $data);
                $this->data = $data;
                $this->parse();
                return $this;
        }
        
        /**
         * Parse the Message into parts
         * @return void
         * @private
         */
        private function parse() {
                $structure = mailparse_msg_get_structure($this->resource);
                $this->parts = array();
                foreach($structure as $part_id) {
                        $part = mailparse_msg_get_part($this->resource, $part_id);
                        $this->parts[$part_id] = mailparse_msg_get_part_data($part);
                }
        }
        
        /**
         * Retrieve the Email Headers
         * @return Array
         */
        public function getHeaders() {
                if (isset($this->parts[1])) {
                        return $this->getPartHeaders($this->parts[1]);
                } else {
                        throw new Exception('MimeMailParser::setPath() or MimeMailParser::setText() must be called before retrieving email headers.');
                }
                return false;
        }
        /**
         * Retrieve the raw Email Headers
         * @return string
         */
        public function getHeadersRaw() {
                if (isset($this->parts[1])) {
                        return $this->getPartHeaderRaw($this->parts[1]);
                } else {
                        throw new Exception('MimeMailParser::setPath() or MimeMailParser::setText() must be called before retrieving email headers.');
                }
                return false;
        }
        
        /**
         * Retrieve a specific Email Header
         * @return String
         * @param $name String Header name
         */
        public function getHeader($name) {
                if (isset($this->parts[1])) {
                        $headers = $this->getPartHeaders($this->parts[1]);
                        if (isset($headers[$name])) {
                                return $headers[$name];
                        }
                } else {
                        throw new Exception('MimeMailParser::setPath() or MimeMailParser::setText() must be called before retrieving email headers.');
                }
                return false;
        }
        
        /**
         * Returns the email message body in the specified format
         * @return Mixed String Body or False if not found
         * @param $type Object[optional]
         */
        public function getMessageBody($type = 'text') {
                $body = false;
                $mime_types = array(
                        'text'=> 'text/plain',
                        'html'=> 'text/html'
                );
                if (in_array($type, array_keys($mime_types))) {
                        foreach($this->parts as $part) {
                                if ($this->getPartContentType($part) == $mime_types[$type]) {
                    $headers = $this->getPartHeaders($part);
                                        $body = $this->decode($this->getPartBody($part), array_key_exists('content-transfer-encoding', $headers) ? $headers['content-transfer-encoding'] : '');
                                }
                        }
                } else {
                        throw new Exception('Invalid type specified for MimeMailParser::getMessageBody. "type" can either be text or html.');
                }
                return $body;
        }

        /**
         * get the headers for the message body part.
         * @return Array
         * @param $type Object[optional]
         */
        public function getMessageBodyHeaders($type = 'text') {
                $headers = false;
                $mime_types = array(
                        'text'=> 'text/plain',
                        'html'=> 'text/html'
                );
                if (in_array($type, array_keys($mime_types))) {
                        foreach($this->parts as $part) {
                                if ($this->getPartContentType($part) == $mime_types[$type]) {
                                        $headers = $this->getPartHeaders($part);
                                }
                        }
                } else {
                        throw new Exception('Invalid type specified for MimeMailParser::getMessageBody. "type" can either be text or html.');
                }
                return $headers;
        }

        
        /**
         * Returns the attachments contents in order of appearance
         * @return Array
         * @param $type Object[optional]
         */
        public function getAttachments() {
                $attachments = array();
                $dispositions = array("attachment","inline");
                foreach($this->parts as $part) {
                        $disposition = $this->getPartContentDisposition($part);
                        if (in_array($disposition, $dispositions)) {
                                $attachments[] = new MimeMailParser_attachment(
                                        $part['disposition-filename'], 
                                        $this->getPartContentType($part), 
                                        $this->getAttachmentStream($part),
                                        $disposition,
                                        $this->getPartHeaders($part)
                                );
                        }
                }
                return $attachments;
        }
        
        /**
         * Return the Headers for a MIME part
         * @return Array
         * @param $part Array
         */
        private function getPartHeaders($part) {
                if (isset($part['headers'])) {
                        return $part['headers'];
                }
                return false;
        }
        
        /**
         * Return a Specific Header for a MIME part
         * @return Array
         * @param $part Array
         * @param $header String Header Name
         */
        private function getPartHeader($part, $header) {
                if (isset($part['headers'][$header])) {
                        return $part['headers'][$header];
                }
                return false;
        }
        
        /**
         * Return the ContentType of the MIME part
         * @return String
         * @param $part Array
         */
        private function getPartContentType($part) {
                if (isset($part['content-type'])) {
                        return $part['content-type'];
                }
                return false;
        }
        
        /**
         * Return the Content Disposition
         * @return String
         * @param $part Array
         */
        private function getPartContentDisposition($part) {
                if (isset($part['content-disposition'])) {
                        return $part['content-disposition'];
                }
                return false;
        }
        
        /**
         * Retrieve the raw Header of a MIME part
         * @return String
         * @param $part Object
         */
        private function getPartHeaderRaw(&$part) {
                $header = '';
                if ($this->stream) {
                        $header = $this->getPartHeaderFromFile($part);
                } else if ($this->data) {
                        $header = $this->getPartHeaderFromText($part);
                } else {
                        throw new Exception('MimeMailParser::setPath() or MimeMailParser::setText() must be called before retrieving email parts.');
                }
                return $header;
        }
        /**
         * Retrieve the Body of a MIME part
         * @return String
         * @param $part Object
         */
        private function getPartBody(&$part) {
                $body = '';
                if ($this->stream) {
                        $body = $this->getPartBodyFromFile($part);
                } else if ($this->data) {
                        $body = $this->getPartBodyFromText($part);
                } else {
                        throw new Exception('MimeMailParser::setPath() or MimeMailParser::setText() must be called before retrieving email parts.');
                }
                return $body;
        }
        
        /**
         * Retrieve the Header from a MIME part from file
         * @return String Mime Header Part
         * @param $part Array
         */
        private function getPartHeaderFromFile(&$part) {
                $start = $part['starting-pos'];
                $end = $part['starting-pos-body'];
                fseek($this->stream, $start, SEEK_SET);
                $header = fread($this->stream, $end-$start);
                return $header;
        }
        /**
         * Retrieve the Body from a MIME part from file
         * @return String Mime Body Part
         * @param $part Array
         */
        private function getPartBodyFromFile(&$part) {
                $start = $part['starting-pos-body'];
                $end = $part['ending-pos-body'];
                fseek($this->stream, $start, SEEK_SET);
                $body = fread($this->stream, $end-$start);
                return $body;
        }
        
        /**
         * Retrieve the Header from a MIME part from text
         * @return String Mime Header Part
         * @param $part Array
         */
        private function getPartHeaderFromText(&$part) {
                $start = $part['starting-pos'];
                $end = $part['starting-pos-body'];
                $header = substr($this->data, $start, $end-$start);
                return $header;
        }
        /**
         * Retrieve the Body from a MIME part from text
         * @return String Mime Body Part
         * @param $part Array
         */
        private function getPartBodyFromText(&$part) {
                $start = $part['starting-pos-body'];
                $end = $part['ending-pos-body'];
                $body = substr($this->data, $start, $end-$start);
                return $body;
        }
        
        /**
         * Read the attachment Body and save temporary file resource
         * @return String Mime Body Part
         * @param $part Array
         */
        private function getAttachmentStream(&$part) {
                $temp_fp = tmpfile();   

        array_key_exists('content-transfer-encoding', $part['headers']) ? $encoding = $part['headers']['content-transfer-encoding'] : $encoding = '';

                if ($temp_fp) {
                        if ($this->stream) {
                                $start = $part['starting-pos-body'];
                                $end = $part['ending-pos-body'];
                                fseek($this->stream, $start, SEEK_SET);
                                $len = $end-$start;
                                $written = 0;
                                $write = 2028;
                                $body = '';
                                while($written < $len) {
                                        if (($written+$write < $len )) {
                                                $write = $len - $written;
                                        }
                                        $part = fread($this->stream, $write);
                                        fwrite($temp_fp, $this->decode($part, $encoding));
                                        $written += $write;
                                }
                        } else if ($this->data) {
                                $attachment = $this->decode($this->getPartBodyFromText($part), $encoding);
                                fwrite($temp_fp, $attachment, strlen($attachment));
                        }
                        fseek($temp_fp, 0, SEEK_SET);
                } else {
                        throw new Exception('Could not create temporary files for attachments. Your tmp directory may be unwritable by PHP.');
                        return false;
                }
                return $temp_fp;
        }

    
    /**
     * Decode the string depending on encoding type.
     * @return String the decoded string.
     * @param $encodedString    The string in its original encoded state.
     * @param $encodingType     The encoding type from the Content-Transfer-Encoding header of the part.
     */
    private function decode($encodedString, $encodingType) {
        if (strtolower($encodingType) == 'base64') {
                return base64_decode($encodedString);
        } else if (strtolower($encodingType) == 'quoted-printable') {
                 return quoted_printable_decode($encodedString);
        } else {
                return $encodedString;
        }
    }

}


?>

sampleParser.php

<?php

require_once('MimeMailParser.class.php');

$path = 'path/to/mail.txt';
$Parser = new MimeMailParser();
$Parser->setPath($path);

$to = $Parser->getHeader('to');
$from = $Parser->getHeader('from');
$subject = $Parser->getHeader('subject');
$text = $Parser->getMessageBody('text');
$html = $Parser->getMessageBody('html');
$attachments = $Parser->getAttachments();

// attachment processing
$save_dir = '/path/to/save/attachments/';
foreach($attachments as $attachment) {
  // get the attachment name
  $filename = $attachment->filename;
  // write the file to the directory you want to save it in
  if ($fp = fopen($save_dir.$filename, 'w')) {
    while($bytes = $attachment->read()) {
      fwrite($fp, $bytes);
    }
    fclose($fp);
  }
}

?>

Call to undefined function mailparse_msg_parse_file() in /home/..../public_html/MimeMailParser.class.php on line 68

@topedge - you seem to not have http://php.net/mailparse installed.

when I echo:
$from = $Parser->getHeader('from');
it echos out the name of the email sender, but I want to get the email address of the email sender, this also happens to:
$to = $Parser->getHeader('to');
How can I get the email address and not the names?
ty

@BEHZ4D, I would try getHeaders() or getHeadersRaw() to see if the data is in there. Perhaps mailparse has trouble with email addresses.

nice work
It was very useful
thanks vyatri

Hi,
I need to get the whole content of the email, as to make a back-up.
Is there any way to accomplish this?
I thought that $Parser->resource could gave me the content but it's not like that

How can I replace within $html the cid url for embedded images with real url from the $save_dir