Node Js Download [work] Email Attachment May 2026

Using ImapFlow is often the cleanest approach because it provides a direct download() method for specific message parts. javascript

To download email attachments in Node.js, you generally use the to access the mailbox and a parsing library like Mailparser to extract the actual files. 1. Key Libraries for the Job You will typically need a combination of two libraries: node js download email attachment

: A modern, easy-to-use IMAP client for Node.js that supports async/await and streaming. Using ImapFlow is often the cleanest approach because

: A lower-level, event-based legacy library that is very powerful but more complex to implement. Key Libraries for the Job You will typically

If you need deeper control or are working in an older codebase, combine node-imap with Mailparser : to the IMAP server. Fetch the message body using imap.fetch() . Stream the raw mail data into Mailparser .

const { ImapFlow } = require('imapflow'); const fs = require('fs'); async function downloadEmailAttachment() { const client = new ImapFlow({ host: 'imap.gmail.com', port: 993, secure: true, auth: { user: 'your-email@gmail.com', pass: 'your-app-password' } }); await client.connect(); let lock = await client.getMailboxLock('INBOX'); try { // Find the most recent message with an attachment for await (let message of client.fetch('1:*', { envelope: true, bodyStructure: true })) { const attachments = findAttachments(message.bodyStructure); for (let attachment of attachments) { // Download the specific part let { content } = await client.download(message.uid, attachment.part, { uid: true }); content.pipe(fs.createWriteStream(attachment.filename)); console.log(`Saved: ${attachment.filename}`); } } } finally { lock.release(); await client.logout(); } } Use code with caution. 3. Alternative: Using node-imap and Mailparser