C code to get notification when we recieve mail

A classic request!

To receive notifications when you receive an email, you'll need to use a combination of programming languages and tools. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you achieve this using C and some additional tools:

Prerequisites:

A Linux-based system (e.g., Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora)
A mail server (e.g., Postfix, Sendmail) configured to receive emails
A C compiler (e.g., GCC)
A notification tool (e.g., libnotify or dunst)

Step 1: Set up a mail server

If you don't already have a mail server set up, you'll need to configure one. For this example, we'll use Postfix. You can follow the official Postfix documentation to set up a basic mail server.

Step 2: Write a C program to monitor the mail server

Create a new C file (e.g., mail_monitor.c) and add the following code:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <netinet/in.h>
#include <arpa/inet.h>

#define MAIL_SERVER_PORT 25
#define MAIL_SERVER_ADDRESS "localhost"

int main() {
    int sockfd, connfd;
    struct sockaddr_in serv_addr, cli_addr;
    char buffer[256];

    // Create a socket
    sockfd = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
    if (sockfd < 0) {
        perror("socket creation failed");
        exit(1);
    }

    // Set up the server address
    serv_addr.sin_family = AF_INET;
    serv_addr.sin_port = htons(MAIL_SERVER_PORT);
    inet_pton(AF_INET, MAIL_SERVER_ADDRESS, &serv_addr.sin_addr);

    // Connect to the mail server
    if (connect(sockfd, (struct sockaddr *)&serv_addr, sizeof(serv_addr)) < 0) {
        perror("connection failed");
        exit(1);
    }

    while (1) {
        // Read data from the mail server
        read(sockfd, buffer, 256);
        printf("Received mail: %s\n", buffer);

        // Send a notification using libnotify
        system("notify-send 'New Mail' 'You have received a new email'");
    }

    return 0;
}

This program creates a socket and connects to the mail server on port 25 (the default SMTP port). It then reads data from the mail server and prints it to the console. When a new email is received, it sends a notification using libnotify.

Step 3: Compile and run the program

Compile the program using:

gcc -o mail_monitor mail_monitor.c -lnotify

Run the program using:

./mail_monitor

Step 4: Configure the notification tool

To use libnotify for notifications, you'll need to install it if you haven't already:

sudo apt-get install libnotify-bin

You can also use dunst as an alternative notification tool. Install it using:

sudo apt-get install dunst

Step 5: Test the setup

Send an email to your mail server using a mail client (e.g., mutt or msmtp). The program should detect the new email and send a notification.

Note: This is a basic example and may not work as-is in your environment. You may need to modify the code to suit your specific mail server configuration and notification preferences. Additionally, this program is not designed to handle multiple emails simultaneously; you may want to consider using a more robust solution like a mail client or a dedicated email monitoring tool.

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C code to get notification when we recieve mail