How to interret the mail header

The mail header! It's a crucial part of an email message that contains metadata about the email, such as the sender, recipient, subject, date, and more. Here's a breakdown of how to interpret the mail header:

Mail Header Structure

A mail header is composed of multiple lines, each starting with a keyword followed by a colon and a value. The lines are separated by a newline character (\n). The header is usually divided into several sections:

1. From: The sender's email address.
2. To: The recipient's email address.
3. Subject: The subject line of the email.
4. Date: The date and time the email was sent.
5. Message-ID: A unique identifier for the email message.
6. References: A list of message IDs that this email is a reply to.
7. In-Reply-To: The message ID of the email this message is a reply to.
8. Content-Type: The format of the email body (e.g., text/plain, text/html).
9. MIME-Version: The version of the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) standard used in the email.

Interpreting the Mail Header

Here's a step-by-step guide to interpreting the mail header:

1. Start with the From line: Identify the sender's email address.
2. Look for the To line: Identify the recipient's email address.
3. Check the Subject line: Read the subject line to understand the purpose of the email.
4. Check the Date line: Verify the date and time the email was sent.
5. Check the Message-ID line: Verify the unique identifier for the email message.
6. Check the References line: Identify the message IDs that this email is a reply to.
7. Check the In-Reply-To line: Identify the message ID of the email this message is a reply to.
8. Check the Content-Type line: Verify the format of the email body.
9. Check the MIME-Version line: Verify the version of the MIME standard used in the email.

Example Mail Header

Here's an example of a mail header:

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Meeting Invitation
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2022 14:30:00 +0000
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
References: <[email protected]>
In-Reply-To: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
MIME-Version: 1.0

In this example:

• The sender is [email protected].
• The recipient is [email protected].
• The subject is "Meeting Invitation".
• The email was sent on January 12, 2022, at 14:30:00 UTC.
• The message ID is <[email protected]>.
• The email is a reply to <[email protected]>.
• The email body is in plain text format with UTF-8 encoding.
• The MIME version is 1.0.

By following these steps and understanding the different sections of the mail header, you can effectively interpret the mail header and gain valuable insights into the email message.