Mail::Box::Search::Grep(3)

NAME
Mail::Box::Search::Grep - select messages within a mail box like grep does

INHERITANCE
 Mail::Box::Search::Grep
   is a Mail::Box::Search
   is a Mail::Reporter

SYNOPSIS
  use Mail::Box::Manager;
  my $mgr    = Mail::Box::Manager->new;
  my $folder = $mgr->open('Inbox');

  my $filter = Mail::Box::Search::Grep->new(
     label => 'selected',
     in => 'BODY', match => qr/abc?d*e/
  );

  my @msgs   = $filter->search($folder);

  my $filter = Mail::Box::Search::Grep->new(
    field => 'To',
    match => $my_email,
  );

  if($filter->search($message)) {...}

DESCRIPTION
Try to find some text strings in the header and footer of messages. Various ways to limit the search to certain header fields, the whole header, only the body, the whole message, but even binary multiparts, are provided for.

The name grep is derived from the UNIX tool grep, which means: "Get Regular Expression and Print". Although you can search using regular expressions (the Perl way of them), you do not have to print those as result.

Extends "DESCRIPTION" in Mail::Box::Search.

METHODS
Extends "METHODS" in Mail::Box::Search.

  Constructors
Extends "Constructors" in Mail::Box::Search.

$class->new(%options)
    Create a UNIX-grep like search filter. Improves base, see "METHODS" in Mail::Box::Search

     -Option    --Defined in       --Default
      binaries    Mail::Box::Search  <C<false>>
      decode      Mail::Box::Search  <C<true>>
      delayed     Mail::Box::Search  true
      deleted     Mail::Box::Search  false
      deliver                        undef
      field                          undef
      in          Mail::Box::Search  <$field ? 'HEAD' : C<'BODY'>>
      label       Mail::Box::Search  undef
      limit       Mail::Box::Search  0
      logical     Mail::Box::Search  'REPLACE'
      match                          <required>
      multiparts  Mail::Box::Search  true

    binaries => BOOLEAN
    decode => BOOLEAN
    delayed => BOOLEAN
    deleted => BOOLEAN
    deliver => undef|CODE|'DELETE'|LABEL|'PRINT'|REF-ARRAY
        Store the details about where the match was found. The search may take much longer when this feature is enabled.

        When an ARRAY is specified it will contain a list of references to hashes. Each hash contains the information of one match. A match in a header line will result in a line with fields "message", "part", and "field", where the field is a Mail::Message::Field object. When the match is in the body the hash will contain a "message", "part", "linenr", and "line".

        In case of a CODE reference, that routine is called for each match. The first argument is this search object and the second a reference to same hash as would be stored in the array.

        The "PRINT" will call printMatchedHead() or printMatchedBody() when any matching header resp body line was found. The output is minimized by not reprinting the message info on multiple matches in the same message.

        "DELETE" will flag the message to be deleted in case of a match. When a multipart's part is matched, the whole message will be flagged for deletion.

    field => undef|$field|REGEX|CODE
        Not valid in combination with "in" set to "BODY". Pass one full $field name (case-insensitive). Use a REGEX to select more than one header line to be scanned. CODE is a routine which is called for each field in the header. The CODE is called with the header as first, and the field as second argument. If the CODE returns "true", the message is selected.

    in => 'HEAD'|'BODY'|'MESSAGE'
    label => $label
    limit => $number
    logical => 'REPLACE'|'AND'|'OR'|'NOT'|'AND NOT'|'OR NOT'
    match => STRING|REGEX|CODE
        The pattern to be search for can be a REGular EXpression, or a STRING. In both cases, the match succeeds if it is found anywhere within the selected fields.

        With a CODE reference, that function will be called each field or body-line. When the result is "true", the details are delivered. The call formats are

          $code->($head, $field);          # for HEAD searches
          $code->($body, $linenr, $line);  # for BODY searches

        The $head resp $body are one message's head resp. body object. The $field is a header line which matches. The $line and $linenr tell the matching line in the body.

        Be warned that when you search in "MESSAGE" the code must accept both formats.

    multiparts => BOOLEAN

  Attributes
Extends "Attributes" in Mail::Box::Search.

$obj->deliver()
    Inherited, see "Attributes" in Mail::Box::Search

$obj->doMultiparts()
    Inherited, see "Attributes" in Mail::Box::Search

$obj->parseDelayed()
    Inherited, see "Attributes" in Mail::Box::Search

$obj->skipDeleted()
    Inherited, see "Attributes" in Mail::Box::Search

  Error handling
Extends "Error handling" in Mail::Box::Search.

$obj->AUTOLOAD()
    Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

$obj->notImplemented()
    Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

  Cleanup
Extends "Cleanup" in Mail::Box::Search.

$obj->DESTROY()
    Inherited, see "Cleanup" in Mail::Reporter

  Searching
Extends "Searching" in Mail::Box::Search.

$obj->inBody($part, $body)
    Inherited, see "Searching" in Mail::Box::Search

$obj->inHead($part, $head)
    Inherited, see "Searching" in Mail::Box::Search

$obj->search($folder|$thread|$message|ARRAY)
    Inherited, see "Searching" in Mail::Box::Search

$obj->searchPart($part)
    Inherited, see "Searching" in Mail::Box::Search

  The Results
Extends "The Results" in Mail::Box::Search.

$obj->printMatch( [$fh], $match )
    Inherited, see "The Results" in Mail::Box::Search

$obj->printMatchedBody($fh, $match)

$obj->printMatchedHead($fh, $match)

DIAGNOSTICS

Error: class $package does not implement method $method.
    Fatal error: the specific $package (or one of its superclasses) does not implement this method where it should. This message means that some other related classes do implement this method however the class at hand does not. Probably you should investigate this and probably inform the author of the package. Cast by notImplemented()

Error: expect messages to search, not $what.
    Cast by search()

Error: grep requires a match pattern.
    Cast by new()

Error: unsupported field selector $take.
    Cast by new()

Error: unsupported match pattern $match.
    Cast by new()

SEE ALSO
This module is part of Mail-Box version 4.02, built on April 10, 2026. Website: http://perl.overmeer.net/CPAN/

LICENSE
For contributors see file ChangeLog.

This software is copyright (c) 2001-2026 by Mark Overmeer.

This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.