Yahoo Mail Setup

Configure Mailpilot to work with Yahoo Mail accounts.

Prerequisites

• Yahoo Mail account
• IMAP access (enabled by default)
• App password (required - Yahoo disabled regular password authentication)

Step 1: Generate App Password

1. Sign in to your Yahoo Account Security page
2. Click Generate app password or Manage app passwords
3. Select Other App from the dropdown
4. Enter a custom name: Mailpilot or Email Automation
5. Click Generate
6. Copy the 16-character password displayed (you won't see it again)

The app password looks like: abcd efgh ijkl mnop (remove spaces when using)

Step 2: Verify IMAP is Enabled

IMAP is usually enabled by default in Yahoo Mail. To verify:

1. Sign in to Yahoo Mail
2. Click ⚙️ Settings → More Settings
3. Go to Mailboxes
4. Ensure IMAP access is enabled

Step 3: Configure Mailpilot

Add Yahoo Mail to your config.yaml:

accounts:
  - name: yahoo
    imap:
      host: imap.mail.yahoo.com
      port: 993
      username: ${YAHOO_USER}        # your.email@yahoo.com
      password: ${YAHOO_APP_PASSWORD}  # 16-character app password
      tls: true

    folders:
      - name: INBOX
        llm_provider: openai
        prompt: |
          Classify this email...

Step 4: Set Environment Variables

Set your Yahoo credentials:

export YAHOO_USER="your.email@yahoo.com"
export YAHOO_APP_PASSWORD="abcdefghijklmnop"  # No spaces!

Or use a .env file:

YAHOO_USER=your.email@yahoo.com
YAHOO_APP_PASSWORD=abcdefghijklmnop

Step 5: Test Connection

pnpm start

Check the dashboard at http://localhost:8080 for connection status.

IMAP Server Settings

Yahoo Mail Folder Names

Yahoo uses standard IMAP folder names:

Multiple Yahoo Accounts

Process multiple Yahoo accounts:

accounts:
  - name: personal
    imap:
      host: imap.mail.yahoo.com
      username: ${YAHOO_PERSONAL_USER}
      password: ${YAHOO_PERSONAL_APP_PASSWORD}

  - name: work
    imap:
      host: imap.mail.yahoo.com
      username: ${YAHOO_WORK_USER}
      password: ${YAHOO_WORK_APP_PASSWORD}

Set separate environment variables for each account.

Troubleshooting

"Username and password not accepted"

Causes:

1. Using regular Yahoo password instead of app password
2. App password has spaces in it
3. Incorrect username format

Solutions:

• Generate a new app password
• Use the 16-character app password without spaces
• Ensure username is your full email address (e.g., you@yahoo.com)
• Update YAHOO_APP_PASSWORD environment variable

"IMAP access is disabled"

Cause: IMAP is disabled in Yahoo Mail settings.

Solution:

1. Go to Yahoo Mail Settings → Mailboxes
2. Enable IMAP access
3. Save changes and restart Mailpilot

"Too many login attempts"

Cause: Yahoo has temporarily blocked access due to multiple failed login attempts.

Solution:

1. Wait 10-15 minutes before retrying
2. Verify your app password is correct
3. Check for security alerts in your Yahoo account
4. Generate a fresh app password if needed

Connection timeout

Cause: Firewall blocking port 993 or Yahoo server issues.

Solution:

imap:
  host: imap.mail.yahoo.com
  port: 993
  timeout: 60000  # Increase timeout to 60 seconds
  keepalive: true

"Certificate verify failed"

Cause: SSL/TLS certificate validation issue.

Solution: This is rare with Yahoo. If it occurs:

imap:
  host: imap.mail.yahoo.com
  port: 993
  tls: true
  tls_options:
    minVersion: 'TLSv1.2'

"Please try again later"

Cause: Yahoo is experiencing service issues or rate-limiting.

Solution:

• Check Yahoo Mail Status for outages
• Reduce polling frequency in config
• Wait a few minutes and retry

Yahoo-Specific Considerations

Rate Limits

Yahoo applies rate limits to IMAP connections:

• Connection limit: ~10-15 concurrent connections
• Throttling: Aggressive polling may trigger temporary blocks

To avoid issues:

polling_interval: 120s  # Poll every 2 minutes

accounts:
  - name: yahoo
    imap:
      host: imap.mail.yahoo.com
      keepalive: true
      timeout: 60000

App Password Management

• Revoke unused app passwords regularly in Account Security
• Generate separate app passwords for different applications
• Never share app passwords or commit them to version control

Yahoo Mail Plus

If you have Yahoo Mail Plus (paid account):

• IMAP access works the same way
• No additional configuration needed
• Same app password requirements apply

Security Best Practices

1. Always use app passwords - never your main Yahoo password
2. Enable 2-Step Verification on your Yahoo account
3. Monitor sign-in activity in Account Security
4. Rotate app passwords periodically (every 3-6 months)
5. Revoke unused app passwords when you stop using an application
6. Use environment variables for credentials
7. Never commit passwords to version control

Advanced Configuration

Custom Folder Processing

Process specific Yahoo folders with different settings:

accounts:
  - name: yahoo
    imap:
      host: imap.mail.yahoo.com
      username: ${YAHOO_USER}
      password: ${YAHOO_APP_PASSWORD}

    folders:
      - name: INBOX
        llm_provider: openai
        model: gpt-4o-mini
        prompt: |
          Classify inbox emails...

      - name: Bulk Mail
        llm_provider: ollama  # Use local model for spam folder
        model: llama3.2
        prompt: |
          Review spam classifications...

Connection Pooling

For high-volume processing:

imap:
  host: imap.mail.yahoo.com
  port: 993
  maxConnections: 5      # Max concurrent connections
  keepalive: true        # Keep connections alive
  timeout: 60000         # 60 second timeout

Testing IMAP Connection Manually

Verify IMAP settings with openssl:

openssl s_client -connect imap.mail.yahoo.com:993 -crlf

You should see:

* OK IMAP4rev1 Server ready

Test authentication (replace with your credentials):

a1 LOGIN your.email@yahoo.com your-app-password

Successful login shows:

a1 OK LOGIN completed

Next Steps

• Configure LLM provider
• Write classification prompts
• Test rules in dashboard

Additional Resources

• Yahoo Mail Help - IMAP Settings
• Yahoo Account Security
• Yahoo Mail Status