JMail
A modern, fast, zero-dependency library for working with email addresses and performing email address validation in Java.
Built for Java 8 and up.
Why JMail? • Installation • Usage • IP Validation • Contributing
Why JMail?
JMail was built mainly because I wanted to tackle the complex problem of email address validation without using Regex. Along the way, JMail became a much better choice than other Java email validation libraries (such as Apache Commons Validator or Jakarta (Javax) Mail Validation) for the following reasons:
-
JMail is more correct than other libraries. For example, both Apache Commons and Jakarta Mail consider
first@[email protected]as a valid email address! It clearly is not, as it has two@characters. JMail correctly considers this address invalid. You can see a full comparison of correctness and try it out for yourself online. -
JMail is faster than other libraries by, on average, at least 2x, thanks in part to lack of regex.
-
JMail has zero dependencies and is very lightweight.
-
JMail is modern. It is built for Java 8+, and provides many useful methods and data accessors.
Click here for a full report of the differences in correctness and speed between JMail and other libraries.
While JMail is more correct than other libraries, I cannot guarantee that it is 100% correct. Email RFCs are long and complex, and I have likely missed some specific details. Please open an issue if you find an incorrect validation result for a specific email (or even better, a pull request with a fix).
I also highly recommend that you send verification emails to user-provided email addresses. This is the only way to ensure that the email address exists and that the recipient wants that email address to be used.
Installation
Add this library as a dependency in your pom.xml:
<dependency>
<groupId>com.sanctionco.jmail</groupId>
<artifactId>jmail</artifactId>
<version>1.2.2</version>
</dependency>
Usage
Standard Email Validation
To perform standard email validation, use the static methods available in JMail. For example, to test validation:
String email = "[email protected]";
if (JMail.isValid(email)) {
// Work with your email string
}
Or to enforce validation, throwing an InvalidEmailException on failure:
String email = "[email protected]";
try {
JMail.enforceValid(email);
// Work with your email string
} catch (InvalidEmailException) {
// Handle invalid email
}
Custom Email Validation
JMail also provides an EmailValidator class that allows for much more customization of what constitutes a valid email address. You can require additional common validation rules, or supply your own. For example:
// In general, you should use JMail.strictValidator()
EmailValidator validator = JMail.strictValidator()
// Require that the top-level-domain is ".com"
.requireOnlyTopLevelDomains(TopLevelDomain.DOT_COM)
// Require that the local-part starts with "allowed"
.withRule(email -> email.localPart().startsWith("allowed"));
boolean valid = validator.isValid("[email protected]");
boolean invalidWithoutTld = validator.isValid("allowed@test");
boolean invalidWithoutDotCom = validator.isValid("[email protected]");
boolean invalidWithoutAllowed = validator.isValid("[email protected]");
The Email Object
JMail also includes an Email object that makes working with email addresses easier. The Email object has the following properties:
| Property getter | Description | Example using test(hello)@(world)example.one.com |
|---|---|---|
| localPart() | The local-part of the email address | test(hello) |
| localPartWithoutComments() | The local-part of the email address without comments | test |
| domain() | The domain of the email address | (world)example.one.com |
| domainWithoutComments() | The domain of the email address without comments | example.one.com |
| domainParts() | A list of the parts of the domain | [example, one, com] |
| identifier() | The identifier of the email address, if it has one. | null(For Admin <[email protected]>, it would be Admin) |
| comments() | A list of the comments in the email address | [hello, world] |
| explicitSourceRoutes() | A list of explicit source routes in the address, if present | [](For @1st.relay,@2nd.relay:[email protected], it would be [1st.relay, 2nd.relay]) |
| isIpAddress() | Whether or not the domain is an IP address | false |
| hasIdentifier() | Whether or not the address has an identifier | false |
| topLevelDomain() | The TopLevelDomain of the email address, or TopLevelDomain.OTHER if it is unknown |
TopLevelDomain.DOT_COM |
To create a new instance of Email from a string, use the tryParse(String email) method, either the default version or on your own EmailValidator instance:
Optional<Email> parsed = JMail.tryParse("[email protected]");
Optional<Email> parsed = JMail.validator()
.disallowIpDomain()
.tryParse("[email protected]");
Since tryParse(String email) returns an Optional<Email>, you can do some cool things, such as:
Use a default email address
String email = JMail.tryParse("invalidEmailString")
.map(Email::toString)
.orElse("[email protected]");
Send an email if the address is valid
JMail.tryParse("[email protected]")
.ifPresentOrElse(
email -> myEmailService.sendTo(email.toString()),
() -> log.error("Could not send email to invalid email"));
Additional Validation Rules
Disallow IP Address Domain
Although an email with an IP address in the domain is valid, these email addresses are often rejected from mail servers or only used for spam. You can require that your EmailValidator reject all emails with an IP address in the domain:
JMail.validator().disallowIpDomain();
Note:
JMail.strictValidator()includes this rule automatically.
Require a Top Level Domain
Although an email address can be a local domain name with no TLD, ICANN highly discourages dotless email addresses. You can require that your EmailValidator reject all emails without a TLD:
JMail.validator().requireTopLevelDomain();
Note:
JMail.strictValidator()includes this rule automatically.
Disallow Explicit Source Routing
Explicit source routing has been deprecated as of RFC 5321 and you SHOULD NOT use explicit source routing except under unusual circumstances.
JMail.validator().disallowExplicitSourceRouting();
Note:
JMail.strictValidator()includes this rule automatically.
Disallow Reserved Domains
As specified in RFC 2606, some domains are reserved and should not be resolvable. Mail addressed to mailboxes in those reserved domains (and their subdomains) should be non-deliverable. You can require that your EmailValidator reject all emails that have a reserved domain:
JMail.validator().disallowReservedDomains();
Disallow Quoted Identifiers
If you want email addresses to only be the raw email address, use this rule. Adding this will invalidate addresses of the form John Smith <[email protected]>.
JMail.validator().disallowQuotedIdentifiers();
Require a specific common Top Level Domain
You can require that your EmailValidator reject all emails that have a top-level domain other than the ones you specify:
JMail.validator().requireOnlyTopLevelDomains(TopLevelDomain.DOT_COM);
JMail.validator().requireOnlyTopLevelDomains(
TopLevelDomain.DOT_NET, TopLevelDomain.DOT_EDU);
Bonus: IP Address Validation
Since validating email addresses requires validation of IP addresses, these IP address validation methods are exposed for your convenience!
Determine if an IP Address is Valid
String ipv4 = "12.34.56.78";
if (InternetProtocolAddress.isValid(ipv4)) {
// Use address
}
String ipv6 = "IPv6:2001:db8::1234:5678";
if (InternetProtocolAddress.isValid(ipv6)) {
// Use address
}
Enforce an IP Address to be Valid
String ipv4 = "12.34.56.78";
try {
InternetProtocolAddress.enforceValid(ipv4);
} catch (InvalidAddressException e) {
// Failure
}
String ipv6 = "IPv6:2001:db8::1234:5678";
try {
InternetProtocolAddress.enforceValid(ipv6);
} catch (InvalidAddressException e) {
// Failure
}
Validate and return the IP
String ipv4 = "12.34.56.78";
Optional<String> validated = InternetProtocolAddress.validate(ipv4);
// The validate() method allows for convenience such as:
String ip = InternetProtocolAddress
.validate("notvalid")
.orElse("0.0.0.0");
String ipv6 = "IPv6:2001:db8::1234:5678";
Optional<String> validated = InternetProtocolAddress.validate(ipv6);
// The validate() method allows for convenience such as:
String ip = InternetProtocolAddress
.validate("notvalid")
.orElse("IPv6:2001:db8::1234:5678");
Contributing
All contributions are welcome! Open issues for bug reports or feature requests. Pull requests with fixes or enhancements are encouraged.
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