Fetchmail

Fetchmail
Original authorEric S. Raymond
Stable release
6.6.2  / 9 December 2025 (9 December 2025)
Operating systemUnix-like
TypeMail delivery agent
LicenseGNU General Public License
Websitewww.fetchmail.info
Repository

Fetchmail is an open-source software utility for POSIX-compliant operating systems which is used to retrieve e-mail from a remote POP3, IMAP, or ODMR mail server to the user's local system. It was developed from the popclient program, written by Carl Harris.

Its chief significance is perhaps that its author, Eric S. Raymond, used it as a model to discuss his theories of open-source software development in a widely read and influential essay on software development methodologies The Cathedral and the Bazaar.