diff --git a/docs/source/conf.py b/docs/source/conf.py
index 74c3af3ff..d17e7dfe1 100644
--- a/docs/source/conf.py
+++ b/docs/source/conf.py
@@ -262,6 +262,7 @@ autodoc_mock_imports = ['googlesamples.assistant.grpc.audio_helpers',
                         'Adafruit_Python_DHT',
                         'RPi.GPIO',
                         'RPLCD',
+                        'imapclient',
                         ]
 
 sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath('../..'))
diff --git a/platypush/backend/mail.py b/platypush/backend/mail.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..62476ba89
--- /dev/null
+++ b/platypush/backend/mail.py
@@ -0,0 +1,259 @@
+import json
+import os
+import pathlib
+
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from datetime import datetime
+from queue import Queue, Empty
+from threading import Thread, RLock
+from typing import List, Dict, Any, Optional, Tuple
+
+from sqlalchemy import create_engine, Column, Integer, String, DateTime
+import sqlalchemy.engine as engine
+from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker, scoped_session
+from sqlalchemy.ext.declarative import declarative_base
+
+from platypush.backend import Backend
+from platypush.config import Config
+from platypush.context import get_plugin
+from platypush.message.event.mail import MailReceivedEvent, MailSeenEvent
+from platypush.plugins.mail import MailInPlugin, Mail
+
+# <editor-fold desc="Database tables">
+Base = declarative_base()
+Session = scoped_session(sessionmaker())
+
+
+class MailboxStatus(Base):
+    """ Models the MailboxStatus table, containing information about the state of a monitored mailbox. """
+    __tablename__ = 'MailboxStatus'
+
+    mailbox_id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)
+    unseen_message_ids = Column(String, default='[]')
+    last_checked_date = Column(DateTime)
+
+
+# </editor-fold>
+
+# <editor-fold desc="Mailbox model">
+@dataclass
+class Mailbox:
+    plugin: MailInPlugin
+    name: str
+    args: dict
+
+
+# </editor-fold>
+
+
+class MailBackend(Backend):
+    """
+    This backend can subscribe to one or multiple mail servers and trigger events when new messages are received or
+    messages are marked as seen.
+
+    It requires at least one plugin that extends :class:`platypush.plugins.mail.MailInPlugin` (e.g. ``mail.imap``) to
+    be installed.
+
+    Triggers:
+
+        - :class:`platypush.message.event.mail.MailReceivedEvent` when a new message is received.
+        - :class:`platypush.message.event.mail.MailSeenEvent` when a message is marked as seen.
+
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, mailboxes: List[Dict[str, Any]], timeout: Optional[int] = 60, **kwargs):
+        """
+        :param mailboxes: List of mailboxes to be monitored. Each mailbox entry contains a ``plugin`` attribute to
+            identify the :class:`platypush.plugins.mail.MailInPlugin` plugin that will be used (e.g. ``mail.imap``)
+            and the arguments that will be passed to :meth:`platypush.plugins.mail.MailInPlugin.search_unseen_messages`.
+            The ``name`` parameter can be used to identify this mailbox in the relevant events, otherwise
+            ``Mailbox #{id}`` will be used as a name. Example configuration:
+
+            .. code-block:: yaml
+
+            backend.mail:
+                mailboxes:
+                    - plugin: mail.imap
+                      name: "My Local Server"
+                      username: me@mydomain.com
+                      password: my-imap-password
+                      server: localhost
+                      ssl: true
+                      folder: "All Mail"
+
+                    - plugin: mail.imap
+                      name: "GMail"
+                      username: me@gmail.com
+                      password: my-google-password
+                      server: imap.gmail.com
+                      ssl: true
+                      folder: "INBOX"
+
+            If you have a default configuration available for a mail plugin you can implicitly reuse it without
+            replicating it here. Example:
+
+            .. code-block:: yaml
+
+            mail.imap:
+                username: me@mydomain.com
+                password: my-imap-password
+                server: localhost
+                ssl: true
+
+            backend.mail:
+                mailboxes:
+                    # The mail.imap default configuration will be used
+                    - plugin: mail.imap
+                      name: "My Local Server"
+                      folder: "All Mail"
+
+        :param timeout: Connect/read timeout for a mailbox, in seconds (default: 60).
+        """
+        self.logger.info('Initializing mail backend')
+
+        super().__init__(**kwargs)
+        self.mailboxes: List[Mailbox] = []
+        self.timeout = timeout
+        self._unread_msgs: List[Dict[int, Mail]] = [{}] * len(mailboxes)
+        self._db_lock = RLock()
+        self.workdir = os.path.join(os.path.expanduser(Config.get('workdir')), 'mail')
+        self.dbfile = os.path.join(self.workdir, 'backend.db')
+
+        # Parse mailboxes
+        for i, mbox in enumerate(mailboxes):
+            assert 'plugin' in mbox, 'No plugin attribute specified for mailbox n.{}'.format(i)
+            plugin = get_plugin(mbox.pop('plugin'))
+            assert isinstance(plugin, MailInPlugin), '{} is not a MailInPlugin'.format(plugin)
+            name = mbox.pop('name') if 'name' in mbox else 'Mailbox #{}'.format(i + 1)
+            self.mailboxes.append(Mailbox(plugin=plugin, name=name, args=mbox))
+
+        # Configure/sync db
+        pathlib.Path(self.workdir).mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True, mode=0o750)
+        self._db = self._db_get_engine()
+        Base.metadata.create_all(self._db)
+        Session.configure(bind=self._db)
+        self._db_sync_mailboxes()
+        self.logger.info('Mail backend initialized')
+
+    # <editor-fold desc="Database methods">
+    def _db_get_engine(self) -> engine.Engine:
+        return create_engine('sqlite:///{}'.format(self.dbfile), connect_args={'check_same_thread': False})
+
+    def _db_sync_mailboxes(self) -> None:
+        mailbox_ids = list(range(len(self.mailboxes)))
+
+        with self._db_lock:
+            session = Session()
+            records = {
+                record.mailbox_id: record
+                for record in session.query(MailboxStatus).filter(MailboxStatus.mailbox_id.in_(mailbox_ids)).all()
+            }
+
+            for mbox_id, mbox in enumerate(self.mailboxes):
+                if mbox_id not in records:
+                    record = MailboxStatus(mailbox_id=mbox_id, unseen_message_ids='[]')
+                    session.add(record)
+                else:
+                    record = records[mbox_id]
+
+                unseen_msg_ids = json.loads(record.unseen_message_ids or '[]')
+                self._unread_msgs[mbox_id] = {msg_id: {} for msg_id in unseen_msg_ids}
+
+            session.commit()
+
+    def _db_get_mailbox_status(self, mailbox_ids: List[int]) -> Dict[int, MailboxStatus]:
+        with self._db_lock:
+            session = Session()
+            return {
+                record.mailbox_id: record
+                for record in session.query(MailboxStatus).filter(MailboxStatus.mailbox_id.in_(mailbox_ids)).all()
+            }
+
+    # </editor-fold>
+
+    # <editor-fold desc="Parse unread messages logic">
+    @staticmethod
+    def _check_thread(q: Queue, plugin: MailInPlugin, **args):
+        def thread():
+            # noinspection PyUnresolvedReferences
+            unread = plugin.search_unseen_messages(**args).output
+            q.put({msg.id: msg for msg in unread})
+
+        return thread
+
+    def _get_unread_seen_msgs(self, mailbox_idx: int, unread_msgs: Dict[int, Mail]) \
+            -> Tuple[Dict[int, Mail], Dict[int, Mail]]:
+        prev_unread_msgs = self._unread_msgs[mailbox_idx]
+
+        return {
+            msg_id: unread_msgs[msg_id]
+            for msg_id in unread_msgs
+            if msg_id not in prev_unread_msgs
+        }, {
+            msg_id: prev_unread_msgs[msg_id]
+            for msg_id in prev_unread_msgs
+            if msg_id not in unread_msgs
+        }
+
+    def _process_msg_events(self, mailbox_id: int, unread: List[Mail], seen: List[Mail],
+                            last_checked_date: Optional[datetime] = None):
+        for msg in unread:
+            if msg.date and last_checked_date and msg.date < last_checked_date:
+                continue
+            self.bus.post(MailReceivedEvent(mailbox=self.mailboxes[mailbox_id].name, msg=msg))
+        for msg in seen:
+            self.bus.post(MailSeenEvent(mailbox=self.mailboxes[mailbox_id].name, msg=msg))
+
+    def _check_mailboxes(self) -> List[Dict[int, Mail]]:
+        workers = []
+        queues = []
+        results = []
+
+        for mbox in self.mailboxes:
+            q = Queue()
+            worker = Thread(target=self._check_thread(q, plugin=mbox.plugin, **mbox.args))
+            worker.start()
+            workers.append(worker)
+            queues.append(q)
+
+        for worker in workers:
+            worker.join(timeout=self.timeout)
+
+        for i, q in enumerate(queues):
+            try:
+                unread = q.get(timeout=self.timeout)
+                results.append(unread)
+            except Empty:
+                self.logger.warning('Checks on mailbox #{} timed out after {} seconds'.format(i + 1, self.timeout))
+                continue
+
+        return results
+
+    # </editor-fold>
+
+    # <editor-fold desc="Loop function">
+    def loop(self):
+        records = []
+        mailbox_statuses = self._db_get_mailbox_status(list(range(len(self.mailboxes))))
+        results = self._check_mailboxes()
+
+        for i, unread in enumerate(results):
+            unread_msgs, seen_msgs = self._get_unread_seen_msgs(i, unread)
+            self._process_msg_events(i, unread=list(unread_msgs.values()), seen=list(seen_msgs.values()),
+                                     last_checked_date=mailbox_statuses[i].last_checked_date)
+
+            self._unread_msgs[i] = unread
+            records.append(MailboxStatus(mailbox_id=i,
+                                         unseen_message_ids=json.dumps([msg_id for msg_id in unread.keys()]),
+                                         last_checked_date=datetime.now()))
+
+        with self._db_lock:
+            session = Session()
+            for record in records:
+                session.merge(record)
+            session.commit()
+
+    # </editor-fold>
+
+
+# vim:sw=4:ts=4:et:
diff --git a/platypush/message/__init__.py b/platypush/message/__init__.py
index 270ec0bad..5975a065c 100644
--- a/platypush/message/__init__.py
+++ b/platypush/message/__init__.py
@@ -1,12 +1,24 @@
+from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
 import datetime
 import logging
 import inspect
 import json
 import time
+from typing import Union
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
+class JSONAble(ABC):
+    """
+    Generic interface for JSON-able objects.
+    """
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def to_json(self) -> Union[str, list, dict]:
+        raise NotImplementedError()
+
+
 class Message(object):
     """ Message generic class """
 
@@ -48,6 +60,9 @@ class Message(object):
             if value is not None:
                 return value
 
+            if isinstance(obj, JSONAble):
+                return obj.to_json()
+
             return super().default(obj)
 
     def __init__(self, timestamp=None, *args, **kwargs):
diff --git a/platypush/message/event/mail.py b/platypush/message/event/mail.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..866a7c85e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/platypush/message/event/mail.py
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+from typing import Optional, Dict
+
+from platypush.message.event import Event
+
+
+class MailEvent(Event):
+    def __init__(self, mailbox: str, message: Optional[Dict] = None, *args, **kwargs):
+        super().__init__(*args, mailbox=mailbox, message=message or {}, **kwargs)
+
+
+class MailReceivedEvent(MailEvent):
+    """
+    Triggered when a new email is received.
+    """
+    pass
+
+
+class MailSeenEvent(MailEvent):
+    """
+    Triggered when a previously unseen email is seen.
+    """
+    pass
+
+
+# vim:sw=4:ts=4:et:
diff --git a/platypush/plugins/mail/__init__.py b/platypush/plugins/mail/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5da2d57ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/platypush/plugins/mail/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+import inspect
+import os
+import subprocess
+
+from abc import ABC
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from datetime import datetime
+from typing import Optional, List, Union, Any, Dict
+
+from platypush.message import JSONAble
+from platypush.plugins import Plugin, action
+
+
+@dataclass
+class ServerInfo:
+    server: str
+    port: int
+    username: Optional[str]
+    password: Optional[str]
+    ssl: bool
+    keyfile: Optional[str]
+    certfile: Optional[str]
+    access_token: Optional[str]
+    oauth_mechanism: Optional[str]
+    oauth_vendor: Optional[str]
+    timeout: Optional[int]
+
+
+class Mail(JSONAble):
+    def __init__(self, id: int, date: datetime, size: int,
+                 from_: Optional[Union[Dict[str, str], List[str]]] = None,
+                 to: Optional[Union[Dict[str, str], List[str]]] = None,
+                 cc: Optional[Union[Dict[str, str], List[str]]] = None,
+                 bcc: Optional[Union[Dict[str, str], List[str]]] = None, subject: str = '',
+                 payload: Optional[Any] = None, **kwargs):
+        self.id = id
+        self.date = date
+        self.size = size
+        self.from_ = from_ or kwargs.get('from')
+        self.to = to
+        self.cc = cc or []
+        self.bcc = bcc or []
+        self.subject = subject
+        self.payload = payload
+
+        for k, v in kwargs.items():
+            setattr(self, k, v)
+
+    def to_json(self) -> dict:
+        return {
+            k if k != 'from_' else 'from': v
+            for k, v in dict(inspect.getmembers(self)).items()
+            if not k.startswith('_') and not callable(v)
+        }
+
+
+class MailPlugin(Plugin, ABC):
+    """
+    Base class for mail plugins.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, **kwargs):
+        super().__init__(**kwargs)
+        self.server_info: Optional[ServerInfo] = None
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _get_password(password: Optional[str] = None, password_cmd: Optional[str] = None) -> Optional[str]:
+        """
+        Get the password either from a provided string or from a password command.
+        """
+        if not password_cmd:
+            return password
+
+        proc = subprocess.Popen(['sh', '-c', password_cmd], stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
+        password = proc.communicate()[0].decode()
+        return password or None
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _get_path(path: str) -> str:
+        return os.path.abspath(os.path.expanduser(path))
+
+    def _get_server_info(self, server: Optional[str] = None, port: Optional[int] = None, username: Optional[str] = None,
+                         password: Optional[str] = None, password_cmd: Optional[str] = None,
+                         ssl: Optional[bool] = None, keyfile: Optional[str] = None, certfile: Optional[str] = None,
+                         access_token: Optional[str] = None, oauth_mechanism: Optional[str] = None,
+                         oauth_vendor: Optional[str] = None, default_port: Optional[int] = None,
+                         default_ssl_port: Optional[int] = None, timeout: Optional[int] = None, **kwargs) \
+            -> ServerInfo:
+        if not port:
+            port = default_ssl_port if ssl else default_port
+
+        info = ServerInfo(server=server, port=port, username=username,
+                          password=self._get_password(password, password_cmd), ssl=ssl, keyfile=keyfile,
+                          certfile=certfile, access_token=access_token, oauth_mechanism=oauth_mechanism,
+                          oauth_vendor=oauth_vendor, timeout=timeout)
+
+        if server:
+            return info
+
+        if self.server_info:
+            assert self.server_info.server, 'No server specified'
+            return self.server_info
+
+        return info
+
+
+class MailInPlugin(MailPlugin, ABC):
+    """
+    Base class for mail in plugins.
+    """
+
+    @action
+    def get_folders(self) -> list:
+        raise NotImplementedError()
+
+    @action
+    def get_sub_folders(self) -> list:
+        raise NotImplementedError()
+
+    @action
+    def search(self, criteria: str, directory: Optional[str] = None) -> list:
+        raise NotImplementedError()
+
+    @action
+    def search_unseen_messages(self, directory: Optional[str] = None) -> list:
+        raise NotImplementedError()
+
+    @action
+    def get_message(self, id) -> dict:
+        raise NotImplementedError()
+
+
+# vim:sw=4:ts=4:et:
diff --git a/platypush/plugins/mail/imap.py b/platypush/plugins/mail/imap.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..118270582
--- /dev/null
+++ b/platypush/plugins/mail/imap.py
@@ -0,0 +1,341 @@
+import email
+from typing import Optional, List, Dict, Union, Any, Tuple
+
+from imapclient import IMAPClient
+from imapclient.response_types import Address
+
+from platypush.plugins import action
+from platypush.plugins.mail import MailInPlugin, ServerInfo, Mail
+
+
+class MailImapPlugin(MailInPlugin):
+    """
+    Plugin to interact with a mail server over IMAP.
+
+    Requires:
+
+        * **imapclient** (``pip install imapclient``)
+
+    """
+
+    _default_port = 143
+    _default_ssl_port = 993
+
+    def __init__(self, server: str, port: Optional[int] = None, username: Optional[str] = None,
+                 password: Optional[str] = None, password_cmd: Optional[str] = None, access_token: Optional[str] = None,
+                 oauth_mechanism: Optional[str] = 'XOAUTH2', oauth_vendor: Optional[str] = None, ssl: bool = False,
+                 keyfile: Optional[str] = None, certfile: Optional[str] = None, timeout: Optional[int] = 60, **kwargs):
+        """
+        :param server: Server name/address.
+        :param port: Port (default: 143 for plain, 993 for SSL).
+        :param username: IMAP username.
+        :param password: IMAP password.
+        :param password_cmd: If you don't want to input your password in the configuration, run this command to fetch
+            or decrypt the password.
+        :param access_token: OAuth2 access token if the server supports OAuth authentication.
+        :param oauth_mechanism: OAuth2 mechanism (default: ``XOAUTH2``).
+        :param oauth_vendor: OAuth2 vendor (default: None).
+        :param ssl: Use SSL (default: False).
+        :param keyfile: Private key file for SSL connection if client authentication is required.
+        :param certfile: SSL certificate file or chain.
+        :param timeout: Server connect/read timeout in seconds (default: 60).
+        """
+        super().__init__(**kwargs)
+        self.server_info = self._get_server_info(server=server, port=port, username=username, password=password,
+                                                 password_cmd=password_cmd, ssl=ssl, keyfile=keyfile, certfile=certfile,
+                                                 access_token=access_token, oauth_mechanism=oauth_mechanism,
+                                                 oauth_vendor=oauth_vendor, timeout=timeout)
+
+    def _get_server_info(self, server: Optional[str] = None, port: Optional[int] = None, username: Optional[str] = None,
+                         password: Optional[str] = None, password_cmd: Optional[str] = None,
+                         access_token: Optional[str] = None, oauth_mechanism: Optional[str] = None,
+                         oauth_vendor: Optional[str] = None, ssl: Optional[bool] = None, keyfile: Optional[str] = None,
+                         certfile: Optional[str] = None, timeout: Optional[int] = None, **kwargs) -> ServerInfo:
+        return super()._get_server_info(server=server, port=port, username=username, password=password,
+                                        password_cmd=password_cmd, ssl=ssl, keyfile=keyfile, certfile=certfile,
+                                        default_port=self._default_port, default_ssl_port=self._default_ssl_port,
+                                        access_token=access_token, oauth_mechanism=oauth_mechanism,
+                                        oauth_vendor=oauth_vendor, timeout=timeout)
+
+    def connect(self, **connect_args) -> IMAPClient:
+        info = self._get_server_info(**connect_args)
+        self.logger.info('Connecting to {}'.format(info.server))
+        context = None
+
+        if info.ssl:
+            import ssl
+            context = ssl.create_default_context()
+            context.load_cert_chain(certfile=info.certfile, keyfile=info.keyfile)
+
+        client = IMAPClient(host=info.server, port=info.port, ssl=info.ssl, ssl_context=context)
+        if info.password:
+            client.login(info.username, info.password)
+        elif info.access_token:
+            client.oauth2_login(info.username, access_token=info.access_token, mech=info.oauth_mechanism,
+                                vendor=info.oauth_vendor)
+
+        return client
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _get_folders(data: List[tuple]) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
+        folders = []
+        for line in data:
+            (flags), delimiter, mailbox_name = line
+            folders.append({
+                'name': mailbox_name,
+                'flags': [flag.decode() for flag in flags],
+                'delimiter': delimiter.decode(),
+            })
+
+        return folders
+
+    @action
+    def get_folders(self, folder: str = '', pattern: str = '*', **connect_args) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
+        """
+        Get the list of all the folders hosted on the server or those matching a pattern.
+
+        :param folder: Base folder (default: root).
+        :param pattern: Pattern to search (default: None).
+        :param connect_args: Arguments to pass to :meth:`._get_server_info` for server configuration override.
+        :return: Example:
+
+        .. code-block:: json
+
+            [
+                {
+                    "name": "INBOX",
+                    "flags": "\\Noinferiors",
+                    "delimiter": "/"
+                },
+                {
+                    "name": "Archive",
+                    "flags": "\\Noinferiors",
+                    "delimiter": "/"
+                },
+                {
+                    "name": "Spam",
+                    "flags": "\\Noinferiors",
+                    "delimiter": "/"
+                }
+            ]
+
+        """
+        with self.connect(**connect_args) as client:
+            data = client.list_folders(directory=folder, pattern=pattern)
+
+        return self._get_folders(data)
+
+    @action
+    def get_sub_folders(self, folder: str = '', pattern: str = '*', **connect_args) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
+        """
+        Get the list of all the sub-folders hosted on the server or those matching a pattern.
+
+        :param folder: Base folder (default: root).
+        :param pattern: Pattern to search (default: None).
+        :param connect_args: Arguments to pass to :meth:`._get_server_info` for server configuration override.
+        :return: Example:
+
+        .. code-block:: json
+
+            [
+                {
+                    "name": "INBOX",
+                    "flags": "\\Noinferiors",
+                    "delimiter": "/"
+                },
+                {
+                    "name": "Archive",
+                    "flags": "\\Noinferiors",
+                    "delimiter": "/"
+                },
+                {
+                    "name": "Spam",
+                    "flags": "\\Noinferiors",
+                    "delimiter": "/"
+                }
+            ]
+
+        """
+        with self.connect(**connect_args) as client:
+            data = client.list_sub_folders(directory=folder, pattern=pattern)
+
+        return self._get_folders(data)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _parse_address(imap_addr: Address) -> Dict[str, str]:
+        return {
+            'name': imap_addr.name.decode() if imap_addr.name else None,
+            'route': imap_addr.route.decode() if imap_addr.route else None,
+            'email': '{name}@{host}'.format(name=imap_addr.mailbox.decode(), host=imap_addr.host.decode())
+        }
+
+    @classmethod
+    def _parse_addresses(cls, addresses: Optional[Tuple[Address]] = None) -> Dict[str, Dict[str, str]]:
+        ret = {}
+        if addresses:
+            for addr in addresses:
+                addr = cls._parse_address(addr)
+                ret[addr['email']] = addr
+
+        return ret
+
+    @classmethod
+    def _parse_message(cls, msg_id: int, imap_msg: Dict[bytes, Any]) -> Mail:
+        message = {
+            'id': msg_id,
+            'seq': imap_msg[b'SEQ'],
+        }
+
+        if imap_msg.get(b'FLAGS'):
+            message['flags'] = [flag.decode() for flag in imap_msg[b'FLAGS'] if flag]
+        if b'INTERNALDATE' in imap_msg:
+            message['internal_date'] = imap_msg[b'INTERNALDATE']
+        if b'RFC822.SIZE' in imap_msg:
+            message['size'] = imap_msg[b'RFC822.SIZE']
+        if b'ENVELOPE' in imap_msg:
+            envelope = imap_msg[b'ENVELOPE']
+            message['bcc'] = cls._parse_addresses(envelope.bcc)
+            message['cc'] = cls._parse_addresses(envelope.cc)
+            message['date'] = envelope.date
+            message['from'] = cls._parse_addresses(envelope.from_)
+            message['message_id'] = envelope.message_id.decode() if envelope.message_id else None
+            message['in_reply_to'] = envelope.in_reply_to.decode() if envelope.in_reply_to else None
+            message['reply_to'] = cls._parse_addresses(envelope.reply_to)
+            message['sender'] = cls._parse_addresses(envelope.sender)
+            message['subject'] = envelope.subject.decode() if envelope.subject else None
+            message['to'] = cls._parse_addresses(envelope.to)
+
+        return Mail(**message)
+
+    @action
+    def search(self, criteria: Union[str, List[str]] = 'ALL', folder: str = 'INBOX',
+               attributes: Optional[List[str]] = None, **connect_args) -> List[Mail]:
+        """
+        Search for messages on the server that fit the specified criteria.
+
+        :param criteria: It should be a sequence of one or more criteria items. Each criteria item may be either unicode
+            or bytes (default: ``ALL``). Example values::
+
+                ['UNSEEN']
+                ['SMALLER', 500]
+                ['NOT', 'DELETED']
+                ['TEXT', 'foo bar', 'FLAGGED', 'SUBJECT', 'baz']
+                ['SINCE', '2020-03-14T12:13:45+00:00']
+
+            It is also possible (but not recommended) to pass the combined criteria as a single string. In this case
+            IMAPClient won't perform quoting, allowing lower-level specification of criteria. Examples of this style::
+
+                'UNSEEN'
+                'SMALLER 500'
+                'NOT DELETED'
+                'TEXT "foo bar" FLAGGED SUBJECT "baz"'
+                'SINCE 03-Apr-2005'
+
+            To support complex search expressions, criteria lists can be nested. The following will match messages that
+            are both not flagged and do not have "foo" in the subject::
+
+                ['NOT', ['SUBJECT', 'foo', 'FLAGGED']]
+
+        :param folder: Folder to search (default: ``INBOX``).
+        :param attributes: Attributes that should be retrieved, according to
+            `RFC 3501 <https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3501>`_
+            (default: ``ALL`` = ``[FLAGS INTERNALDATE RFC822.SIZE ENVELOPE]``).
+            Note that ``BODY`` will be ignored if specified here for performance reasons - use :meth:`.get_message` if
+            you want to get the full content of a message known its ID from :meth:`.search`.
+
+        :param connect_args: Arguments to pass to :meth:`._get_server_info` for server configuration override.
+        :return: List of messages matching the criteria. Example:
+
+        .. code-block:: json
+
+            [
+              {
+                "id": 702,
+                "seq": 671,
+                "flags": [
+                  "nonjunk"
+                ],
+                "internal_date": "2020-08-30T00:31:52+00:00",
+                "size": 2908738,
+                "bcc": {},
+                "cc": {},
+                "date": "2020-08-30T00:31:52+00:00",
+                "from": {
+                  "test123@gmail.com": {
+                    "name": "A test",
+                    "route": null,
+                    "email": "test123@gmail.com"
+                  }
+                },
+                "message_id": "<SOMETHING@mail.gmail.com>",
+                "in_reply_to": "<SOMETHING@mail.gmail.com>",
+                "reply_to": {},
+                "sender": {
+                  "test123@gmail.com": {
+                    "name": "A test",
+                    "route": null,
+                    "email": "test123@gmail.com"
+                  }
+                },
+                "subject": "Test email",
+                "to": {
+                  "me@gmail.com": {
+                    "name": null,
+                    "route": null,
+                    "email": "me@gmail.com"
+                  }
+                }
+              }
+            ]
+
+        """
+        if not attributes:
+            attributes = ['ALL']
+        else:
+            attributes = [attr.upper() for attr in attributes]
+
+        data = {}
+        with self.connect(**connect_args) as client:
+            client.select_folder(folder, readonly=True)
+            ids = client.search(criteria)
+            if len(ids):
+                data = client.fetch(list(ids), attributes)
+
+        messages = [
+            self._parse_message(msg_id, data[msg_id])
+            for msg_id in sorted(data.keys())
+        ]
+
+        return messages
+
+    @action
+    def search_unseen_messages(self, folder: str = 'INBOX', **connect_args) -> List[Mail]:
+        """
+        Shortcut for :meth:`.search` that returns only the unread messages.
+        """
+        return self.search(criteria='UNSEEN', directory=folder, attributes=['ALL'], **connect_args)
+
+    @action
+    def get_message(self, id: int, folder: str = 'INBOX', **connect_args) -> Mail:
+        """
+        Get the full content of a message given the ID returned by :meth:`.search`.
+
+        :param id: Message ID.
+        :param folder: Folder name (default: ``INBOX``).
+        :param connect_args: Arguments to pass to :meth:`._get_server_info` for server configuration override.
+        :return: A message in the same format as :meth:`.search`, with an added ``payload`` attribute containing the
+            body/payload.
+        """
+        with self.connect(**connect_args) as client:
+            client.select_folder(folder, readonly=True)
+            data = client.fetch(id, ['ALL', 'RFC822'])
+            assert id in data, 'No such message ID: {}'.format(id)
+
+            data = data[id]
+            ret = self._parse_message(id, data)
+            msg = email.message_from_bytes(data[b'RFC822'])
+            ret.payload = msg.get_payload()
+
+        return ret
+
+# vim:sw=4:ts=4:et:
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index c2737dd3b..310c8b8fa 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -293,3 +293,5 @@ croniter
 # RPi.GPIO
 # RPLCD
 
+# Support for IMAP mail integration
+# imapclient
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 0371af90c..948c4a023 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -330,5 +330,7 @@ setup(
         'dht': ['Adafruit_Python_DHT @ git+https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_Python_DHT'],
         # Support for LCD display integration
         'lcd': ['RPi.GPIO', 'RPLCD'],
+        # Support for IMAP mail integration
+        'imap': ['imapclient'],
     },
 )