Zimbra API Integration

Guide for integrating with Zimbra using SOAP API, REST API, and LDAP queries.

API Overview

Zimbra provides multiple integration interfaces:

Interface	Use Case	Port
SOAP API	Full functionality, admin operations	7071 (admin), 443 (user)
REST API	Calendar, contacts, documents	443
GraphQL	Modern web client (9.x+)	443
LDAP	Directory queries, provisioning	389

SOAP API

Authentication

User Authentication

xml

<!-- AuthRequest -->
<soap:Envelope xmlns:soap="http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-envelope">
  <soap:Body>
    <AuthRequest xmlns="urn:zimbraAccount">
      <account by="name">user@domain.com</account>
      <password>userpassword</password>
    </AuthRequest>
  </soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>

Response provides authToken for subsequent requests.

Admin Authentication

xml

<!-- Admin AuthRequest (port 7071) -->
<soap:Envelope xmlns:soap="http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-envelope">
  <soap:Body>
    <AuthRequest xmlns="urn:zimbraAdmin">
      <account by="name">admin@domain.com</account>
      <password>adminpassword</password>
    </AuthRequest>
  </soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>

Preauth (SSO)

Generate preauth token for seamless login:

python

import hashlib
import hmac
import time

def generate_preauth(account, preauth_key, timestamp=None, expires=0):
    """Generate Zimbra preauth token"""
    if timestamp is None:
        timestamp = int(time.time() * 1000)

    # Format: account|by|expires|timestamp
    data = f"{account}|name|{expires}|{timestamp}"

    signature = hmac.new(
        preauth_key.encode(),
        data.encode(),
        hashlib.sha1
    ).hexdigest()

    return {
        'account': account,
        'timestamp': timestamp,
        'expires': expires,
        'preauth': signature
    }

xml

<!-- PreauthRequest -->
<soap:Envelope xmlns:soap="http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-envelope">
  <soap:Body>
    <AuthRequest xmlns="urn:zimbraAccount">
      <account by="name">user@domain.com</account>
      <preauth timestamp="1234567890000" expires="0">computed-signature</preauth>
    </AuthRequest>
  </soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>

Common SOAP Requests

Get Account Info

xml

<GetAccountInfoRequest xmlns="urn:zimbraAccount">
  <account by="name">user@domain.com</account>
</GetAccountInfoRequest>

Search Messages

xml

<SearchRequest xmlns="urn:zimbraMail" types="message" limit="100">
  <query>in:inbox is:unread</query>
</SearchRequest>

Send Message

xml

<SendMsgRequest xmlns="urn:zimbraMail">
  <m>
    <e t="t" a="recipient@domain.com"/>
    <su>Subject</su>
    <mp ct="text/plain">
      <content>Message body</content>
    </mp>
  </m>
</SendMsgRequest>

Create Appointment

xml

<CreateAppointmentRequest xmlns="urn:zimbraMail">
  <m>
    <inv>
      <comp name="Meeting">
        <s d="20240115T100000" tz="America/New_York"/>
        <e d="20240115T110000" tz="America/New_York"/>
      </comp>
    </inv>
    <su>Team Meeting</su>
  </m>
</CreateAppointmentRequest>

Using zmsoap

Command-line SOAP client:

bash

# User request
zmsoap -z -m user@domain.com GetInfoRequest

# Admin request
zmsoap -z -a admin@domain.com GetAllAccountsRequest

# With specific namespace
zmsoap -z -t account GetAccountInfoRequest @by=name @account=user@domain.com

# Search
zmsoap -z -m user@domain.com SearchRequest @types=message query "in:inbox"

REST API

URL Patterns

code

# Calendar (iCal)
https://mail.domain.com/home/user@domain.com/calendar?fmt=ics

# Contacts (vCard)
https://mail.domain.com/home/user@domain.com/contacts?fmt=vcf

# Briefcase files
https://mail.domain.com/home/user@domain.com/Briefcase/file.pdf

# Search results
https://mail.domain.com/home/user@domain.com/?fmt=json&query=in:inbox

Authentication Methods

bash

# Basic auth
curl -u user@domain.com:password \
  "https://mail.domain.com/home/user@domain.com/calendar?fmt=ics"

# Auth token cookie
curl -b "ZM_AUTH_TOKEN=authtoken" \
  "https://mail.domain.com/home/user@domain.com/calendar"

# Preauth URL
curl "https://mail.domain.com/service/preauth?account=user@domain.com&timestamp=...&preauth=..."

Common REST Operations

bash

# Export calendar
curl -u user:pass "https://mail/home/user/calendar?fmt=ics" > calendar.ics

# Import contacts
curl -u user:pass -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: text/vcard" \
  --data-binary @contacts.vcf \
  "https://mail/home/user/contacts"

# Upload to Briefcase
curl -u user:pass -X PUT \
  --data-binary @document.pdf \
  "https://mail/home/user/Briefcase/document.pdf"

# Get folder structure
curl -u user:pass "https://mail/home/user/?fmt=json&view=folder"

LDAP Integration

Connection Parameters

bash

# Get LDAP password
zmlocalconfig -s -m nokey zimbra_ldap_password

# LDAP URL
ldap://localhost:389

# Base DN
zimbra

Common Queries

bash

# Search all accounts
ldapsearch -x -H ldap://localhost:389 \
  -D "uid=zimbra,cn=admins,cn=zimbra" \
  -w "$(zmlocalconfig -s -m nokey zimbra_ldap_password)" \
  -b "ou=people,dc=domain,dc=com" \
  "(objectClass=zimbraAccount)"

# Find user by email
ldapsearch -x -H ldap://localhost:389 \
  -D "uid=zimbra,cn=admins,cn=zimbra" \
  -w "$(zmlocalconfig -s -m nokey zimbra_ldap_password)" \
  -b "" \
  "(mail=user@domain.com)"

# Get domain info
ldapsearch -x -H ldap://localhost:389 \
  -D "uid=zimbra,cn=admins,cn=zimbra" \
  -w "$(zmlocalconfig -s -m nokey zimbra_ldap_password)" \
  -b "dc=domain,dc=com" \
  "(objectClass=zimbraDomain)"

Python LDAP Example

python

import ldap

# Connect
conn = ldap.initialize('ldap://zimbra-server:389')
conn.simple_bind_s('uid=zimbra,cn=admins,cn=zimbra', ldap_password)

# Search accounts
results = conn.search_s(
    'ou=people,dc=domain,dc=com',
    ldap.SCOPE_SUBTREE,
    '(objectClass=zimbraAccount)',
    ['mail', 'displayName', 'zimbraAccountStatus']
)

for dn, attrs in results:
    print(f"{attrs.get('mail', [b''])[0].decode()}: {attrs.get('displayName', [b''])[0].decode()}")

GraphQL API (9.x+)

Modern Web Client uses GraphQL:

graphql

# Endpoint: /graphql

# Get folders
query {
  getFolder {
    folders {
      id
      name
      unread
    }
  }
}

# Search messages
query {
  search(query: "in:inbox", types: MESSAGE, limit: 50) {
    messages {
      id
      subject
      from {
        address
      }
    }
  }
}

Error Handling

Common Error Codes

Code	Meaning
`account.AUTH_FAILED`	Invalid credentials
`account.NO_SUCH_ACCOUNT`	Account not found
`service.PERM_DENIED`	Insufficient permissions
`mail.NO_SUCH_FOLDER`	Folder not found
`mail.QUOTA_EXCEEDED`	Mailbox full

Retry Logic

python

import time

def make_soap_request(url, body, max_retries=3):
    for attempt in range(max_retries):
        try:
            response = requests.post(url, data=body, timeout=30)
            response.raise_for_status()
            return response
        except requests.exceptions.Timeout:
            if attempt < max_retries - 1:
                time.sleep(2 ** attempt)
            else:
                raise

Additional Resources

Reference Files

•references/soap-api-reference.md - Complete SOAP namespace documentation
•references/ldap-schema.md - Zimbra LDAP schema details

Example Files

•examples/soap-client.py - Python SOAP client wrapper
•examples/preauth-generator.py - Generate preauth tokens