Is an e-mail address a URI?

Question

I've tried to figure out whether the format of an e-mail address can be said to comply with the definition of a URI or not, but I've found no explicit confirmation of this so far. I hope someone can provide me with some insight here. Thanks in advance :)

score 40 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 10 '12 at 19:24

40

Yes, but with "mailto:" prefix.

A URI has this form:

<scheme>:<scheme-specific-part>

The <scheme> is "mailto", the <scheme-specific-part> is the address.

For example:

mailto:max@provider.com

is a valid URI.

edited Apr 10 '12 at 19:24

zzzzBov

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answered Feb 02 '10 at 14:36

Massimo Fazzolari

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So, without the `mailto:` scheme, an email address cannot be considered a URI? – SarahofGaia Apr 29 '16 at 17:37

score 18 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 02 '10 at 14:37

Per RFC 3986:

A Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) is a compact sequence of characters that identifies an abstract or physical resource.

The basic syntax components as defined by the RFC:

The generic URI syntax consists of a hierarchical sequence of
components referred to as the scheme, authority, path, query, and
fragment.

  URI         = scheme ":" hier-part [ "?" query ] [ "#" fragment ]

  hier-part   = "//" authority path-abempty
              / path-absolute
              / path-rootless
              / path-empty

So - an e-mail address is not a URI. However mailto:you@server.com is a valid URI.

score 5 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 02 '10 at 14:36

5

An e-mail address on it's own - foo@bar.com - I'd say no. A link to an e-mail address - mailto:foo@bar.com - I'd say yes.

answered Feb 02 '10 at 14:36

Mike Anchor

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A URI doesn't need to include the scheme part (`mailto`) to be valid. – McDowell Feb 02 '10 at 14:42
@Massimo Fazzolari - yes, you are correct - I was mistaken - the ABNF for RFC 3986 requires a scheme. – McDowell Feb 02 '10 at 14:59

Deniz Acay · Answer 4 · 2010-02-02T15:08:08.457

2

yes when used with "mailto" scheme, look here: http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2396.txt

1.3. Example URI

The following examples illustrate URI that are in common use.

mailto:mduerst@ifi.unizh.ch
-- mailto scheme for electronic mail addresses

edited Feb 02 '10 at 15:08

answered Feb 02 '10 at 14:34

Deniz Acay

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section 1.3 of the rfc has an email example – ron Feb 02 '10 at 14:37
but only with the "mailto" qualifier. Think of it this way, HREF's takes URIs. – Stephen Wrighton Feb 02 '10 at 14:40
@Stephen Wrighton - a URI doesn't need to include the scheme part (`mailto`) to be valid. – McDowell Feb 02 '10 at 14:44
@McDowell: Cite? RFC 3986 appears to disagree. – Andrew Aylett Feb 02 '10 at 14:49
@Andrew Aylett - yes, you are correct - I was mistaken - the ABNF clearly requires a scheme. – McDowell Feb 02 '10 at 14:57

score 2 · Answer 5 · edited Oct 07 '21 at 06:06

2

If all URL's are URI's then all soandso@somwhere.com address are URIs because they are URLs

So I think an email address is a URI, if it has mailto: in front of it.

https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2368 https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1738

edited Oct 07 '21 at 06:06

Community

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answered Feb 02 '10 at 14:38

MatthewMartin

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score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Feb 02 '10 at 14:38

I think it is, if it includes the "mailto:" schema reference in the address; otherwise not. But as it is only seen at html pages, in the most of cases the email address it self could not be considered a URI.

If you haven't checked before, take a look at RFC3305 document.

The official register of URI scheme names is maintained by IANA at http://www.iana.org/assignments/uri-schemes.html

I hope it helps, Carlos.

Is an e-mail address a URI?

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