[3.14] gh-142307: restore legacy support for altering IMAP4.file

Lib/imaplib.py

@@ -316,25 +316,30 @@ def open(self, host='', port=IMAP4_PORT, timeout=None):
         self.host = host
         self.port = port
         self.sock = self._create_socket(timeout)
-        self._file = self.sock.makefile('rb')
-
+        # Since IMAP4 implements its own read() and readline() buffering,
+        # the '_imaplib_file' attribute is unused. Nonetheless it is kept
+        # and exposed solely for backward compatibility purposes.
+        self._imaplib_file = self.sock.makefile('rb')
 
     @property
     def file(self):
-        # The old 'file' attribute is no longer used now that we do our own
-        # read() and readline() buffering, with which it conflicts.
-        # As an undocumented interface, it should never have been accessed by
-        # external code, and therefore does not warrant deprecation.
-        # Nevertheless, we provide this property for now, to avoid suddenly
-        # breaking any code in the wild that might have been using it in a
-        # harmless way.
-        import warnings
-        warnings.warn(
-            'IMAP4.file is unsupported, can cause errors, and may be removed.',
-            RuntimeWarning,
-            stacklevel=2)
-        return self._file
-
+        return self._imaplib_file
+
+    @file.setter
+    def file(self, value):
+        # Ideally, we would want to close the previous file,
+        # but since we do not know how subclasses will use
+        # that setter, it is probably better to leave it to
+        # the caller.
+        self._imaplib_file = value
+
+    def _close_imaplib_file(self):
+        file = self._imaplib_file
+        if file is not None:
+            try:
+                file.close()
+            except OSError:
+                pass
 
     def read(self, size):
         """Read 'size' bytes from remote."""
@@ -420,7 +425,7 @@ def send(self, data):
 
     def shutdown(self):
         """Close I/O established in "open"."""
-        self._file.close()
+        self._close_imaplib_file()
         try:
             self.sock.shutdown(socket.SHUT_RDWR)
         except OSError as exc:
@@ -924,9 +929,10 @@ def starttls(self, ssl_context=None):
             ssl_context = ssl._create_stdlib_context()
         typ, dat = self._simple_command(name)
         if typ == 'OK':
+            self._close_imaplib_file()
             self.sock = ssl_context.wrap_socket(self.sock,
                                                 server_hostname=self.host)
-            self._file = self.sock.makefile('rb')
+            self._imaplib_file = self.sock.makefile('rb')
             self._tls_established = True
             self._get_capabilities()
         else:
@@ -1681,7 +1687,7 @@ def open(self, host=None, port=None, timeout=None):
         self.host = None        # For compatibility with parent class
         self.port = None
         self.sock = None
-        self._file = None
+        self._imaplib_file = None
         self.process = subprocess.Popen(self.command,
             bufsize=DEFAULT_BUFFER_SIZE,
             stdin=subprocess.PIPE, stdout=subprocess.PIPE,

Lib/test/test_imaplib.py

@@ -665,11 +665,26 @@ def test_unselect(self):
 
     # property tests
 
-    def test_file_property_should_not_be_accessed(self):
+    def test_file_property_getter(self):
         client, _ = self._setup(SimpleIMAPHandler)
-        # the 'file' property replaced a private attribute that is now unsafe
-        with self.assertWarns(RuntimeWarning):
-            client.file
+        self.assertIsInstance(client.file.raw, socket.SocketIO)
+
+    def test_file_property_setter(self):
+        client, _ = self._setup(SimpleIMAPHandler)
+        # ensure that the caller closes the existing file
+        client.file.close()
+        for new_file in [mock.Mock(), None]:
+            client.file = new_file
+            self.assertIs(client.file, new_file)
+
+    def test_file_property_setter_should_not_close_previous_file(self):
+        client, _ = self._setup(SimpleIMAPHandler)
+        with mock.patch.object(client, "_imaplib_file", mock.Mock()) as f:
+            f.close.assert_not_called()
+            self.assertIs(client.file, f)
+            client.file = None
+            self.assertIsNone(client.file)
+            f.close.assert_not_called()
 
 
 class NewIMAPTests(NewIMAPTestsMixin, unittest.TestCase):

Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2025-12-06-13-29-11.gh-issue-142307.QTUYvG.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+:mod:`imaplib`: restore legacy support for altering ``IMAP4.file``. Patch by
+Bénédikt Tran.