[Dovecot] Connecting to dovecot/imap without a password

I have written a script that connects (localhost) to the dovecot/imap server and performs various maintenance on my mail, by folder..... deleting old stuff, keeping the n most recent, that sort of crap, er good stuff. :-)

My script is written in php (I use the various imap_* functions), and it connects to the imap server running on the same machine... is there a way to connect to the server without having to specify my user name and password?

I was thinking there may be some form of "implied" logon if a request from user "don" requests to log on to user "don", then there's no need for a password check, when the connection is via localhost.

That way I don't have to deal with userid/password related issues. :-)

Thanks