Email (IMAP)
What it is
An IMAP connection reads a mailbox, so incoming mail can start a workflow — a support address that files tickets, an inbox that receives supplier confirmations.
It only reads. To send mail, use the Email integration.
Before you start
- Give Honeybase a dedicated mailbox, or at least a dedicated folder, rather than pointing it at a person's inbox.
- IMAP access is off by default on some providers and has to be enabled in the mailbox's own settings.
Setup fields
These are the fields the guided setup collects — both the Add integration form and the setup card Barry raises in chat. Additional settings live on the connection's settings page once it exists.
Connection settings
| Field | Type | Required | Secret | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
name | Text | Yes | No | Display name for this connection. This is what you pick from in a workflow node. |
host | Text | Yes | No | Hostname of the IMAP server, for example imap.gmail.com. |
port | Number | Yes | No | TCP port. 993 for implicit TLS, 143 for STARTTLS. |
security | Choice | Yes | No | How the connection is encrypted — SSL for port 993, STARTTLS for port 143. |
defaultFolder | Text | Yes | No | The mailbox folder to read from. INBOX unless you route mail into a dedicated folder. |
Credentials
| Field | Type | Required | Secret | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
username | Text | Yes | No | The account to sign in as. Usually the full email address. |
password | Password | Yes | Yes | The password for that mailbox. Use an app password, not your account sign-in password, for any provider with two-factor authentication. |
Common servers
| Provider | Host | Port | Security |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gmail / Google Workspace | imap.gmail.com | 993 | SSL |
| Microsoft 365 / Outlook | outlook.office365.com | 993 | SSL |
| Fastmail | imap.fastmail.com | 993 | SSL |
App passwords
Providers with two-factor authentication reject account passwords over IMAP. Generate an app password instead:
- Google — myaccount.google.com/apppasswords, with 2-Step Verification already on. Google Workspace administrators can disable app passwords for the domain, in which case ask them to allow it for this account.
- Microsoft 365 — an admin may need to enable authenticated IMAP for the mailbox before any password works.
Choosing a folder
defaultFolder is the folder the connection watches. Routing the mail you care about
into its own folder with a server-side rule, and pointing Honeybase at that folder,
is more predictable than watching INBOX and filtering afterwards.