Email (IMAP) · New email — When an email arrives in a mailbox folder — any provider, over IMAP — checks a mailbox on a schedule. Each email that arrived since the last check starts a run, with its sender, subject, text and attachments.

Who can do this

Workspace Admins and Editors, on every plan.

Before you start

An Email (IMAP) connection for the mailbox — see Connect an email mailbox with IMAP.

Steps

  1. Open the workflow in the designer and open the trigger picker — Browse all triggers, or Change how it starts on an existing trigger.
  2. Under Email (IMAP), select New email. Or type IMAP in Search triggers.
  3. In Connection, choose the mailbox's connection — for example Orders mailbox.
  4. In Folder, leave Choose… to watch the inbox, or choose another folder — Empty is the inbox.
  5. Optionally, in From contains, type part of a sender's name or address — Only emails whose sender's name or address contains this. For example northwind takes only email from Northwind Logistics.
  6. Optionally, in Subject contains, type part of a subject — Purchase order.
  7. Leave Only unread on to take only emails nobody has opened, or switch it off to take every new email.
  8. Switch Mark as read after on if the mailbox should show which emails a workflow has taken — So the mailbox shows which emails a workflow has taken. It is off at first.
  9. Under Checks, choose Every 5 minutes or Every 15 minutes.
  10. Open the Output tab and select Fetch a sample. The newest matching email comes in, and Test run starts with it. A toast says Sample fetched — Test run starts with it. Unpin it on Output to test with something else.
  11. Add the steps, test, then Publish.

What the trigger gives

Each email is one item. Use the fields in later steps as {{ trigger.subject }} and so on.

Field What it is
uid The email's number in its folder. Move an email and Mark read or unread use it.
messageId The email's own Message-ID header.
folder The folder it was found in — INBOX for the inbox.
from The sender's address — rohan@consulace.com.
fromName The sender's name — Rohan Mehta.
to The To addresses, separated by commas.
cc The Cc addresses, separated by commas.
subject The subject line.
date When it was sent, in UTC — 2026-10-02T09:15:00Z.
text The plain-text body, when the email has one.
html The HTML body, when the email has one.
attachmentCount How many attachments it has.

Attachments arrive as files on the item, each under its own file name — invoice.pdf. Drag one into Attachments on a step that sends email. See Pass files between steps.

What happens next

  • The first check after publishing only notes where the folder ends. Emails already there never start a run — only emails that arrive after that first check.
  • Each new email starts one run. The run is named after it — New email · Purchase order 4471.
  • Up to 100 new emails start runs in one check; the rest wait for the next check, in order.
  • A check that finds nothing starts no run and costs nothing. Nor does an email that From contains or Subject contains leaves out.
  • The trigger's Settings show what it is doing: Checking every 5 minutes — Last checked 10:45 · next 10:50, and Recent checks — Nothing new, or 2 found · 2 runs.

Good to know

  • Every 5 minutes is for paid plans. On Free it checks every 15 minutes whatever is chosen.
  • New means newer than the last email it saw in that folder. An email moved or filed into the folder — by a mail rule, or by hand — counts as new.
  • With Only unread on, an email already opened when the check looks is not taken — read on a phone in the minutes before, say.
  • Checking does not change the mailbox. Only Mark as read after marks the emails it takes as read; emails left out by a filter stay as they are.
  • From contains and Subject contains ignore capitals, and match anywhere in the sender's name and address, or in the subject.
  • The sample is the newest matching email among the folder's last 50, read or not. It brings no attachment files — attachmentCount still says how many there are. A run from a real check brings them.
  • Attachments up to 250 MB each come in. A larger one is left off the item, and the run still starts.
  • If the server renumbers the folder — rare, after a mailbox move — the trigger starts again from the folder's end, as on the first check.
  • Changing the folder or connection and publishing starts again from then.
  • Runs start in Production and count in the month's allowance.

If something goes wrong

What you see Why What to do
Nothing matches yet — add one, then fetch again. The folder is empty, or nothing among its last 50 emails matches the filters. Send a matching email to the mailbox, then Fetch a sample.
Not checking since 10:45 with The mail server refused the username or password. With two-step sign-in on, use an app password. Check the connection's details on Connections. The mailbox's password changed, or the app password was removed. Make a new app password, Reconnect the connection, then Check now. See When an app trigger stops checking.
The mailbox has no folder named Orders. The folder was renamed or deleted. Choose the folder again, and publish.
The mail server did not answer. Check the IMAP server and port on Connections. The server did not answer within 30 seconds. Wait for the next check, or select Check now.
An email did not start a run It arrived before the first check, it was read before the check with Only unread on, or a filter left it out. Check the filters and Only unread; send another to test.