n8n IMAP Node

An n8n community node for IMAP email operations with advanced search and management functions.

Installation

npm install n8n-nodes-imap-ai

Alternatively via n8n Community Nodes GUI: n8n-nodes-imap-ai

Features

Email Operations

List Emails

• Lists emails in a mailbox folder
• Configurable limit
• Sorted by UID (newest first)

Get Email

• Retrieves a single email with full content
• Supports text and HTML content
• Parses email headers and metadata

Search Emails

• Two modes: Simple Search and Advanced Search
• Server-side IMAP SEARCH for performance
• Combinable search criteria in Advanced mode

Move Email

• Moves emails between mailbox folders
• Uses IMAP MOVE command

Mark Email

• Marks emails as read or unread
• Changes IMAP flags accordingly

Delete Email

• Marks emails for deletion
• Uses IMAP STORE with \Deleted flag

Download Attachment

• Downloads email attachments
• Supports various attachment types

Mailbox Operations

List Mailboxes

• Lists all available IMAP folders
• Supports hierarchical folder structures

Create Mailbox

• Creates new IMAP folders
• Validates folder names

Draft Operations

Create Draft

• Creates email drafts
• Supports text and HTML format
• Configurable recipients, subject and content

Email Search

Simple Search Mode

Provides predefined filters:

• All Emails
• Unread Emails
• Read Emails
• Today's Emails
• This Week's Emails

Optional with text search that simultaneously searches Subject, From and Body.

Advanced Search Mode

Combinable criteria:

Content Filters:

• From (Sender): Email address or name
• To (Recipient): Target email address
• Subject Contains: Text in subject
• Body Contains: Text in email content

Status Filters:

• Read Status: Any/Unread Only/Read Only
• Flagged: Include flagged emails
• Has Attachments: Filter by attachment presence

Date Filters:

• Quick Date: Today/Yesterday/This Week/Last Week/This Month/Last Month
• Custom Date Range: From/To dates
• Date combinations for precise time windows

Size Filters:

• Size threshold with larger/smaller options
• Configurable in KB for bandwidth management

Configuration

IMAP Credentials

Required fields:

• Host: IMAP server address
• Port: Server port (usually 993 for SSL)
• User: Email address
• Password: Email password or app password
• Secure: Enable SSL/TLS (recommended)

Common IMAP Settings

Gmail:

• Host: imap.gmail.com
• Port: 993
• Secure: Yes
• Note: Requires App Password with 2FA enabled

Outlook/Hotmail:

• Host: outlook.office365.com
• Port: 993
• Secure: Yes

Usage Examples

Basic Email Listing

{
  "operation": "listEmails",
  "mailbox": "INBOX",
  "limit": 20
}

Simple Email Search

// Simple Mode: Quick filter with text search
{
  "operation": "searchEmails",
  "searchMode": "simple", 
  "quickFilter": "today",
  "simpleSearchText": "invoice"
}

Advanced Email Search

// Advanced Mode: Multiple combined criteria
{
  "operation": "searchEmails",
  "searchMode": "advanced",
  "advancedCriteria": {
    "from": "[email protected]",
    "subject": "payment", 
    "readStatus": "unread",
    "quickDate": "thisWeek",
    "hasAttachments": "yes"
  }
}

Email Management

// Get email
{
  "operation": "getEmail",
  "mailbox": "INBOX",
  "emailUid": "12345"
}

// Move email  
{
  "operation": "moveEmail",
  "mailbox": "INBOX",
  "emailUid": "12345", 
  "targetMailbox": "Archive"
}

Compatibility

Tested IMAP Servers:

• Gmail (imap.gmail.com)
• Outlook/Exchange
• Standard IMAP-compliant servers

Requirements:

• n8n Version >= 0.190.0
• Node.js >= 16
• IMAP server with SSL/TLS support

Known Limitations

• OAuth2 authentication not yet implemented
• Attachment search uses Content-Type workaround (IMAP standard limitation)
• Large email attachments can be memory-intensive

Development

Adding New Operations

1. Create operation class in operations/
2. Implement IImapOperation interface
3. Register in operationRegistry.ts
4. Define UI parameters in ImapNodeProperties.ts

Build & Test

npm run build
npm test

Changelog

v2.3.9

• Fixed missing draftFolder parameter for Create Draft operation
• Added resourceLocator for draft folder selection

v2.3.0

• New Multi-Criteria Search UI
• Simple vs Advanced Search modes
• Extended Date/Size/Attachment filters

v2.2.4

• Promise.race() timeout fix for IMAP logout
• Improved connection stability

v2.2.0

• Modular architecture refactoring
• Operations Registry pattern
• Improved error handling

Support

• GitHub Issues: Repository Issues
• Email: [email protected]

License

MIT License