Gmail, SMTP, and inbound email

Spacebrain email accounts provide authenticated senders for CRM and Inbox work. Open Email → Accounts or choose Email from Integrations to see the accounts connected to the active workspace.

Current connection choices

Availability can also vary by plan, workspace capability, provider policy, and administrator configuration. If Email or Accounts is missing, confirm the active workspace and your role before troubleshooting the provider.

Connect Gmail or Google Workspace

Before starting, identify the exact mailbox and confirm that the Google user is allowed to authorize third-party access for the organization.

1. Open Email → Accounts and choose Connect Email Account.
2. Select Google.
3. Sign in to the intended Gmail or Google Workspace identity.
4. Review the requested access and complete Google's consent flow.
5. Return to Spacebrain and confirm that the expected address appears.
6. Send a message to an internal test recipient.
7. Reply from the recipient and confirm that the reply appears in the intended Inbox thread.

The product disclosure describes read access for synchronizing messages and send access for messages you choose to send. Google accounts use provider push notifications for inbound mail, and Spacebrain can refresh their authorization tokens. Sync now can request a manual synchronization when you need to validate recent activity.

Do not use a shared personal Google identity merely because it has broad access. Prefer an organization-controlled mailbox with an owner, backup owner, and documented offboarding path.

Connect a custom SMTP sender

Collect the settings from the mail provider or your organization's mail administrator. Spacebrain requires:

• Email address.
• SMTP host and port.
• SMTP username and password or app-specific password.
• Whether to use TLS/STARTTLS; the form enables it by default.
• An optional display name, such as Sales Team.

In Connect Email Account, choose Custom SMTP, use a quick-fill preset if appropriate, review every populated field, enter the mailbox credentials, and connect. The current presets are:

These values are quick-fill defaults in the current Spacebrain interface, not a promise that the provider accepts password authentication. Gmail and Yahoo commonly require app-specific passwords, and Microsoft tenants can block basic SMTP or IMAP authentication. Provider settings and organizational policy take precedence. Never weaken a tenant's security controls merely to make a mailbox connect.

After the sending account is created, Spacebrain asks how to receive inbound messages. Sending and receiving are separate checks: a successful SMTP connection does not prove that replies can enter Spacebrain.

Choose one inbound method

Only one inbound receiving method can be active for a custom SMTP account.

Provider webhook — recommended when supported

The webhook choice is intended for inbound-mail services such as Postmark, SendGrid, Mailgun, and compatible providers.

1. Choose Webhook in the receiving step.
2. Generate the account-specific inbound webhook URL.
3. Copy it into the provider's inbound routing or inbound webhook configuration.
4. Configure the provider to send inbound mail for the intended domain or address to that URL.
5. Send a real test message from a different mailbox.
6. Confirm that it appears once in the correct Spacebrain conversation.

Treat the generated URL as a credential: anyone who can submit to it may be able to create inbound activity. Do not place it in screenshots, tickets, public documentation, chat messages, or source control. If it is exposed, stop using it and create a replacement through the account settings or contact support.

Provider-side routing, DNS, domain verification, and payload compatibility remain provider responsibilities. A generated Spacebrain URL does not finish those steps automatically.

IMAP polling

Use IMAP when the provider exposes a compatible mailbox, including many self-hosted or hosted-mail deployments.

1. Choose IMAP Polling.
2. Enter the IMAP host and port; the default secure port is 993.
3. Enter the IMAP username and password. If left empty during initial setup, the current form can reuse the SMTP credentials.
4. Keep SSL enabled unless the mail administrator explicitly requires a different secure configuration.
5. Save the IMAP settings.
6. Send a message to the mailbox and allow for polling delay before evaluating the test.

The account editor describes polling as every three minutes. Treat that interval as the current target rather than a guaranteed delivery SLA; provider latency, rate limits, or temporary errors can add delay. IMAP credentials grant mailbox access, so use the narrowest appropriate mailbox and rotate the secret when ownership changes.

Send only

You can finish without configuring inbound receiving, or later select Send only (no receiving) in the account editor. This is valid for a transactional sender whose replies are handled elsewhere, but replies will not be ingested into the Spacebrain Inbox. Make the reply-to experience explicit to operators and customers before launch.

Operate and verify the account

The account list can expose controls to:

• Set a default sender.
• Enable or disable sending.
• Enable or disable inbound receiving.
• Synchronize recent mail.
• Edit custom SMTP, webhook, or IMAP settings.
• Reconnect an OAuth account.
• Disconnect the account.

Statuses such as Connected, Needs reauthorization, Revoked, or Error describe authorization health, not full deliverability. For a release test, verify all of the following:

1. The From address and display name are correct.
2. The internal recipient receives exactly one message.
3. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC alignment are acceptable for the sending domain.
4. A reply reaches the correct Spacebrain thread through the selected inbound method.
5. A teammate can respond from the thread using the intended sender.
6. Disabling inbound or sending has the expected effect.

If sending works but receiving does not, inspect the inbound choice first: provider routing for a webhook, IMAP host and credentials for polling, or a deliberately send-only configuration. If authorization is expired or revoked, reconnect the same intended mailbox before retrying customer messages.

Before disconnecting an account, inventory workflows, sequences, templates, agents, Inbox ownership, and scheduled messages that use it. Disconnecting Spacebrain does not recall already sent mail or remove provider-side routing rules; retire those separately.