# Link an email account

> Let your assistant read and send email for your events by linking a mailbox with IMAP and SMTP.

Source: https://help.gathereasy.rsvp/ai-assistants/email-accounts/

You can link one or more mailboxes to your GatherEasy connection. Your assistant can then search, read, reply to and send email, for example to handle a venue's quote, email your guests or turn an emailed invitation into an event.

Linking a mailbox is optional. It needs:

- the **mail permission**, ticked when you connected (see [Sign-in and permissions](https://help.gathereasy.rsvp/ai-assistants/permissions.md)),
- an assistant that shows GatherEasy's interactive panel (such as Claude or ChatGPT). You enter the mailbox details in the panel, never in the chat.

:::note[Gmail and Outlook]
For a Gmail or Microsoft 365 mailbox, you may prefer your assistant's own Gmail or Outlook connector, which signs in with Google or Microsoft directly. GatherEasy's mail linking uses IMAP and SMTP, which works with almost any provider.
:::

## Before you start: get an app password

Most providers don't let other apps sign in with your normal password. Create an **app password** in your email provider's security settings, for example in Google Account → Security → App passwords, or in iCloud → Sign-In and Security → App-Specific Passwords. Your provider's help pages explain how.

You'll also need your provider's **IMAP** (incoming) and **SMTP** (outgoing) server names and ports. Common settings:

| Provider          | IMAP server                   | SMTP server                   |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| Gmail             | `imap.gmail.com` : 993        | `smtp.gmail.com` : 465 or 587 |
| Outlook / Hotmail | `outlook.office365.com` : 993 | `smtp.office365.com` : 587    |
| iCloud Mail       | `imap.mail.me.com` : 993      | `smtp.mail.me.com` : 587      |
| Fastmail          | `imap.fastmail.com` : 993     | `smtp.fastmail.com` : 465     |

Check your provider's documentation if yours isn't listed.

## Link the mailbox

1. Ask your assistant: "Open my GatherEasy email settings."
2. In the **Email accounts** panel, choose **Add email account**.
3. Fill in:
   - **Account name**, such as "Work",
   - **Email address**,
   - optional **Labels** (separate with commas, for example `Work, Personal`),
   - the **incoming (IMAP)** and **outgoing (SMTP)** settings: **Server**, **Port**, **Security** (SSL/TLS or STARTTLS), **Username** and **Password or app password**,
   - an optional **Signature**,
   - **Use as the default account for sending**,
   - **Keep a copy of sent mail in the Sent folder**.
4. Test the connection. Tests run separately for each server.
5. Save.

The panel uses the same language as your assistant (English, Dutch or Chinese), falling back to your browser's.

Passwords are encrypted before they're stored and are never shown again, not even to your assistant. The assistant only sees each account's name and whether it's working.

## Requirements

- Both servers must use encryption (**SSL/TLS** or **STARTTLS**).
- The servers must be reachable on the public internet. Private and local network addresses aren't allowed.

## Manage linked accounts

Open the email settings panel again to edit an account, choose which one is the default, or remove one (**Confirm remove**).

## Good to know

- **Treat email content with care.** Emails come from outside GatherEasy. A message could contain instructions meant to mislead an assistant. Your assistant treats email as information, not as commands, but check anything unusual before acting on it.
- **Searches return up to 50 messages at a time**, and bulk actions such as marking read work on up to 100 messages.
- **Sending has an hourly limit** per account.
- If you connected before mail access existed, your assistant asks you to reconnect the first time you use a mail feature.