IMAP Read

input.imap-read Input v0.1.0

Reads messages from an IMAP mailbox (unseen or all, newest first) — optionally only the ones not seen on previous runs, so a Schedule trigger + IMAP Read is an email poller.

Finding it in the library

Search the builder's node library for IMAP Read (it lives under Input). A single click opens the in-editor docs panel shown here — description, ports, and every property, without leaving the canvas. Double-click (or drag) to add it to the workflow.

Library capture pending — regenerate with npm run shots:nodes.

Wired up in the builder

IMAP Read in a real, runnable flow — captured live from the Studio editor, exactly as it looks on your canvas. This is the same workflow used for the example input & output below.

Canvas capture pending — regenerate with npm run shots:nodes.

How it’s configured

The node’s Configure panel as it opens in the builder when you select the step — every setting laid out with real values. Click any field to edit it.

Config capture pending — regenerate with npm run shots:nodes. See the full property reference below.

Ports

Ports are the node’s contract with its neighbours. In the editor a port label renders bold when wired and italic when optional; ◈ ports accept attachment carriers rather than data wires.

Direction	Port	Label	What flows through it
Input	`input`	Input
Output	`output`	Messages

How data flows through it

IMAP Read consumes the content of the incoming envelope — when it is fed directly by a trigger, the trigger’s wrapper is unwrapped at the node boundary so the node sees the actual data, not the metadata shell. Its output becomes the payload for the next node, while the envelope (trace ids, correlation, binary refs) rides along untouched. In the Runs view you always see the whole envelope for both sides of this node.

Expressions in the config

String-typed properties accept {{ }} expressions evaluated against the incoming item at run time — e.g. {{ $json.customer.email }}. On this node that’s host, user, password, mailbox. JSON- and code-typed fields never interpolate — they are passed through literally.

Build it with AI

Every node in this reference is reachable through Flowdrome’s AI Copilot and the MCP tools — say what you want, and the graph surgery happens server-side. Node types resolve fuzzily, so the catalog label (IMAP Read) works as well as the exact type id (input.imap-read).

In the Copilot panel (or any connected AI):

add a imap read node after the trigger

As a step in a create_chain_workflow call:

{"type":"IMAP Read","config":{}}

Raw MCP call — add this node to a workflow with add_node

curl -s -X POST http://localhost:48170/mcp -H "content-type: application/json" -d '{ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": "1", "method": "tools/call", "params": { "name": "add_node", "arguments": { "workflowId": "<id>", "type": "IMAP Read" } } }'

Example input & output

Captured from a real test run of the workflow above — this is what you see in the run data panel after pressing Test workflow.

Input — what the node received

{
  "kind": "json",
  "contentType": "application/json",
  "payload": {},
  "body": {}
}

Output — what the node produced

{
  "messages": [
    {
      "uid": 6,
      "messageId": "<smoke-1@example.test>",
      "from": "carol@example.test",
      "to": "team@example.test",
      "subject": "plain ascii smoke",
      "date": "2026-06-12T09:00:00.000Z",
      "text": "just smoke text\r\nsecond line"
    }
  ],
  "count": 1
}

Property reference

Every setting, with its type and default — the same fields shown configured in the panel above.

Property	Type	Default	Description
Credential `credentialId`	`credential`	`""`	Use a stored credential for this connection — its fields are filled in at run start. Pick "None" to enter the connection details manually. accepts credential templates: `imap`
Host `host`	`string`	`""`	IMAP server hostname, e.g. imap.example.com.
Port `port`	`int`	`993`	IMAP port — typically 993 for implicit TLS, 143 for STARTTLS.
Implicit TLS `secure`	`boolean`	`true`	Connect encrypted from the first byte (port 993). Off = plain connect upgraded with STARTTLS.
User `user`	`string`	`""`	IMAP username.
Password `password`	`string`	`""`	IMAP password — supports ${credential.NAME.FIELD}.
Mailbox `mailbox`	`string`	`"INBOX"`	The mailbox to read.
Search `search`	`select`	`"unseen"`	Unseen reads only messages without the \Seen flag; All reads everything. `allunseen`
Limit `limit`	`int`	`10`	Maximum messages to read, newest first. 0 = all.
Mark as seen `markSeen`	`boolean`	`true`	Flag the fetched messages \Seen so the next unseen search skips them.
Only new messages `onlyNew`	`boolean`	`true`	Only emit messages not seen on previous runs (remembered per mailbox in the global key-value store). Pair with a Schedule trigger to poll an inbox.
Body `bodyMode`	`select`	`"text"`	Text fetches the text/plain body; None reads headers only. `nonetext`
Timeout (ms) `timeoutMs`	`int`	`15000`	Abort the whole conversation after this many milliseconds.
Verify TLS certificate `rejectUnauthorized`	`boolean`	`false`	Verify the server's TLS certificate. Off (default) accepts self-signed certificates — the storage.sql "require" semantics.

Related nodes

The rest of the Input group — the same folder you’d scan in the editor’s library.

This page is generated from the node registry by gen-node-docs.mjs on every site build — ports, properties, defaults and visibility rules cannot drift from the code. The screenshots and example data are captured from a live Flowdrome by npm run shots:nodes and npm run gen:examples.