โ๏ธ Email (IMAP / SMTP)
PulseHub uses SMTP to send emails and IMAP to receive them. This means PulseHub works with any email provider that exposes standard IMAP/SMTP access: Gmail, Outlook, Zoho, your own mail server, Mailgun, etc.
Prerequisitesโ
- An email account with IMAP access enabled
- SMTP credentials for sending
- For Gmail: you must create an App Password (not your regular Google password) if 2FA is enabled
Setup Stepsโ
1. Add the Channel in PulseHubโ
Go to Channels โ Add Channel, select Email, and fill in:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| SMTP Host | e.g. smtp.gmail.com, mail.yourdomain.com |
| SMTP Port | 587 (STARTTLS) or 465 (SSL) |
| SMTP Username | Usually your full email address |
| SMTP Password | Your email password or app-specific password |
| From Email | The address that appears as the sender (can be an alias) |
| IMAP Host | e.g. imap.gmail.com, mail.yourdomain.com |
| IMAP Port | 993 (SSL, recommended) or 143 (STARTTLS) |
2. Configure Cron for Inbound Emailโ
Unlike other channels where providers push webhooks to PulseHub, email works the other way: PulseHub polls your inbox via IMAP every minute using the cron job.
If the imap extension is missing:
- cPanel: Go to Select PHP Version โ check the
imapbox โ Save - Plesk: Go to PHP Settings โ Extensions โ enable
imap - VPS: Run
sudo apt install php-imap
Gmail Setupโ
- Enable IMAP in Gmail Settings โ Forwarding and POP/IMAP โ Enable IMAP
- If 2FA is enabled, create an App Password: Google Account โ Security โ App Passwords
- Use these settings:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| SMTP Host | smtp.gmail.com |
| SMTP Port | 587 |
| IMAP Host | imap.gmail.com |
| IMAP Port | 993 |
Common Issuesโ
| Symptom | Likely Cause |
|---|---|
| No emails imported | imap extension not loaded, or wrong IMAP credentials |
| "SSL certificate" error | Try port 143 with /tls instead of /ssl |
| Sent emails not arriving | mail() not configured on VPS โ set up a local MTA |
| Duplicate message imports | Deduplication via external_id = Message-ID prevents true duplicates |