OpenClaw Email Integration: Send, Read, and Automate Email Workflows

Email remains the primary business communication channel, and it is one of the most requested OpenClaw integrations. The OpenClaw email integration lets your agent read incoming emails, draft responses, send messages, manage filters, and automate follow-ups — all through natural language commands from WhatsApp, Telegram, or Slack.

This guide covers both the IMAP/SMTP approach (works with any email provider) and the Gmail API approach (richer features for Gmail users), along with critical security practices that keep your email safe.

What Can OpenClaw Do with Email?

OpenClaw's email capabilities cover the full spectrum of inbox management:

Read and summarize: OpenClaw reads your inbox and provides summaries of new emails, grouped by priority. "What important emails came in overnight?" gets you a digest without opening your email client.

Draft responses: "Draft a reply to Sarah's email about the contract — tell her we accept the terms but need the delivery date moved to April 15." OpenClaw writes the email and sends it to you for review before sending.

Send emails: After your approval, OpenClaw sends the email through SMTP or the Gmail API. It can also send emails proactively as part of scheduled workflows (like weekly reports to your team).

Filter and categorize: OpenClaw can tag or move emails based on rules you define. "Move all newsletters to a separate folder" or "Flag any email from @client.com as important."

Follow-up tracking: OpenClaw tracks emails you have sent and reminds you if you have not received a response within a specified timeframe. "If Sarah hasn't replied to the contract email by Wednesday, remind me."

How Do You Set Up Email Access for OpenClaw?

The IMAP/SMTP approach works with any email provider. Here is the setup process:

Step 1: Create a dedicated email account. Do not use your primary email. Create a new account like assistant@yourdomain.com or openclaw.agent@gmail.com. This is the most important security step.

Step 2: Enable IMAP access. In your email provider's settings, enable IMAP. For Gmail, go to Settings, See All Settings, Forwarding and POP/IMAP, and enable IMAP. For other providers, check their documentation.

Step 3: Generate an app password. If your provider uses 2FA (which it should), generate an app-specific password. For Gmail, go to your Google Account, Security, App Passwords, and create one for "OpenClaw."

Step 4: Configure OpenClaw:

export EMAIL_IMAP_HOST="imap.gmail.com"
export EMAIL_IMAP_PORT="993"
export EMAIL_SMTP_HOST="smtp.gmail.com"
export EMAIL_SMTP_PORT="587"
export EMAIL_USERNAME="openclaw.agent@gmail.com"
export EMAIL_PASSWORD="your-app-password"

Step 5: Set up email forwarding. Forward specific emails from your primary account to the OpenClaw account. Use filters to forward only what OpenClaw needs to see — not your entire inbox.

How Do You Configure the Gmail API?

For Gmail users, the Gmail API provides richer features than IMAP/SMTP, including label management, thread grouping, and push notifications for new emails.

Step 1: Go to the Google Cloud Console, create a new project, and enable the Gmail API.

Step 2: Create OAuth 2.0 credentials (Desktop application type). Download the credentials JSON file.

Step 3: Run the OAuth authorization flow to generate a refresh token. OpenClaw uses this token to access Gmail without re-authenticating.

Step 4: Store credentials securely in your OpenClaw environment with restricted file permissions (chmod 600).

The Gmail API advantage is push notifications — instead of polling for new emails, Google notifies OpenClaw when new emails arrive, enabling real-time email processing.

What Email Workflows Can You Automate?

Morning inbox digest: At 7am, OpenClaw reads all new emails from overnight, categorizes them by urgency, and sends you a summary: "3 urgent emails requiring response, 5 informational, 12 newsletters." You can then tell it which ones to respond to.

Auto-draft responses: For common email types (meeting requests, information requests, introductions), OpenClaw can automatically draft responses based on your templates and preferences. You review and approve each one.

Follow-up sequences: When you send an important email, tell OpenClaw to track it. If no reply comes within your specified timeframe, OpenClaw drafts a follow-up for your approval.

Weekly team reports: Every Friday, OpenClaw compiles data from your various tools and sends a formatted email report to your team, summarizing the week's progress, metrics, and priorities for next week.

Invoice processing: OpenClaw reads incoming invoices, extracts key data (amount, due date, vendor), and logs them in your accounting spreadsheet or sends you a summary for approval.

How Do You Keep Email Access Secure?

Email access is the highest-risk integration for any AI agent. Follow these security practices:

Dedicated account only. Never give OpenClaw access to your primary email. Use a separate account with only the emails it needs to see.

Least privilege. Forward only specific emails — not your entire inbox. Use email filters to control what reaches the OpenClaw account.

No autonomous sending. Always use the draft-and-approve workflow. OpenClaw should never send an email without your explicit confirmation.

App passwords, not account passwords. Use app-specific passwords that can be revoked independently without affecting your main account access.

Regular access review. Check the OpenClaw email account monthly to verify it is only receiving the emails you expect and not accumulating sensitive data.

FAQ

Should I give OpenClaw access to my primary email account?

No. We strongly recommend creating a dedicated email account for OpenClaw (like assistant@yourdomain.com) and forwarding only specific emails to it. This limits what OpenClaw can access and prevents it from accidentally sending emails from your personal address. Share only what the agent needs to see.

Can OpenClaw send emails on my behalf?

Yes. OpenClaw can send emails through SMTP or the Gmail API. For safety, we recommend configuring it to always draft emails and send them to you for approval before sending. The draft-and-approve workflow prevents accidental sends and lets you review tone, content, and recipients.

Does OpenClaw support Gmail, Outlook, and other email providers?

Yes. OpenClaw works with any email provider that supports IMAP and SMTP, which includes Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, ProtonMail (with Bridge), FastMail, and custom domains. For Gmail specifically, you can also use the Gmail API for richer features like label management and thread grouping.

How does OpenClaw handle email attachments?

OpenClaw can read email attachments (PDFs, images, documents) by downloading them and processing the content. For sending, it can attach files from your local system. However, we recommend being cautious with attachment handling — configure OpenClaw to only download attachments from known senders to avoid security risks.

*Last updated: March 2026. Published by the Remote OpenClaw team at remoteopenclaw.com.*