# \[APP\]\[Pro\] IMAP Client - Real-time email monitoring, two-way flows & smart mailbox automations

**URL:** <https://community.homey.app/t/app-pro-imap-client-real-time-email-monitoring-two-way-flows-smart-mailbox-automations/161392>\
**Category:** Apps\
**Tags:** app\
**Created:** [October 26, 2026, 10:44pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/app-pro-imap-client-real-time-email-monitoring-two-way-flows-smart-mailbox-automations/161392 "2026-10-26T22:44:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![OlaEriksson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@OlaEriksson](https://community.homey.app/u/OlaEriksson)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2026, 10:44pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/app-pro-imap-client-real-time-email-monitoring-two-way-flows-smart-mailbox-automations/161392/1 "2026-10-26T22:44:57Z")

</div>

# [APP][Pro] IMAP Client

**Connect your email accounts directly to your Homey smart home.**

Monitor mailboxes in real-time with instant IMAP IDLE push notifications, organize your inbox with flow actions, and send, forward, or reply to emails with full SMTP and camera image support.

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## 💡 What is IMAP Client?

Most smart homes only send one-way notifications, but email is still where bills, security alerts, and package notifications arrive. **IMAP Client** brings true two-way email integration to Homey Pro.

Whether you want Homey to speak when a delivery is on its way, flash the lights when a critical server alert arrives, send camera snapshots to your inbox when a sensor is tripped, or celebrate reaching **Inbox Zero** , IMAP Client has you covered.

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## 🚀 Key Features

- ⚡ **Instant Real-Time Triggers (IMAP IDLE):** React within seconds when new emails arrive without draining resources on aggressive polling.
- 📬 **Full Mailbox Management:** Move emails between folders, copy messages, mark as read/unread, or delete spam and notifications after processing.
- ✉ **Two-Way Email with SMTP:** Send brand new emails, forward messages, or reply directly to sender/all with thread history intact.
- 📸 **Rich Image & Snapshot Support:**
  - Mail camera snapshots or Homey image tokens directly (as attachments or inline in the email body).
  - Extract image attachments from incoming emails into Homey image tokens (e.g. to cast to Google Nest Hub or push to your mobile).

- 🔍 **Advanced Searching:** Search mailboxes by sender, subject, date ranges, or flags directly from Flows.
- 📊 **Live Device Capabilities & Insights:** Keep track of Total Inbox Emails, Unread Count, and Total Sent Emails on your device tile and Insights graphs.
- 🌐 **Universal Provider Support:** Works with any Email provider that supports IMAP/SMTP.

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## 🎛 Flow Cards Overview

### When… (Triggers)

- **New message in mailbox** (with mailbox selector)
- **New message from [sender]** (with sender autocomplete / filter)
- **New message with subject matching [subject]**
- **New message with attachments** / **with specific attachment type** (images, PDFs, etc.)
- **Mailbox became empty (Inbox Zero!)** / **Mailbox is no longer empty**
- **All messages marked as read** / **Received unread messages**
- **Mailbox has unread/unanswered emails older than X** (great for reminders!)
- **Homey sent email via SMTP** / **Homey deleted/moved/copied email**

### And… (Conditions)

- **Mailbox is empty**
- **Mailbox has unread / unanswered messages**
- **Mailbox has more than [X] unread messages**
- **Mailbox has unread / unanswered emails older than [X] hours/days**

### Then… (Actions)

- **Send email** (To, Subject, Body via SMTP)
- **Send email with image** (Send camera snapshot/image token inline or as attachment)
- **Reply to email** / **Forward email**
- **Get email body** / **Get first image from email** / **Get specific image**
- **Move message to folder** / **Copy message to folder**
- **Mark message as read** / **Mark message as unread**
- **Mark all messages in mailbox as read** / **unread**
- **Delete message** / **Create message in folder**
- **Search messages**

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## 💡 Example Automation Ideas

1. 📦 **Package Delivery Alert:** When an email arrives from PostNord, DHL, or Amazon containing “Delivered” in the subject, trigger a Sonos voice announcement: _“A package has been delivered to your front porch!”_
2. 🚨 **Security Camera Dispatch:** When a perimeter motion detector trips at night, take a snapshot from your security camera and email it to yourself using **Send email with image** (inline).
3. 📸 **Display Email Photos on Dashboard:** When a family member emails photos to a dedicated address, Homey grabs the image token and casts it to a Google Nest Hub in the kitchen.
4. 🎉 **Inbox Zero Celebration:** When your primary mailbox becomes empty, pulse your living room Hue lights green.
5. 🧹 **Automated Clean-Up:** Every Sunday night, search for promotional emails older than 7 days and move them to Trash.

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## ⚙ Setup Tips

- **2-Factor Authentication (Gmail, iCloud, Microsoft):** If your email account has 2FA enabled, you must generate a dedicated **App Password** (or App-specific password) in your account security settings.
- **SMTP Sending:** SMTP configuration is optional. If you only want to monitor incoming emails, you can leave SMTP disabled. The SMTP flow cards will automatically adapt in Homey based on your setup.