Connecting Email Accounts

Learn how to connect your Office 365 (Outlook) and Gmail accounts to InboxZebra.

Overview

InboxZebra can connect to:

  • Microsoft 365 / Outlook - Personal and work accounts
  • Gmail / Google Workspace - Personal and business Gmail

You can connect multiple accounts and process them all together!

How to Add an Account

Step 1: Open Account Setup

Click the “Add Account” button in the toolbar (plus icon).

Note for Free Tier Users: You can only connect 1 account on the free tier. To add more accounts, upgrade to Pro during your trial or after.

Step 2: Choose Your Provider

Select your email provider:

  • Office 365 - If you use Outlook, Microsoft 365, or Exchange
  • Gmail - If you use Gmail or Google Workspace

Step 3: Sign In

You’ll be redirected to Microsoft or Google’s secure sign-in page:

  1. Enter your email and password (InboxZebra never sees this!)
  2. Review permissions InboxZebra needs:
    • Read your emails
    • Modify email categories/labels
    • Access mailbox settings
  3. Click “Accept” to grant access

Security: Your password is never shared with InboxZebra. We only receive a secure access token from Microsoft/Google.

Step 4: Account Connected!

You’ll see your account appear in the InboxZebra sidebar with your email address and name.

Managing Multiple Accounts

Adding More Accounts (Pro Feature)

Free tier: 1 account maximum
Pro/Business: Unlimited accounts

To add more accounts, click “Add Account” again and repeat the process. Each account appears in the sidebar.

Switching Between Accounts

Click any account in the sidebar to:

  • View emails from that account only
  • Process emails for that account

To view ALL accounts together, don’t select any specific account.

Shared Mailboxes (Business Feature)

If you have delegate access to shared mailboxes (like support@mycompany.com, hello@mycompany.com, or team@mycompany.com):

  1. When connecting your Office 365 account, check “Shared Mailbox”
  2. Enter the shared mailbox email address
  3. InboxZebra will access emails from that shared inbox

Use cases:

  • Startup founders managing support@ or info@ inboxes
  • Agency owners handling team@ or projects@ mailboxes
  • Consultants with access to client shared inboxes

Note: Shared mailboxes are a Business tier feature.

Account Settings

Custom Instructions (Pro Feature)

Give InboxZebra context about each account to improve categorization:

  1. Open Settings (Cmd+,)
  2. Go to Accounts tab
  3. Click the arrow next to your account to expand it
  4. Enter custom instructions (up to 500 characters)

Example for startup founder:

Company: TechStartup (SaaS platform). Role: Founder/CEO. Key areas: product strategy, fundraising (Series A), B2B partnerships, customer success. Main clients: fintech and healthcare companies.

Example for freelancer:

Freelance design business. Main services: branding, web design, UX consulting. Key clients: acme.com, clientcompany.com, example.com. Platforms: Upwork, Dribbble Freelance.

Templates available:

  • Startup Founder
  • Freelancer/Consultant
  • Agency Owner
  • Personal Email

These instructions help the AI understand your specific context and categorize more accurately.

Removing an Account

To disconnect an account:

  1. Open Settings (Cmd+,)
  2. Go to Accounts tab
  3. Click the account you want to remove
  4. Click “Remove Account”

This deletes the account connection and removes stored access tokens from your Mac’s Keychain.

Re-authenticating

Sometimes you’ll need to sign in again (tokens expire every 90 days):

When InboxZebra needs re-authentication:

  1. You’ll see an alert: “Re-authentication required for: your@email.com”
  2. Click “Re-authenticate”
  3. Sign in again (same process as adding account)
  4. Your settings and categories are preserved

Your custom instructions are automatically saved when you re-authenticate.

Troubleshooting

”Invalid Client ID” Error

Cause: OAuth credentials not configured in the code
Solution: Contact developer or check README for OAuth setup instructions

”Permission Denied” Error

Cause: Required permissions not granted
Solution: When signing in, make sure to accept all requested permissions. InboxZebra needs read/write access to manage categories.

”Cannot Connect to Account”

Possible causes:

  • Internet connection issue
  • Microsoft/Google service temporarily down
  • Account password changed

Solution: Check your internet connection and try again. If your password changed, remove the account and add it again.

Next Steps

Now that your account is connected: