Connect Gmail to Sickle

Gmail and Google Workspace mailboxes sign in with Google. You never give Sickle your Google password: Google asks you to approve access and hands Sickle a token you can revoke at any time. There are no IMAP settings to look up — IMAP is always on in Gmail.

Add the mailbox once, on the web or in the Mac app, and it shows up in both — and in every agent you have connected to Sickle.

Before you start

• A Sickle account. If you do not have one yet, start a free trial.
• Your Gmail address, or a Google Workspace address (your company's or your own domain on Google).

Connect on the web

1. Sign in at sickle.app and open Mailboxes.
2. Click Connect mailbox and choose Google.
3. Pick your Google account and approve the access Sickle asks for. Leave the permission to read, compose, send and delete email ticked — it is the only way Google lets a mail client use IMAP.
4. You land back on Mailboxes with "[email protected] is connected."

Connect in the Mac app

1. Click + at the bottom of the sidebar (Add mailbox). On first launch, the onboarding screen shows the same choices.
2. Choose Sign in to GMail (⌘1).
3. Finish in your browser, then come back to the app. Your mail starts syncing straight away.

Signed in to the wrong Google account in your default browser? Hold ⌃ while clicking Sign in to GMail to copy the sign-in link instead, and open it in another browser.

Check it worked

The mailbox appears in the list on the Mailboxes page with the provider Gmail. If you have an agent connected, ask it "Which mailboxes can you see?" — the new one is there, with nothing to reconnect.

Labels and All Mail

Sickle shows Gmail labels as folders, the way Gmail itself does over IMAP. A message with two labels is in two folders, and every message is also in All Mail. Moving a message to Trash from Sickle or your agent moves it to Gmail's own Trash, where you can restore it for 30 days.

Google Workspace accounts

A Workspace administrator can stop any app reaching company mail. If you see a message that the app is blocked, or Sickle cannot read your mail after you approve it, ask your administrator to check two settings in the Google Admin console:

• Apps → Google Workspace → Gmail → End User Access → POP and IMAP access must allow IMAP, and must not be limited to a list of mail clients that leaves Sickle out.
• Security → Access and data control → API controls must not block Sickle. The administrator can mark Sickle as trusted under Manage third-party app access.

Troubleshooting

• "Sickle was not given permission to read this mailbox." Google lets you untick individual permissions on its consent screen, and the mail permission was left unticked. Connect the mailbox again and leave it ticked.
• "Sign-in was cancelled in the browser." The Google window was closed before you approved. Start again from Connect mailbox.
• The app says "Can't sign in to [email protected]". The access was revoked or expired — for example after you changed your Google password or removed Sickle in your Google account. Click Sign in on the notice and approve again.

Disconnect

On the Mailboxes page, click Disconnect next to the mailbox. To revoke Sickle on Google's side as well, remove it under Third-party apps & services in your Google account.

Next: connect your agent

Your Gmail is ready for any agent you connect to Sickle. Pick yours: Claude, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or OpenClaw.