How email automation works

The flow in four steps

Every email-triggered automation follows the same path: mail to an address, DNS to the service, JSON to your webhook.

1. 1

   Email arrives at your address

   A customer writes to support@in.yourcompany.com, or you forward mail there.

2. 2

   DNS routes it to the service

   The MX record of that subdomain points at the inbound email service.

3. 3

   The email is parsed to JSON

   Sender, subject, bodies, attachments and checks become separate fields.

4. 4

   A webhook delivers it to your endpoint

   Your app, workflow tool or agent receives a POST request and acts.

Setting up the address is covered in domain setup; you can also start on a system address with no DNS changes, as getting started shows.

What arrives at your webhook

One JSON document per email, with the same fields every time. A shortened example from EmailConnect (the payload reference lists every field):

{
  "id": "msg_9f8e7d6c5b4a",
  "message": {
    "sender": { "email": "sarah@example.com", "name": "Sarah Johnson" },
    "recipient": {
      "email": "inbox+support@in.yourcompany.com",
      "name": null,
      "tag": "support"
    },
    "subject": "Login issues with mobile app",
    "content": {
      "text": "Hi, I can't log in to the mobile app...",
      "html": "<p>Hi, I can't log in to the mobile app...</p>",
      "links": []
    },
    "date": "2026-10-27T10:30:00.000Z",
    "attachments": [
      {
        "filename": "error-report.pdf",
        "contentType": "application/pdf",
        "size": 3145728,
        "downloadUrl": "https://app.emailconnect.eu/attachments/9f8e7d6c5b4a3f2e/download",
        "status": "completed",
        "uploadType": "sync"
      }
    ]
  },
  "spam": {
    "score": -0.99,
    "engine": "rspamd",
    "authentication": {
      "dkim": { "result": "pass", "domain": "example.com" },
      "spf": { "result": "pass", "domain": "example.com" },
      "dmarc": { "result": "pass", "domain": "example.com" }
    }
  },
  "classification": { "type": "normal", "confidence": "definite", "signals": [] }
}

The fields that do the most work in an automation:

Route different emails to different systems

Decide where an email goes by the address it was sent to, not by guessing from its content. Each alias has its own webhook, and a +tag lets one alias serve several purposes.

To filter before delivery, alias rules (Maker and above) accept, block or tag mail by sender, spam score and more.

Where your automation logic runs

The webhook is only the hand-off. What happens next runs wherever you choose: your own code, a workflow tool, or an AI agent.

A minimal receiver in Node.js that skips automated mail and routes on the +tag:

// Verify the webhook signature first: see /help/webhook-signing/
app.post('/webhooks/emailconnect', (req, res) => {
  const email = req.body

  // Bounces, auto-replies and mailing lists don't need a ticket
  if (email.classification?.type !== 'normal') return res.sendStatus(200)

  switch (email.message.recipient.tag) {
    case 'support':
      createSupportTicket(email)
      break
    case 'sales':
      notifySalesTeam(email)
      break
  }

  res.sendStatus(200)
})

Signing follows Standard Webhooks; webhook signing shows how to verify it and how to drop duplicate deliveries with the webhook-id header.

What the email service does, and what it leaves to you

The inbound service handles the email; understanding it is your automation's job. That split keeps the content under your control and lets you pick your own tools, including your own AI.

Delivery and failures

Your endpoint will be down sometimes; the delivery should wait for it. EmailConnect retries a failed delivery up to 7 times over about 22 hours, within your retention window, so on Free and Maker (one hour) that means up to 4 attempts. Every retry carries the same webhook-id, and paid plans can replay or retry a delivery from the dashboard logs. See delivery and retries.

Start small, then grow

Most teams grow an email automation in three stages:

How EmailConnect fits

EmailConnect is the email service in this flow. Each item links to the page behind it.

• Signed JSON to any HTTPS endpoint, with one ID per email across retries. Webhook signing →
• Works with your tools: a community node for n8n, Zapier, Make, Supabase, and an MCP server for AI agents. Integrations →
• No AI on your email. We parse and deliver; your own automations and agents read the content. For agents and automation →
• Processed in the EU, at Hetzner in Germany, with optional attachment storage at Scaleway or in your own S3. Sub-processors →
• Content kept only briefly: one hour on Free and Maker, 24 hours by default on Business and Platform. Data retention →

Choose where your automation runs: integrations →

Related

Need help designing your email automation? Contact hello@emailconnect.eu.