mailintel
G
consumergoogleapp password

Google Workspace IMAP and SMTP settings

Gmail and every Google Workspace domain point at Google's mail infrastructure. Custom domains on Workspace use the same hosts as @gmail.com.

Connection
IMAP host
imap.gmail.com

port 993 · SSL/TLS

SMTP host
smtp.gmail.com

port 465 · SSL/TLS

Username

your full email address
password: app-specific
Setup

Connect in three steps

  1. 1

    Enable IMAP in Gmail → Settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP.

  2. 2

    Turn on 2-Step Verification, then create an App Password (Google Account → Security).

  3. 3

    Use the full email address as the username, and the 16-character app password as the password.

Watch out

What usually breaks

  • Google removed the "less secure apps" toggle in 2022. Regular account passwords no longer work with IMAP/SMTP.

  • Workspace admins can disable IMAP, app passwords, or SMTP entirely at the domain level.

  • Gmail rewrites the From header for external SMTP senders unless the address is a verified alias.

March 14, 2025

Password-only Workspace access ended

Google Workspace accounts must use OAuth for third-party IMAP, SMTP, POP and CalDAV access. App passwords are still an exception where the account and admin allow them, but password-only sign-in is gone.

Google Workspace transition guide ↗
Detect it

Resolve it instead of hardcoding it

A custom domain on Google Workspace has the same MX infrastructure as the consumer product. That is what mailintel reads.

gmail.ts
import { mailintel } from "mailintel";

const result = await mailintel("[email protected]");

result.provider;              // "google"
result.connection.imap;       // { host: "imap.gmail.com", port: 993, security: "tls" }
result.connection.smtp;       // { host: "smtp.gmail.com", port: 465, security: "tls" }
result.connection.username;   // "[email protected]"
FAQ
What is Google Workspace's IMAP server?+

imap.gmail.com on port 993 using SSL/TLS. The username is the full email address, and an app password is required when two-factor authentication is enabled.

What is Google Workspace's SMTP server?+

smtp.gmail.com on port 465 using SSL/TLS. Most clients also accept the alternate submission port with STARTTLS.

Does Google Workspace need an app password?+

Yes, in practice. Google Workspace rejects normal account passwords for IMAP and SMTP once 2FA is on, so generate an app-specific password.