How to connect
On the Zapier Apps page add an MCP Client connection: Server URL https://nilyo.com/mcp, Transport Streamable HTTP, OAuth Yes. A browser window opens to authorize, using the same Nilyo sign-in ChatGPT and Claude use — no Zapier-specific account, and one connection covers every account you connected in Nilyo.
When the built-in apps are enough
One mailbox, one provider, simple triggers: use Gmail or Outlook directly, they are excellent. Nilyo earns its place when several mailboxes and providers share one Zap, when the box is on a custom domain, or when the email step sits beside LinkedIn or WhatsApp on the same connection.
Folders and identifiers move
IMAP identifiers are server-specific and change when a message moves; a Gmail label is not an IMAP folder. Resolve the folder from a listing step and reuse the returned identifier rather than typing a display name — that is the difference between a Zap that survives a mailbox reorganisation and one that fails quietly.
Draft steps and send steps
Creating a draft leaves the message in the mailbox’s own drafts folder, which is the right default on a professional address: a human sends it. A send step is an external action — put it behind a filter or an approval and turn off automatic retries, because a retried send is a second email in the recipient’s inbox.
A realistic Zap
A form submission arrives; the Zap reads the matching thread in the support mailbox to see what was already said, drafts the answer with the context, and leaves it in drafts with a notification to you. Nothing leaves without a human, and the draft already knows the history.
Trigger on arrival rather than on a timer
Polling a mailbox on an interval costs Zap runs on quiet hours and answers late on busy ones. A realtime destination pushes each new email to the Zap as it arrives, with the identifiers to read the whole thread, so a draft is written from the full exchange rather than from the message that happened to trigger it.
“When a form arrives, read the matching thread and draft the answer in my drafts.”
“Every morning, list what arrived overnight that needs an answer.”
Common questions
Does it work with a custom-domain mailbox?
Yes. Generic IMAP is a first-class provider here, which is exactly what the built-in Gmail and Outlook apps do not cover.
Can one Zap use several mailboxes?
Yes. Each step names the mailbox it runs on, so a Zap can read one and send from another under a single connection.
Can it download attachments?
Yes, as files, so a PDF or an image can be passed to a later step instead of being reported as present.
How Email works with Nilyo
Connection. Gmail and Microsoft 365/Outlook through their official sign-in (the “Unipile” name appears on the consent screen: Unipile SAS operates the connection). Any other mailbox through IMAP/SMTP: OVH, Zoho, iCloud, IONOS, Infomaniak, Fastmail, Yahoo, GMX and self-hosted servers.
What your agent can do. Folders and labels, listing and searching messages, reading with attachments, drafts, sending and true replies, moving and labelling, contacts on Gmail and Microsoft.
Pacing and safety. No local budget; provider limits apply. IMAP mailboxes are read live, so listings are paged (50 messages max per page).
- “How many emails today” uses the folder counts of the mailbox; “today” is a date filter, never a guess.
- On IMAP a message id changes after a move; Nilyo returns the new id so the agent keeps working on the right message.
All Email guides
Related guides
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