Move from Gmail / Google Workspace to Rinhelp
By Wilbert Liu, founder of Rinhelp · Facts checked · Markdown for AI agents
Gmail threads and their labels move into Rinhelp through the Gmail API. Gmail counts use in quota units, so one mailbox gives up only a few dozen full threads a minute and a large inbox takes hours.
| Conversations | Time to read them from Gmail / Google Workspace |
|---|---|
| 1,000 | about 20 minutes |
| 10,000 | about 3 hours |
Limit used: 50 requests a minute (per mailbox: 6,000 quota units a minute, and reading a full thread costs 120), about 1 per conversation. Rinhelp takes up to 3,000 conversations a minute.
Free. Importing never emails your customers, never runs Rin and never counts toward a plan.
Needs a person. A Google Workspace admin grants domain-wide delegation to a service account so the AI agent can read the team’s mailboxes, and that change can take up to a day to work. We found no API for Gmail templates, so you paste the ones you use.
Paste one prompt
Connect your AI agent to Rinhelp first, then paste the prompt for the app you use. It reads this page’s Markdown and follows Rinhelp’s steps.
With Claude’s Gmail connector and Rinhelp both connected, follow https://rinhelp.com/migrate/gmail.md for the support mail in my own Google account. The connector reads only the account I signed in with and can’t see pictures inside emails, so tell me what you had to skip.
Follow https://rinhelp.com/migrate/gmail.md to move my support mailbox’s full history into Rinhelp. Read it through the Gmail API with the service account my admin gave domain-wide delegation, list message IDs 500 a page, and fetch each thread in full. Pace yourself to Gmail’s 6,000 quota units per user a minute.
Their words and ours
| In Gmail / Google Workspace | In Rinhelp |
|---|---|
| Thread | Conversation |
| Message | Message |
| Label | Tag |
What stays behind
- Filters and forwarding rules
- Google Groups and aliases
- Out-of-office settings
- Reports
Gmail / Google Workspace facts that shape the move
The Gmail API gives each user 6,000 quota units a minute within a project, and every call costs units, so a minute holds only a few dozen full threads. Source, checked .
Gmail lists up to 500 message IDs a page, with no contents, so each message or thread is fetched afterwards. Source, checked .
Gmail leaves Spam and Trash out of that list unless you ask for them. Source, checked .
With domain-wide delegation from an admin, a service account reads many people’s mailboxes without each person signing in. Source, checked .
A delegation change can take up to a day to start working. Source, checked .
Google’s admin data export usually takes 3 days and can take up to 14. Source, checked .
Exported organization data is deleted after 60 days, and only a super administrator can run the export; organizations over 1,000 users contact Google first. Source, checked .
Claude’s Gmail connector reaches only the account you connected, and can search and read mail but change nothing. Source, checked .
Claude’s Gmail connector can’t see pictures inside emails. Source, checked .
Questions
Can Claude’s Gmail connector move our shared team inbox?
Only if that inbox is the mail of the account you connected, since the connector reads one Google account. For a team’s mailboxes, use the Gmail API with domain-wide delegation in a coding agent.
Should we use Google’s admin data export instead?
It usually takes 3 days and up to 14, needs a super administrator, and is deleted after 60 days. The Gmail API can start as soon as delegation works, at a few dozen threads a minute per mailbox.
Will emails in Spam or Trash come across?
Not unless you say so. Gmail leaves Spam and Trash out of its message list by default, so tell your AI agent if you want them.