Hello n8n Community,
I’m encountering a persistent issue with the Gmail node on my n8n Cloud instance, and I’ve exhausted all standard troubleshooting steps. I’m hoping someone here might have insights or has experienced a similar problem.
Problem Description:
I am trying to use the Gmail node’s “Send a message” operation. The process for setting up the Gmail credential (Google Mail OAuth2) appears to work correctly:
- I select “Sign in with Google.”
- The Google authorization pop-up appears, I select my account, and I grant all requested permissions.
- The pop-up closes, and the credential appears as “Connected” and is successfully saved in n8n.
However, when I try to execute a workflow using this credential (specifically, the “Send a message” node), it consistently fails with the following error:
JSON{
"errorMessage": "Unable to sign without access token (item 0)",
"errorDetails": {
"rawErrorMessage": [
"Unable to sign without access token"
]
},
"n8nDetails": {
"nodeName": "Send a message",
"nodeType": "n8n-nodes-base.gmail",
"nodeVersion": 2.1,
"resource": "message",
"operation": "send",
"itemIndex": 0,
"time": "21/07/2025, 12:58:36",
"n8nVersion": "1.103.1 (Cloud)",
"binaryDataMode": "filesystem",
"stackTrace": [
"NodeOperationError: Unable to sign without access token (item 0)",
" at ExecuteContext.execute (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/n8n/node_modules/.pnpm/n8n-nodes-base@file+packages+nodes-base_@[email protected]_asn1.js@5_1af219c3f47f2a1223ec4ccec249a974/node_modules/n8n-nodes-base/nodes/Google/Gmail/v2/GmailV2.node.ts:816:11)",
" at WorkflowExecute.runNode (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/n8n/node_modules/.pnpm/n8n-core@[email protected][email protected][email protected]_/node_modules/n8n-core/src/execution-engine/workflow-execute.ts:1211:9)",
" at /usr/local/lib/node_modules/n8n/node_modules/.pnpm/n8n-core@[email protected][email protected][email protected]_/node_modules/n8n-core/src/execution-engine/workflow-execute.ts:1581:27",
" at /usr/local/lib/node_modules/n8n/node_modules/.pnpm/n8n-core@[email protected][email protected][email protected]_/node_modules/n8n-core/src/execution-engine/workflow-execute.ts:2157:11"
]
}
}`
Context & Steps Taken:
- My n8n instance is n8n Cloud (version 1.103.1) , not a self-hosted one.
- I understand that for n8n Cloud, I do not need to configure my own Google Cloud Console project (Client ID, Client Secret, Redirect URIs), as n8n.io handles this. The “Sign in with Google” button is the expected flow.
- I have already tried the following troubleshooting steps multiple times:
- Deleted the existing Gmail credential from n8n and recreated it from scratch .
- Tried the credential setup in an incognito/private browser window to rule out cache/cookie issues.
- Thoroughly checked my Google account security settings (myaccount.google.com/security), including “Third-party apps with account access” and “Recent security activity.” There are no apparent blocks or revoked permissions, and n8n is listed as an authorized app.
- Attempted a simpler Gmail operation like “Get Many Messages,” but the error persists.
My Analysis:
The error “Unable to sign without access token” strongly suggests that while the initial authorization seems to complete, n8n Cloud is subsequently failing to either:
- Properly store or retrieve the “refresh token” it receives from Google.
- Use the “refresh token” to successfully obtain a new, valid “access token” when making API calls.
This seems to be an issue on the n8n Cloud side, as the manual user steps have been exhausted.
Has anyone encountered this specific issue with the “Unable to sign without access token” error on n8n Cloud for Gmail, and if so, how was it resolved? Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Error:
Credentials Conected
