Hi everyone,
I’m running n8n on a Hostinger VPS (Docker setup, version 1.106.3).
I’ve built a workflow that sorts incoming emails via IMAP + OpenAI and moves them using a Python script through an SSH command.
Everything works perfectly when I click “Execute Workflow” manually — all nodes run correctly, the mail gets sorted and moved as expected.
However, when the workflow is active, new incoming emails do not trigger the workflow at all.
Here are the details:
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The first node is an “Email Trigger (IMAP)” node (not a regular IMAP node).
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Action: Nothing
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Mailbox: INBOX
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Format: Simple
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Custom Email Rules:
["UNSEEN"](also tried leaving it empty) -
Force reconnect: 1
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Mark as read: false
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The node works fine when the workflow is manually executed.
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Workflow is active (green), saved, and has been toggled off/on multiple times.
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In the Docker logs, I don’t see any “Starting to poll for trigger: IMAP Email (Trigger)” line when the workflow is activated.
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No error messages in the UI or in the logs when activating.
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The trigger simply does not “register” or fire automatically.
I have already tried:
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Re-selecting and saving the IMAP credentials
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Recreating the IMAP Trigger node
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Restarting n8n and the container
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Removing
["UNSEEN"]from the Custom Rules -
Deactivating and reactivating the workflow
Still, the IMAP Trigger never starts polling or firing on new incoming mails.
When I manually execute the workflow, the IMAP node immediately fetches messages and processes them.
Does anyone know what could prevent the IMAP Email Trigger from registering/listening when the workflow is active?
Could it be related to the container setup, environment variables, or IMAP IDLE support?
Thank you so much for your help — this workflow is fully functional otherwise; I just need the trigger to fire automatically.
best regards
Ben Jona Günther Grunwald