IMAP trigger node returns message UIDs

[koordinator7]

IMAP trigger node returns message UIDs

Hello.
How to get UID email in IMAP node? Here feat(Email Trigger (IMAP) Node): IMAP trigger node returns message UIDs by umanamente · Pull Request #13152 · n8n-io/n8n · GitHub they write that you can do this. But I don’t understand how to do this? I don’t have an attributes column with UID data.

Information on your n8n setup

• **n8n version: 1.80.3
• Database (default: SQLite):
• n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting (default: own, main):
• **Running n8n via (Docker, npm, n8n cloud, desktop app): Docker
• **Operating system: Ubuntu 22.04

[barn4k]

hello @koordinator7

The PR is not yet implemented. It’s still open

[koordinator7]

Thanks for the answer @ barn4k. What is PR? And how to find out when it will be done. In the screenshot there is already a UID.

[barn4k]

It will be done once it will be done

[koordinator7]

Maybe you can manually register the changes? I just don’t understand where to register.

[Yo_its_prakash]

The feature you’re looking for (email UIDs in IMAP trigger) isn’t released yet - the pull request (#13152) is still open and pending merge.

As a workaround (VERY HARD) until this is officially implemented:

1. Add a Function node after your IMAP trigger with this code:

   // This extracts message IDs which can be used for tracking
   return items.map(item => {
     const headers = item.json.headers;
     return {
       ...item.json,
       trackingId: headers['message-id'] || 
                  headers['Message-ID'] || 
                  `${headers.Date}_${headers.From}`.replace(/[<>]/g, '')
     }
   });
   

2. Alternatively, if you really need UIDs specifically, you can create a custom IMAP connection using the Function node:

   const imapSimple = require('imap-simple');
   const config = {
     imap: {
       user: 'your_email',
       password: 'your_password',
       host: 'imap.example.com',
       port: 993,
       tls: true
     }
   };
   
   // This is a simplified example - you'd need to implement full email retrieval
   const messages = await imapSimple.connect(config).then(connection => {
     return connection.search(['UNSEEN'], {bodies: ['HEADER', 'TEXT']})
   });
   
   // Each message will have a uid property
   return {json: {messages}};
   

Note: Manual code modifications to n8n core are not recommended as they’ll be overwritten on updates.

[koordinator7]

@Yo_its_prakash

Add a Function node after your IMAP trigger with this code:

Thank you.
Do I understand correctly that UID and Message-ID are different things? I need UID. The option with “Add a Function node after your IMAP trigger with this code:” did not work for me, it gives an error. If you can, please send me the working process.

[koordinator7]

I understand that the standard IMAP node does not yet contain UID. But you somehow get UID in the IMAP node. Please tell me what I need to do to get UID too. If it is not difficult, please provide more details.