Email Catcher Guide

Email Catcher Guide

The Email Catcher feature allows you to receive emails directly into your Tadabase app, automatically parsing and storing email content and attachments as records. This is perfect for processing incoming inquiries, support tickets, or any workflow that starts with an email.

What is an Email Catcher?

An Email Catcher works like an incoming webhook but specifically for email. Instead of receiving data via HTTP requests, you get a unique email address where people can send emails. The system automatically parses the email content and saves it to your Tadabase app.

Common Use Cases

• Create support tickets from incoming support emails
• Process job applications sent via email with resume attachments
• Log customer inquiries automatically
• Receive and process invoices or receipts sent via email
• Capture form submissions from email-based forms

Creating an Email Catcher

To create an email catcher:

1. Log into your webhook catcher at https://catch.tadabase.io
2. Click "Create Email Catcher" (or navigate to the Email Catcher section)
3. Fill in the basic information:
   • Name: A descriptive name (e.g., "Support Ticket Emails")
   • Description: Optional notes about this email catcher
   • Connected App: Select your Tadabase app
4. Choose your equation handling preference
5. Click "Save"

Your Unique Email Address

After creating the email catcher, you'll receive a unique email address that looks like:

abc123xyz@catch.tadabase.io

Anyone who sends an email to this address will automatically create a record in your Tadabase app.

Custom Email Domains

This feature may be available on select plans.

You can configure a custom email domain so your email catcher uses your own domain instead of the default catch.tadabase.io domain. For example:

support@yourdomain.com

To set up a custom domain:

1. Go to your profile settings
2. Navigate to "Email Domain Settings"
3. Enter your custom domain
4. Follow the DNS configuration instructions provided
5. Wait for domain verification (usually 24-48 hours)

Custom email domains require DNS configuration. Make sure you have access to your domain's DNS settings before starting this process.

Email Field Mapping

When an email arrives, the system automatically extracts the following information:

• from: Sender's email address
• to: Recipient email address (your email catcher address)
• subject: Email subject line
• body_text: Plain text version of the email body
• body_html: HTML version of the email body
• date: When the email was sent
• attachments: Array of file attachments (if enabled)

You can map these email fields to your Tadabase fields just like regular webhook data. For example:

• Map "subject" to your "Ticket Title" field
• Map "body_text" to your "Message" field
• Map "from" to your "Customer Email" field

Handling Email Attachments

Email attachment support may be available on select plans. Check your account features to confirm availability.

If your plan includes email attachment support, files sent to your email catcher will be automatically processed and can be saved to file fields in your app.

Attachment Structure

Attachments are provided as an array in the incoming email data:

{
  "attachments": [
    {
      "filename": "resume.pdf",
      "content_type": "application/pdf",
      "size": 45678,
      "url": "https://..."
    }
  ]
}

Mapping Attachments to File Fields

To save email attachments to your app:

1. Make sure you have a file or attachment field in your data table
2. When mapping fields, select the file field
3. Map it to "attachments.0.url" for the first attachment
4. For multiple attachments, use "attachments.1.url", "attachments.2.url", etc.

Email Catcher Security

Email catchers support the same security features as regular webhooks:

• IP Allowlisting: Only accept emails forwarded from specific IP addresses
• Email Domain Filtering: Accept emails only from specific sender domains
• Signature Validation: Verify email authenticity using headers

For detailed security configuration, see the Webhook Security Features guide.

Processing Rules

Duplicate Email Handling

By default, each email creates a new record. If you want to update existing records based on email content (for example, updating a ticket when someone replies), you can:

1. Set the webhook to "Update Existing Record"
2. Use a field from the email (like subject line or a reference number) to identify which record to update

Email Threading

To track email conversations, you can extract thread information from email headers and use it to link related emails together.

Testing Your Email Catcher

To test your email catcher:

1. Send a test email to your email catcher address
2. Wait a few seconds (processing is usually instant but can take up to 30 seconds)
3. Check the webhook logs to see if the email was received
4. Verify the data was correctly mapped to your app

You can also use the "Sample Request" feature to test field mapping without sending actual emails.

Email Catcher Logs

All incoming emails are logged in your webhook catcher dashboard. The logs show:

• When the email was received
• Sender and recipient addresses
• Subject line
• Processing status (success or failure)
• Any errors that occurred
• Number of attachments processed

Limitations and Best Practices

Email Size Limits

• Maximum email size: 10MB including attachments
• Attachment size limits apply per your plan
• Large emails may take longer to process

Best Practices

• Use descriptive names for your email catchers to easily identify their purpose
• Test thoroughly with sample emails before going live
• Set up failure notifications to be alerted of processing issues
• Regularly review logs to ensure emails are being processed correctly
• Consider using separate email catchers for different types of incoming emails

Spam and Unwanted Emails

To prevent spam or unwanted emails from creating records:

• Keep your email catcher address private and only share it with trusted sources
• Use email domain filtering to only accept emails from specific domains
• Consider adding a verification step in your workflow
• Monitor your logs regularly for suspicious activity

Troubleshooting

Emails Not Being Received

• Verify you're sending to the correct email catcher address
• Check your email catcher is active and not paused
• Review security settings to ensure emails aren't being blocked
• Check if email size exceeds limits

Attachments Not Processing

• Confirm your plan includes attachment support
• Verify the attachment field is correctly mapped
• Check that attachment file types are supported by Tadabase
• Ensure total email size doesn't exceed limits

Formatting Issues

• Use "body_text" for plain text content (recommended for most cases)
• Use "body_html" if you need to preserve formatting
• Be aware that HTML emails may contain extra formatting tags