Connect a mailbox

This guide shows you how to connect mailboxes you already have, so their verification codes appear in ExitNode. If you use your own domain instead, see Connect a catch-all domain.

You do all of this in the desktop app, on the Inbox Settings page.

Open Inbox Settings

Click the gear beside Inbox in the sidebar. The gear on the Inbox and Verifications screens opens the same page. Back to Inbox returns you.

The page has four cards:

• My ExitNode catchalls: your addresses on exitnode.app. See Connect a catch-all domain.
• Email forwarding: Gmail accounts that forward into ExitNode.
• On this device only: mailboxes kept on this computer.
• IMAP connections: mailboxes ExitNode syncs.

If a card can’t load, it shows Could not load this section. and Retry.

Choose a way to connect

Way	Where the mail goes	Use it when
Gmail forwarding	Gmail forwards new mail to an ExitNode address, so it appears in Inbox and Verifications.	You want a Gmail account’s mail in ExitNode, for the whole team.
Keep on this device only	ExitNode reads the mailbox from this computer, and doesn’t receive the mailbox, its password or its mail.	You’d rather keep the mailbox private to this computer.
Let ExitNode sync it	ExitNode saves the IMAP login for your organization.	You want it listed for your organization. See the note below.

The Let ExitNode sync it form says it verifies the login once on save, and shows Connected or Failed. It also says inbox polling for codes is still to come. So if you want codes from an IMAP mailbox today, use Keep on this device only.

Set up Gmail forwarding

You need an ExitNode address to forward into. If you don’t have one, claim one first on the same page.

1. On the Email forwarding card, click Forward new email. If you already have one set up, click Add.

2. If you have several addresses, pick one under Which ExitNode address should Gmail forward into?, then click Continue.

3. The Setting up Gmail forwarding dialog opens, and a browser window opens with it.

4. Sign in to Gmail in that window, and complete any prompts Google shows you.

5. The dialog ticks off each step:

   • Sign in to Gmail
   • Adding forwarding address
   • Complete Google’s verification prompt
   • Gmail sent forwarding request
   • ExitNode received confirmation email
   • Extracting confirmation code
   • Confirming the address
   • Enabling forwarding
   • Confirmed

6. When it’s done, the app says Gmail forwarding set up. The account appears on the card, showing which address it goes Into.

If you close the browser window partway, the app says Setup cancelled: browser closed.

Set up forwarding yourself

The web app has manual steps. On its Inbox page, click the gear for ExitNode addresses, then read Gmail forwarding setup:

1. Copy your personal or shared ExitNode address.
2. In Gmail, open Settings, See all settings, Forwarding and POP/IMAP, then Add a forwarding address.
3. Paste the address and continue. Confirm with the code or link that appears in ExitNode’s Codes.
4. Select Forward a copy to that address, keep Inbox, then Save Changes.

Remove forwarding

Click ⋯ on the account’s row, then remove it. The app asks you to confirm Stop tracking this Gmail forwarding connection in ExitNode?

Add an IMAP mailbox

1. On the On this device only card, click Add. Or on the IMAP connections card, click Add IMAP connection or Add.

2. Choose where it’s kept:

   • Keep on this device only
   • Let ExitNode sync it

3. Pick a Provider: Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook, iCloud Mail, AOL Mail or Custom. This fills in the server and port.

4. Enter your Email / username.

5. Enter your Password / app password. Gmail and iCloud need an app password, which you create in your account with them.

6. Check IMAP server and Port. Fill these in yourself for Custom.

7. For a device-only mailbox, you can fill in Also receives mail for: one per line, such as alias@yourdomain.com or *@yourdomain.com.

8. Click Test connection to try it. This step is optional.

9. Click Save connection.

The app says Saved on this device, Connected, or that it saved but the connection failed.

A device-only mailbox can’t be used for order tracking.

Device-only mailboxes

Read the status

Each mailbox on On this device only shows its address, server and a status, with when it was last checked.

Status	What it means
Connected	It’s working.
Connecting…	It’s trying now.
Sign-in failed	The password was refused.
Failed	It couldn’t connect.
Not connected	It isn’t connected at the moment.

A device-only mailbox only works on this computer, while the app is running.

Keep its mail on this device

By default, a device-only mailbox only supplies verification codes. Turn on Keep this mailbox’s mail on this device to read its mail in Inbox too.

1. Flip the switch on its row.
2. Read the Keep mail on this device dialog and click Keep mail here.

The sender, subject and body of its newest messages (up to 50 per folder), and of every message it receives from now on, are stored only on this computer. They’re kept for 30 days or 2,000 messages, whichever comes first. ExitNode never receives them, and they’re removed when you sign out.

At most 3 mailboxes can keep mail on a device.

Turning the switch off stops keeping new mail. What’s already stored stays until you remove it or it’s 30 days old.

See this mail in the Inbox

Once a mailbox keeps its mail here, the Inbox screen shows a switch at the top: Cloud, Local and Both.

Choice	What it shows
Cloud	Mail ExitNode received.
Local	Mail kept on this computer.
Both	Both in one list, newest first.

Remove stored mail

Click Remove stored mail on the mailbox’s row and confirm. This deletes what it kept on this computer. Mail on your mail server isn’t touched.

Remove a device-only mailbox

Click Remove on its row and confirm. ExitNode stops watching it and deletes its saved password from this computer.

Reset all device-only mailboxes

If the list can’t be read, the card says Your on-device mailboxes could not be read. Click Reset local mailboxes and confirm. This removes the list and its stored passwords from this computer. Mail on your mail server isn’t touched.

Remove an IMAP connection

On the IMAP connections card, click ⋯ on its row and confirm. The app says IMAP connection removed.

If something goes wrong

“Sign-in failed. Check the password; Gmail and iCloud need an app password.” Check your password, or create an app password with your mail provider.

“Could not reach the mail server. Check the server and port.” Check IMAP server and Port, and your connection.

“The server’s secure connection failed.” The mail server’s secure connection didn’t work. Check the server and port.

“The server answered in a way we could not read.” Check that this is an IMAP server.

“Add the email address this mailbox receives (as the username or under Also receives mail for).” Add an address in one of those two fields.

“Fill in all fields” One of the fields is empty.

“Could not load your addresses. Retry first.” The address list didn’t load. Click Retry on that card.

“Claim an address first” Gmail forwarding needs an ExitNode address to forward into.

“At most 3 mailboxes can keep mail on this device” Turn the switch off on another mailbox first.

“Some on-device mailbox data could not be removed. Open Inbox Settings to reset it.” This can appear after you sign out. Sign back in and use Reset local mailboxes.