How to Log incoming emails by label with Pipedream

Dashboard > New Workflow

Create new workflow

Go to pipedream.com and click 'New Workflow' in your dashboard. You'll see a blank canvas with a trigger placeholder at the top. This is where you'll configure Gmail to watch for labeled emails. The workflow builder shows steps vertically - trigger at top, actions below.

1. 1Click the green 'New Workflow' button
2. 2Name your workflow 'Gmail Label Logger'
3. 3Click 'Create Workflow'

Trigger > Select App > Gmail

Add Gmail trigger

Click the trigger step to open the app selector. Search for Gmail and select 'New Labeled Email' - this watches for emails hitting specific labels instantly. Pipedream creates a webhook endpoint that Gmail will call whenever an email gets the label you specify.

1. 1Click 'Select a trigger' in the workflow
2. 2Type 'Gmail' in the search box
3. 3Select 'New Labeled Email' from the trigger list
4. 4Click 'Continue'

Trigger Configuration > Connect Account

Connect Gmail account

Click 'Connect Account' to authenticate with Google. You'll see a popup asking for Gmail permissions including read access and label management. Grant all requested permissions - Pipedream needs label access to watch for new emails. The connection saves for future workflows.

1. 1Click 'Connect Account' button
2. 2Sign in with your Google account
3. 3Click 'Allow' for all Gmail permissions
4. 4Wait for the green checkmark confirmation

Trigger Configuration > Label Selection

Configure label trigger

Select the specific Gmail label to monitor from the dropdown. Type the exact label name if it doesn't appear - case sensitive. You can only watch one label per trigger, but the same email can trigger multiple workflows if it has multiple labels. Test the trigger by sending yourself an email with that label.

1. 1Click the 'Label' dropdown
2. 2Select your target label (e.g., 'Client Inquiries')
3. 3Click 'Test trigger' at the bottom
4. 4Send yourself a test email with that label

Workflow > Add Step > Google Sheets

Add Google Sheets action

Click the '+' below your trigger to add a new step. Search for Google Sheets and select 'Add Row' to append new rows for each email. This action runs every time the Gmail trigger fires, creating a log entry with email details you specify in the next steps.

1. 1Click the '+' button below the Gmail trigger
2. 2Type 'Google Sheets' in the app search
3. 3Select 'Add Row' from the actions list
4. 4Click 'Continue'

Google Sheets Step > Connect Account

Connect Google Sheets

Authenticate with the same Google account that owns your target spreadsheet. Google Sheets requires different permissions than Gmail, so you'll see another auth popup. The connection lets Pipedream read your spreadsheet structure and write new rows to any sheet you own or have edit access to.

1. 1Click 'Connect Account' in the Sheets step
2. 2Use the same Google account as your spreadsheet
3. 3Grant Google Sheets read/write permissions
4. 4Confirm the connection

Google Sheets Configuration > Spreadsheet Selection

Select target spreadsheet

Choose your destination spreadsheet and worksheet from the dropdowns. Pipedream loads all sheets you have access to - this can take 10-15 seconds for accounts with many files. Pick the specific worksheet tab where you want email logs. The sheet should have column headers in row 1 that match your planned data fields.

1. 1Click 'Spreadsheet' dropdown
2. 2Select your email logging spreadsheet
3. 3Click 'Worksheet' dropdown
4. 4Choose the target worksheet tab

Google Sheets Configuration > Column Mapping

Map email data to columns

Configure which email fields go into which spreadsheet columns. Click each column dropdown and select the corresponding Gmail trigger data. The most useful fields are sender email, subject line, received date, and message snippet. You can also map static values or use expressions to format data.

1. 1Click the first column dropdown
2. 2Select 'From' from the Gmail data
3. 3Map 'Subject' to your subject column
4. 4Map 'Date' and 'Snippet' to remaining columns

Between Steps > Add Code Step

Add data formatting code

Insert a Node.js code step between Gmail and Sheets to clean up the email data. Click the '+' button between your existing steps and select 'Code'. This step runs JavaScript to format dates, extract clean sender names, or truncate long subjects before logging to the spreadsheet.

1. 1Click '+' between Gmail and Sheets steps
2. 2Select 'Code' from the step types
3. 3Choose 'Node.js' as the runtime
4. 4Paste the formatting code

This code step goes between your Gmail trigger and Google Sheets action to clean up email data and add timestamps. Paste it in the Node.js code editor.

export default defineComponent({
  async run({ steps, $ }) {
    const email = steps.trigger.event;

export default defineComponent({
  async run({ steps, $ }) {
    const email = steps.trigger.event;
    
    // Clean sender name from email header
    const senderName = email.from.replace(/<.*>/, '').trim() || 
                      email.from.split('@')[0];
    
    // Format date for spreadsheet readability  
    const receivedDate = new Date(email.date)
      .toLocaleString('en-US', {
        month: 'short',
        day: 'numeric', 
        year: 'numeric',
        hour: 'numeric',
        minute: '2-digit'
      });
    
    // Truncate long subjects
    const cleanSubject = email.subject.length > 60 ? 
                        email.subject.substring(0, 60) + '...' : 
                        email.subject;
    
    // Extract domain for sender categorization
    const senderDomain = email.from.split('@')[1]?.toLowerCase();
    
    return {
      sender_email: email.from,
      sender_name: senderName,
      subject: cleanSubject,
      received_date: receivedDate,
      snippet: email.snippet || '',
      message_id: email.message_id,
      sender_domain: senderDomain,
      logged_at: new Date().toISOString()
    };
  }
});

Workflow > Test

Test complete workflow

Run an end-to-end test by sending an email with your target label. Watch each step execute in real-time - you'll see green checkmarks as data flows from Gmail through your code to Sheets. Check your spreadsheet to verify the new row appears with properly formatted data. Fix any mapping errors before going live.

1. 1Click 'Test' at the top of your workflow
2. 2Send yourself an email with the target label
3. 3Watch each step execute
4. 4Check your spreadsheet for the new row

Workflow > Deploy

Deploy workflow

Click 'Deploy' to activate your workflow for live email processing. The status changes from 'Draft' to 'Active' and Pipedream starts monitoring your Gmail label 24/7. You can pause, edit, or view execution logs from the workflow dashboard. Each email that hits your label now auto-logs to Sheets instantly.

1. 1Click the green 'Deploy' button
2. 2Confirm deployment in the popup
3. 3Wait for 'Active' status to appear
4. 4Test with a real email to verify