How to Log Gmail Activity to HubSpot CRM with N8n

Dashboard > New Workflow

Create New N8n Workflow

Start a blank workflow in N8n. This will be a polling workflow that checks for new emails and logs them to HubSpot.

1. 1Click 'New Workflow' from the N8n dashboard
2. 2Name it 'Gmail to HubSpot Email Logger'
3. 3Click 'Save' to create the empty workflow

Add Node > Gmail > Get Messages

Add Gmail Trigger Node

Set up the Gmail node to watch for new emails. This will poll Gmail every 5 minutes for messages sent or received.

1. 1Click the '+' button and search for 'Gmail'
2. 2Select the Gmail node from the results
3. 3Choose 'Get Messages' as the operation
4. 4Set Query to 'is:sent OR is:unread' to capture sent and received emails

Gmail Node > Credentials > Create New

Connect Gmail Account

Authenticate your Gmail account with N8n. You'll need Gmail API access enabled in Google Cloud Console.

1. 1Click 'Create New' next to Gmail credentials
2. 2Select 'OAuth2 API' authentication method
3. 3Enter your Google Client ID and Client Secret
4. 4Click 'Connect my account' and complete OAuth flow

Add Node > Schedule Trigger

Add Schedule Trigger

Connect a Schedule Trigger before Gmail to poll for new emails every 5 minutes. This ensures the workflow runs automatically.

1. 1Click '+' before the Gmail node
2. 2Search for and select 'Schedule Trigger'
3. 3Set Trigger Interval to 'Every 5 minutes'
4. 4Connect the Schedule output to Gmail input

Add Node > IF

Filter for Contact Emails

Add an IF node to only process emails from addresses that exist in HubSpot. This prevents logging irrelevant emails.

1. 1Add an IF node after Gmail
2. 2Set condition to check if sender email exists
3. 3Use expression: {{ $json.from[0].email }}
4. 4Connect to next step only on 'true' branch

Add Node > HubSpot > Get Contact by Email

Add HubSpot Contact Search

Search HubSpot to verify the email sender exists as a contact before logging the email activity.

1. 1Add HubSpot node after IF (true branch)
2. 2Select 'Get Contact by Email' operation
3. 3Map Email field to Gmail sender: {{ $node['Gmail'].json.from[0].email }}
4. 4Set 'Continue on Fail' to true

HubSpot Node > Credentials > Create New

Connect HubSpot Account

Authenticate with HubSpot using your API key. You need at least Marketing Hub Starter for timeline events API access.

1. 1Click 'Create New' next to HubSpot credentials
2. 2Select 'API Key' authentication
3. 3Paste your HubSpot API key from Settings > Integrations
4. 4Click 'Save' to test connection

Add Node > IF

Add Second IF for Contact Check

Check if the contact search returned results before attempting to log the email. This prevents errors when emailing non-contacts.

1. 1Add another IF node after HubSpot contact search
2. 2Set condition: {{ $json.id !== undefined }}
3. 3This checks if contact ID exists in the response
4. 4Connect true branch to next step

Add Node > HubSpot > Create Timeline Event

Create Timeline Event

Add another HubSpot node to create the email timeline event on the contact record with email details.

1. 1Add new HubSpot node after second IF (true branch)
2. 2Select 'Create Timeline Event' operation
3. 3Set Event Type ID to email event type
4. 4Map Object ID to contact ID from previous step

HubSpot Timeline Node > Properties

Map Email Data Fields

Configure the timeline event properties with email subject, body preview, and timestamp from Gmail.

1. 1In Properties section, click 'Add Property'
2. 2Map 'subject' to {{ $node['Gmail'].json.subject }}
3. 3Map 'email_body' to {{ $node['Gmail'].json.snippet }}
4. 4Map 'timestamp' to {{ $node['Gmail'].json.internalDate }}

Toolbar > Test Workflow

Test the Workflow

Run a test execution to verify emails are found in Gmail and logged to the correct HubSpot contact.

1. 1Click 'Test workflow' button in top toolbar
2. 2Check each node for green success indicators
3. 3Verify timeline event appears in HubSpot contact record
4. 4Check execution logs for any errors

Workflow > Active Toggle

Activate Workflow

Turn on the workflow to start automatically logging emails every 5 minutes. Monitor the first few runs for issues.

1. 1Click the toggle switch in top right to 'Active'
2. 2Confirm activation in the popup dialog
3. 3Check Executions tab after 10 minutes for first run
4. 4Verify no error notifications appear

Drop this into an n8n Code node.

// Extract meeting times from email body
const emailBody = $node['Gmail'].json.snippet;
const timeRegex = /(\d{1,2}:\d{2}\s?(AM|PM|am|pm))/g;

// Extract meeting times from email body
const emailBody = $node['Gmail'].json.snippet;
const timeRegex = /(\d{1,2}:\d{2}\s?(AM|PM|am|pm))/g;
const meetingTimes = emailBody.match(timeRegex);

return [{
  json: {
    ...items[0].json,
    meeting_time_detected: meetingTimes ? meetingTimes[0] : null,
    contains_meeting: meetingTimes !== null
  }
}];