Setting up with Gmail

If you use Gmail or Google Workspace, the simplest way to use Jelly is by directly connecting Jelly to Gmail. With a single connection, Jelly can both receive and send emails through your Google account — no forwarding setup required.

What directly connecting to Gmail does

When you connect your Gmail account directly to Jelly:

  • Incoming emails arrive automatically — No need to configure forwarding rules. When someone emails you, it appears in Jelly within seconds.
  • Outgoing emails go through Gmail — Replies you send from Jelly are delivered via Google’s servers and appear in your Gmail Sent folder.
  • Optional history import — You can import your recent email threads from Gmail so you have context for ongoing conversations.

Requirements

  • A Gmail account or Google Workspace account with a real mailbox (not just a Google Group)

If your shared address is a Google Workspace Group or Collaborative Inbox (not a real mailbox), use the Google Groups / Collaborative Inbox setup guide instead — direct connection needs a real mailbox to watch.

Setting Up Gmail Connection

1. Start the Connection

  • In Jelly, click your profile photo in the top-right corner
  • Select Email Setup
  • Click Connect a team address
  • Enter the email address you want to connect (e.g., support@yourcompany.com)
  • Click Save

2. Connect to Gmail

If your email address is hosted by Google, Jelly will detect this and offer to connect directly:

  • Click Connect to Gmail
  • Google will ask you to sign in — use the account that owns the mailbox
  • Review the permissions Jelly is requesting and click Allow

Make sure you check all the permission boxes. Jelly needs permission to read your emails (to receive them) and send emails on your behalf (to reply).

3. Import Your Email History (Optional)

After connecting, Jelly will ask if you’d like to import your recent emails:

  • Click Yes, import my recent emails to bring in your last 100 conversations
  • Or click No thanks, start fresh to start with an empty inbox

Importing gives you context for ongoing threads — you’ll see the full conversation history, not just new messages.

If you would like to import more of your gmail history, please get in touch. Once you’ve activated your subscription, we can explore larger imports.

4. You’re Done!

That’s it. Your Gmail account is now fully connected to Jelly:

  • New emails will appear in Jelly automatically
  • You can reply from Jelly and the messages will go through Gmail
  • Sent messages will appear in your Gmail Sent folder

Managing Your Connection

To view or manage your Gmail connection:

  • Go to Email Setup and click on your connected address
  • You’ll see the connection status showing that emails are received directly from Gmail
  • You can disconnect at any time (you’ll need to set up forwarding and re-verify to continue using Jelly)

If You Previously Set Up Forwarding

If you connected via Gmail direct connection but previously had forwarding configured, you can now disable the forwarding rule in Gmail. Jelly receives emails directly, so forwarding is no longer needed.

Disabling forwarding is optional but recommended — it simplifies your setup and avoids any chance of duplicate messages.

Upgrading from Send-Only Google Connection

If you previously connected your Google account just for sending (before Gmail direct connection was available), you can upgrade to the full experience:

  • Go to Email Setup and click on your connected address
  • In the Receiving Setup section, you’ll see an option to Enable direct receiving
  • Click the button and Jelly will set up the direct connection
  • You can then optionally import your email history

After upgrading, remember to disable any forwarding rules you had set up.

Troubleshooting

I don’t see the “Connect to Gmail” option

If you don’t see the option when adding a team address:

  • Make sure your email address is actually hosted by Google (Gmail or Google Workspace)
  • If your shared address is a Google Group, use the Google Groups setup guide instead

Emails aren’t appearing in Jelly

If you’ve connected but emails aren’t arriving:

  • Check that you granted all the requested permissions during setup
  • Try disconnecting and reconnecting your Google account
  • Make sure the emails are arriving in your Gmail inbox (not spam)

The connection shows an error

If your connection shows an authentication error:

  • Go to Email Setup, click on the address, and look for a Reconnect button
  • Click it to re-authenticate with Google
  • This can happen if you changed your Google password or revoked Jelly’s access

Import is taking a long time

When importing your email history, you’ll see a progress message on your inbox. The import runs in the background and typically completes within a few minutes. Large mailboxes may take longer.

Privacy & Permissions

When you connect to Gmail, Jelly requests these permissions:

  • Read your emails — So we can receive incoming messages and import history
  • Send emails on your behalf — So we can send replies through Gmail
  • See your email address — So we know which account you’re connecting

Jelly only accesses emails in your Inbox and Sent folders. We don’t access other labels, drafts, or settings. You can revoke Jelly’s access at any time in your Google Account settings.