Shared mailbox for Helpdesk: IMAP / SMTP

Who can do thisWorkspace Administrator

Use IMAP / SMTP when your support mailbox is not on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, or when you simply prefer a username and password. The Hub reads new mail over IMAP and turns it into Helpdesk tickets; replies are sent over SMTP. Both use Basic auth with the same username and password.

What you need

• The IMAP and SMTP host names of your mail provider, for example imap.your-company.example and smtp.your-company.example.
• The ports, if they differ from the usual 993 for IMAP and 587 for SMTP.
• The mailbox's username and password. If your provider requires an app password for outside programs, create one and use that.

Connect the mailbox

1. Open Marketplace, find the Shared mailbox card and click Add. The sheet New shared mailbox connection opens.
2. Under Basics, enter a Name and set Provider to IMAP / SMTP.
3. Under Mailbox, enter the From address, for example support@your-company.example.
4. Under IMAP / SMTP access, fill in:
   • IMAP host and IMAP port (993 unless your provider says otherwise). Leave IMAP uses TLS on.
   • SMTP host and SMTP port (587 unless your provider says otherwise). Leave SMTP uses TLS on.
   • Username and Password.
5. Under Schedule & status, keep Trigger on On a schedule, choose a Frequency (it starts on Hourly) and switch Enabled on.
6. Under How far back each run reads, leave Lookback window (minutes) blank for 24 hours, or enter 15 to 43200.
7. Click Save. The mailbox appears on Connections.

Keep TLS on

Basic auth sends the username and password on every connection. The warning box Keep TLS on for both endpoints asks you to leave IMAP uses TLS and SMTP uses TLS on unless the server genuinely cannot offer it, so the credentials are never sent in the clear. Both switches are on when you open the form.

The password and later changes

The password is stored in Juvaro's secret vault and never shown again. When you edit the connection, the form says "Password set - enter a new value to rotate." Leave the field empty to keep the saved password.

There is one exception. If you change the IMAP or SMTP host, a port or a TLS switch, you must type the password again. Saving without it fails with "Enter the password again: the IMAP or SMTP server, port or TLS setting changed, and a saved password is only ever sent to the server it was entered for." This stops a saved password from being sent to a server it was never meant for.

After saving

• There is no Test connection for mail. Send a test mail, click Run now on the row and open Runs to see the result.
• The mailbox is never auto-paused, so add an alert rule to hear about failures. See Alert rules and Needs attention.
• On the Credentials page the password shows as "Basic auth - IMAP/SMTP". If the password has to be changed on a schedule, record the date there. See Credentials: expiry dates and rotation.
• For the schedule and lookback window, see How often a mailbox is checked. For what Helpdesk does with the mail, see Mail through the Integration Hub.

If saving fails