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Gmail Integration

PingCRM connects to Gmail via OAuth 2.0 with Google, syncing email threads, contacts, and calendar events to build a complete interaction history.

Authentication​

The Gmail integration uses standard Google OAuth 2.0. After granting access on the Google consent screen, PingCRM stores a refresh token to maintain access without repeated sign-in. Multi-account support allows connecting more than one Gmail address.

Email Sync​

Individual email messages are imported as interactions. Each message captures:

  • Sender and recipients -- mapped to existing contacts or used to create new ones.
  • Direction -- inbound (contact sent to you) or outbound (you sent to contact), per message.
  • Subject line -- prepended to the message snippet for context.
  • Timestamps -- sent times for accurate timeline ordering.
  • Body snippets -- a preview of the email content without storing full message bodies.

Messages are deduplicated by Gmail message ID. Multi-message threads create separate interactions for each message, showing the full conversation flow in the timeline.

Schedule: Email sync runs automatically every 6 hours.

BCC Email Logging​

Each contact has a unique BCC address. When you BCC that address on any email from any client (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail), PingCRM automatically logs the email to that contact's timeline.

Format: yourname+{hash}@gmail.com (uses your connected Gmail address with a +hash suffix)

How it works:

  1. Find the BCC address on the contact detail page (copy button next to the hash).
  2. When composing an email, add the BCC address.
  3. Gmail delivers the email to your inbox (the + suffix is ignored by Gmail).
  4. On next sync, PingCRM detects the +hash in the headers and links the interaction to the correct contact.

No custom domain or email infrastructure required -- it uses Gmail's native + addressing.

Google Contacts Sync​

A one-way import pulls contacts from Google Contacts into PingCRM. Contact records include names, email addresses, phone numbers, and organization fields. This import does not write back to Google -- it is read-only.

Google Calendar Sync​

Calendar events are imported as meeting-type interactions. Event attendees are matched to existing contacts by email address. Events include title, start/end times, and attendee lists.

Schedule: Calendar sync runs daily at 06:00 UTC.

Pre-Meeting Prep Emails​

When a Google Calendar meeting is 30 minutes away, PingCRM sends a prep brief email to your inbox with context about each attendee:

  • Attendee profiles -- name, title, company, and relationship score (Strong/Warm/Cold).
  • Platform bios -- Twitter, LinkedIn, and Telegram bios when available.
  • Recent interactions -- the last 3-5 conversations across all platforms.
  • AI talking points -- Claude Haiku generates 3-5 specific, actionable talking points based on the attendee context.

The email is sent from your own Gmail account via the Gmail API (gmail.send scope). Existing users may be prompted to re-authorize Gmail to grant the new send permission.

Schedule: A background task scans for upcoming meetings every 10 minutes. Meetings in the 30-40 minute window trigger a prep email. Redis dedup keys prevent duplicate sends.

Settings: The feature is enabled by default. Disable it via Settings > Sync Settings > Gmail > meeting_prep_enabled.

Background Processing​

All Gmail syncs (email, contacts, calendar) and meeting prep emails run as Celery background tasks. You do not need to keep the browser open. A notification is delivered when each sync completes or fails.