---
title: "n8n Email Trigger (Inbound Email) | WebhookRelay"
meta:
  "og:description": "Trigger n8n workflows from inbound email — no IMAP, mail server or polling. Webhook Relay gives you a unique address, parses each message to JSON and streams it to self-hosted n8n over a WebSocket."
  "og:title": "n8n Email Trigger (Inbound Email)"
  description: "Trigger n8n workflows from inbound email — no IMAP, mail server or polling. Webhook Relay gives you a unique address, parses each message to JSON and streams it to self-hosted n8n over a WebSocket."
---

![Stripes](https://webhookrelay.com/docs/tutorials/n8n/email-trigger/images/stripes.svg)

Documentation

**Fundamentals**

# **n8n Email Trigger (Inbound Email)**

Trigger n8n workflows from inbound email — no IMAP, mail server or polling. Webhook Relay gives you a unique address, parses each message to JSON and streams it to self-hosted n8n over a WebSocket.

The usual way to receive email in n8n is the **IMAP** node, which polls a mailbox you have to own and configure. The [Webhook Relay Email Trigger](https://www.npmjs.com/package/n8n-nodes-webhookrelay) skips all of that: it gives you a **unique inbound address**, parses every message to JSON, and streams it to n8n over an **outbound WebSocket** — no IMAP, no mail server, no polling, and n8n is never exposed.

If you haven't installed the node yet, follow steps 1–2 of the [Webhook Trigger tutorial](https://webhookrelay.com/docs/tutorials/n8n/email-trigger/docs/tutorials/n8n/webhook-trigger/) (install `n8n-nodes-webhookrelay` and add the API-key credential) — the same credential works for both triggers.

## [1. Add the Email Trigger](#_1-add-the-email-trigger)

Add a **Webhook Relay Email Trigger**, give it a **Bucket** name (e.g. `n8n-email`), and optionally restrict **Allowed Senders**. Open the **Email Address** field to get your unique inbound address (`<uuid>@in.webhookrelay-mail.com`).

![Webhook Relay Email Trigger parameters](https://webhookrelay.com/docs/tutorials/n8n/email-trigger/images/tutorials/n8n/04-email-config.png)

## [2. Send a test email](#_2-send-a-test-email)

**Activate** the workflow, then send an email to that address from any client.

![Sending a test email to the Webhook Relay inbound address](https://webhookrelay.com/docs/tutorials/n8n/email-trigger/images/tutorials/n8n/send-test-email.png)

## [3. Watch it arrive](#_3-watch-it-arrive)

Within a second or two the parsed message reaches n8n. Each email arrives as structured JSON — `from`, `subject`, `text`, `html`, `attachments`, `spf`/`dkim`/`dmarc` and the full `headers` map — ready for downstream nodes. You can inspect exactly what was received in the [dashboard](https://my.webhookrelay.com/buckets).

![Parsed inbound email in the Webhook Relay dashboard](https://webhookrelay.com/docs/tutorials/n8n/email-trigger/images/tutorials/n8n/webhookrelay-email-debug.png)

```
{
  "from": "jon@example.com",
  "from_name": "Jon Snow",
  "recipient": "<uuid>@in.webhookrelay-mail.com",
  "subject": "Order #4821 confirmed",
  "text": "plain body",
  "html": "<p>html body</p>",
  "spf": "pass",
  "dkim": "pass",
  "dmarc": "pass"
}
```

See the full [payload reference](https://webhookrelay.com/docs/tutorials/n8n/email-trigger/docs/email/payload/) for every field.

## [Get started](#get-started)

[Create a free Webhook Relay account](https://my.webhookrelay.com/register), add the Email Trigger, and turn support requests, alerts and form submissions into n8n workflows — no IMAP or mailbox required. Receiving **HTTP webhooks** too? See the [n8n Webhook Trigger](https://webhookrelay.com/docs/tutorials/n8n/email-trigger/docs/tutorials/n8n/webhook-trigger/).

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