---
name: "google_mail_search"
area: "googleworkspace"
title: "Search Gmail"
price: "free"
method: "POST"
url: "https://api.conecto.chat/v1/tools/google_mail_search"
mcp_server: "https://api.conecto.chat/mcp/googleworkspace"
auth: "Authorization: Bearer <conecto_sk_ key>"
docs_url: "https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_mail_search"
---

# Search Gmail (`google_mail_search`)

The newest messages in a mailbox, or those matching a Gmail search.

The newest messages in a mailbox (the inbox by default), or those matching a Gmail search like "from:rachel subject:tabor": sender, subject, a preview and whether they are read. Free.

Price: Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month for the whole account, then $0.50 per 10,000 reads. A call that fails costs nothing.

## Use it when

The agent starts its round of the mailbox, or looks for a customer's earlier email.

## Say this to your agent

> Which Gmail messages in support@ are still unread?

## Inputs

| Name | Type | Required | Description | Allowed values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| `mailbox` | string | no | One of the mailboxes the agent may act as; optional when only one is connected. Up to 254 characters. |  |  |
| `query` | string | no | Up to 300 characters. |  |  |
| `folder` | string | no |  | `"inbox"`, `"sent"`, `"drafts"`, `"spam"`, `"trash"`, `"all"` | `"inbox"` |
| `unread_only` | boolean | no |  |  | `false` |
| `limit` | integer | no | 1 to 25. |  | `10` |

## Example

Written for Halverson Cycle & Repair, a bike shop with a repair workshop in Portland, Oregon.

MCP: call `google_mail_search` on the MCP server `https://api.conecto.chat/mcp/googleworkspace` with these arguments:

```json
{
  "mailbox": "support@halversoncycle.example",
  "unread_only": true
}
```

REST:

```bash
curl https://api.conecto.chat/v1/tools/google_mail_search \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CONECTO_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"mailbox": "support@halversoncycle.example", "unread_only": true}'
```

## Response

```json
{
  "call_id": "5f0c8a2e-3b7d-4c1e-9a64-2d8e1f7b0c93",
  "tool": "google_mail_search",
  "status": "succeeded",
  "replayed": false,
  "cost_usd": "$0.00",
  "balance_usd": "$19.75",
  "result": {
    "mailbox": "support@halversoncycle.example",
    "messages": [
      {
        "id": "192e1f0a7c3b9d41",
        "subject": "Where is my Tabor?",
        "from": "rachel.kim@example.com",
        "from_name": "Rachel Kim",
        "to": [
          "support@halversoncycle.example"
        ],
        "received_at": "Wed, 14 Oct 2026 07:41:09 +0000",
        "preview": "Hi, I ordered the Tabor three weeks ago. When does it ship?",
        "read": false,
        "thread_id": "192e1f0a7c3b9d41"
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

`result`: mailbox; messages: each with id, subject, from, to, received_at, preview, read and thread_id.

## Errors

| Code | Status | When | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| `not_connected` | 409 | Google Workspace isn't connected yet. | Connect it with google_connect. |
| `not_allowed` | 403 | The mailbox is not one the agent may act as. | Use a connected mailbox; the owner adds one by connecting again. |
| `vendor_rejected` | 502 | Google refused: delegation is missing a scope, or Google said no. | Ask the Workspace admin to grant what the message names. |

The refusals every tool can give (401 key, 402 balance, 429 limits) are on the errors page: https://conecto.chat/docs/errors.md

## Related

- [google_connect](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_connect.md): Connects the company's Google Workspace through its own service account, for the mailboxes the agent may act as. Free.
- [google_mail_read](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_mail_read.md): One message in full, with its body as text and its attachments' names. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [google_mail_send](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_mail_send.md): Sends an email, or a reply in the same thread, as one of the company's mailboxes. $0.001 a call.
- [google_calendar_events](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_calendar_events.md): The events in a mailbox's calendar between two times, in UTC. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [google_calendar_create](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_calendar_create.md): Adds an event to a mailbox's calendar and invites its attendees, with a Meet link if asked. $0.001 a call.
- [google_calendar_cancel](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_calendar_cancel.md): Cancels an event and tells its attendees; waits for the owner by default. $0.001 a call.
- [google_drive_search](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_drive_search.md): Files in a mailbox user's Drive, shared drives included, whose words match. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [google_drive_read](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_drive_read.md): A Drive file's words: Docs, Sheets, Slides, text, PDF or Office, up to 5 MB. Free up to 1,000,000 reads a month.
- [google_drive_upload](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_drive_upload.md): Writes a text file into a Drive folder; replacing one waits for the owner. $0.001 a call.
- [google_disconnect](https://conecto.chat/tools/googleworkspace/google_disconnect.md): Forgets the service account's key and the mailboxes; nothing in Google Workspace changes. Free.