Connect an IMAP mailbox

Use Yahoo, iCloud, Fastmail, or another IMAP mailbox for inbox scanning when Gmail is not the right fit, or add them alongside Gmail when receipts are split across accounts.

On this page

Before you start Connect the mailbox What the first scan does Provider notes When forwarding is better

Before you start

  • You need an rct-keep account and an active subscription to connect inbox scanning.
  • IMAP mailbox scanning uses encrypted stored credentials, usually an app password rather than your normal mailbox password.
  • The first import scans the history window you choose in Settings and then switches to polling for new candidates.
  • You can connect more than one inbox, and each connection can scan the folders you select.

Connect the mailbox

  1. Open Settings
    Go to Settings and find the Email Accounts section.
  2. Pick the right provider card
    Choose Yahoo, iCloud, Fastmail, or Other IMAP if you need to enter host and port details manually.
  3. Generate an app password first
    Yahoo, Apple, and Fastmail all expect an app-specific password for IMAP access. Create that in the provider's account security area before coming back here.
  4. Enter the mailbox details
    Use your full email address as the username, select the folders you want scanned, and choose the first import range.
  5. Save the connection
    rct-keep validates the mailbox immediately, stores the credentials encrypted at rest, and starts the first scan.
  6. Add other inboxes the same way
    Repeat the process if receipts also live in another IMAP account or in Gmail. All connected inboxes feed the same receipt library.

What the first scan does

The IMAP onboarding scan starts as soon as the connection is saved. rct-keep searches the selected history range for receipt-like candidates, fetches them, and runs them through the normal email ingest pipeline.

Discovered
Candidate emails found in the mailbox during the initial scan.
Fetched
Candidate emails downloaded for full parsing.
Imported
Emails that successfully became receipts.
Skipped
Candidates rejected later as duplicates, invoices, or non-receipts.
IMAP scans are broader than Gmail. Expect a few more skipped candidates because IMAP providers do not offer Gmail's purchase-category signal.

Provider notes

  • Yahoo Mail: use a Yahoo-generated app password and your full Yahoo email address. See Organise Yahoo email receipts.
  • iCloud Mail: use an Apple app-specific password; your normal Apple password will not work for IMAP here. See Organise iCloud email receipts.
  • Fastmail: create a Fastmail app password with IMAP access before connecting. See Organise Fastmail email receipts.
  • Other IMAP: start with SSL on port 993 unless your provider documents a different host or encryption mode.

When forwarding is better

Use Email forwarding setup instead if you only want a small subset of receipt emails, if your provider's IMAP support is awkward, or if you would rather avoid storing mailbox credentials in rct-keep at all. Forwarding also works well beside inbox scanning when you want an extra one-off path.