pulpInbox help

pulpInbox brings together mail, calendar, contacts and tasks in pulpSuite. You can use it to read an Outlook archive without Outlook, or to handle an email account day to day (Gmail, Outlook.com, Microsoft 365 or any other provider).

pulpInbox works in two ways:

• The local mailbox: imported messages, drafts, calendar, contacts and tasks are stored in your browser, on this device. No account is needed.
• An email account, to send and receive. This goes through the mail bridge of your pulpSuite installation, which your administrator sets up. On online pulpSuite, you also need to be signed in to your pulpSuite account, and you can turn on end-to-end encryption (beta) for each account, set up by your browser. See mail and accounts.

Getting started

1. Open pulpInbox. The first time you open it, an example appears on its own so you can see what pulpInbox looks like: the mailbox of a fictional company, Atelier Armor, with its messages (a quote, a site schedule, a meeting invitation), calendar, contacts and tasks. Nothing in it is saved or sent. Link an account or importing a file makes it disappear; Start from scratch or Remove the example removes it in one click, and Settings › See the example again brings it back.
2. To read existing messages, click Import / export in the folder column, then Choose files or Choose a folder. You can also drop files onto the window. A single notice sums up what was added: messages, events, contacts, tasks, and duplicates skipped.
3. To send and receive, click Add an account. Choose Sign in with Google or Sign in with Microsoft if your installation offers them; otherwise enter your address and password, and pulpInbox works out your provider's settings from the address.
4. Write with New message (or the N key). After Send, you have a few seconds to undo.
5. Switch between Mail, Calendar, Contacts and Tasks with the tabs at the top.

Common tasks

How do I open a .msg or .pst file without Outlook?

In Import / export, choose the .msg, .pst or .ost file (or drop it onto the window). pulpInbox shows the message text as Outlook formatted it, plus attachments, messages attached to other messages and winmail.dat attachments. Appointments, contacts and tasks inside a .pst go straight into your calendar, contacts and tasks, with no duplicates if you import the same file again. Imported messages land in the Imported folder. Everything stays on your device: nothing is sent to a server.

How do I bring over my Thunderbird, Gmail or Apple Mail mailbox?

Thunderbird: pick the profile folder (Mail/Local Folders) with Choose a folder, or the mbox files. Gmail: import your Google Takeout archive (.mbox or .zip). Apple Mail: import the .mbox or .emlx files. Messages you already have are skipped.

How do I add a Gmail or Microsoft account?

Add an account, then Sign in with Google or Sign in with Microsoft. The provider's window opens: grant access, the window closes and your inbox loads. No password is stored in pulpSuite. If the buttons are greyed out, your installation isn't ready for these providers yet: a message explains why, and your administrator will find the steps in mail and accounts. You can always sign in with a password; some providers then require an “app password”, created in your account's security settings.

How do I sort my messages?

In Settings, choose the Mail layout:

• Classic: the list, with Focused and Other tabs. Newsletters and automatic notifications go to Other; your contacts and all other messages stay in Focused. A message's menu offers Always move to Focused or Always move to Other.
• Smart sort: four columns, Unread, To reply, FYI and Replied, plus Awaiting reply for your requests still unanswered after two days (with a Follow up button). A direct message that asks a question goes to To reply. You have the final say: keys 1 to 4, or drag and drop. When you read a message, the Conversation history wheel lets you go back through your exchanges with the same person on the same subject (scroll wheel or arrow keys).

This sorting relies on simple rules (sender, recipients, wording), not on AI. Check it now and then.

Other options in Settings: Compact list, Group conversations, Hide reading pane, and the undo send delay. Reset everything… erases all pulpInbox data on this device (messages, calendar, contacts, rules) and goes back to the example: export what you want to keep first.

How do I find everything about a topic?

Add a #hashtag to one or more messages (topic area under the message header; suggestions are offered). The Topics section of the folder column then gathers every message on a topic in one click, and you can rename it. The Flagged and Snoozed sections likewise collect flagged messages and the ones you've pushed back.

How do I file incoming messages automatically?

Open Rules, then New rule, or from a message, menu ⋯ › Create a rule from this message. A rule checks the sender, recipients, subject, text, attachments or whether it's a newsletter, then files, moves, flags, pins or adds a hashtag. Only one rule applies per message: the first matching one in the list (you can Move up, Move down or Pause them). Save and apply now also runs it on existing messages. Rules apply inside pulpInbox: they don't forward messages or reply on your behalf.

How do I write and send a message?

New message opens the compose window, which you can minimise or enlarge. Addresses are suggested from your contacts; Cc / Bcc adds copy recipients. The toolbar offers bold, italic, underline, lists, quote and link. Attach files with the button or by dropping them into the window. Each account can have its own Signature (account settings). The draft saves itself (Draft saved); Discard draft abandons it.

How do I send a message prepared by another app?

Some pulpSuite apps, such as pulpClient to reply to a customer, open a message in pulpInbox that is already filled in: recipients, subject, text, attachments and the conversation thread. Review it, edit it if needed, then click Send: nothing leaves before that click. The sending account is the one that already holds the conversation, otherwise the one matching the original address, otherwise the default account; change it with the From line. Once the message has gone out, the original app adds it to its record (the next time it is opened, if it is closed). With no connected account, pulpInbox says so: choose Connect an account, or Save the draft (.eml) to send it later. A message written from the local mailbox stays in the outbox: the original app is not notified.

How do I schedule a message or snooze one?

In the compose window, the arrow next to Send opens Send later (tomorrow morning, Monday morning, or a date and time of your choice). On a received message, Snooze hides it until the time you pick; it then comes back as unread. The undo send delay (0, 5, 10 or 20 seconds) is set in Settings.

How do I search for a message?

Type in the search bar (/ key). Filters combine with words: from:camille, subject:budget, has:attachment, is:unread, is:flagged, before:2026-01-01, after:2026-01-01, #topic. Search covers the messages stored on this device.

How do I use the calendar?

The Calendar tab shows Day, Week, Month or List. New event asks for a title, start and end times (or All day), a repeat, a location, a meeting link, attendees and notes; Send invitations prepares a message with the invitation attached. My calendars lists your calendars: New calendar creates one, Import a calendar (.ics) adds one from a file, and Export calendar (.ics) saves it. An event from a read-only calendar can be copied into yours with Copy to my calendar.

How do I add an online calendar?

In Calendar, click Add a calendar:

• CalDAV server (Nextcloud, Infomaniak, Fastmail, iCloud, Zimbra…): read and write; the site address is often enough.
• .ics link: read-only subscription that refreshes on its own.
• Mail account: two-way sync with Google Calendar and Outlook isn't available yet; subscribe to your calendar's secret iCal address instead.

Like mail, connected calendars rely on your installation's bridge, which reads them for you (no end-to-end encryption for calendars). For each one: Refresh, Rename, Remove from pulpInbox (nothing is deleted at the provider).

How do I manage my contacts?

The Contacts tab lets you search, create a New contact (names, addresses, phone numbers, company, job title, postal address, birthday), mark a Favourite, Write in one click and see Recent exchanges with the person. Import and Export use .vcf files.

How do I turn a message into a task?

Click To do… on the message: the task is linked to the message and is completed when you reply. In Tasks, quick add understands everyday language: “Call Marc Friday 10am”, “Send the report tomorrow”. Tasks are grouped as Overdue, Tomorrow, This week, Later, No date and Done. Tasks and milestones from your pulpPlan projects can be shown in the calendar (To do layer); drag a task into the grid to block a time slot, or onto another day to change its due date.

How do I join a video meeting?

pulpInbox spots Teams, Meet, Zoom, Webex, Jitsi, Whereby, GoTo and pulpCrew links in messages and invitations. A Join button appears, and pulpSuite reminds you about five minutes before the meeting starts. In a new event, the + pulpCrew button creates a pulpCrew meeting link.

What happens to my attachments and messages in other apps?

Attachments of messages stored on the device can be shared in a pulpCrew meeting (Share a pulpSuite document). If you allow it in its settings, pulpHome can also scan your recent messages for invoices, confirmations, invitations and parcels: this reading happens on your device.

Supported formats

If pulpSuite is installed, .eml, .msg, .ics and .vcf files can open with a double-click (see installing pulpSuite).

Known limitations:

• No export to .pst.
• A .pst or .ost file of several GB needs a lot of memory: on a modest computer, the import may fail.
• Encrypted messages (S/MIME, OpenPGP) can't be read here; signatures are flagged but not verified.
• Images in some web pages saved as emails (MHTML) don't display.
• In Outlook series, a moved occurrence is removed but not recreated at its new time.
• Reminders from imported events are kept and notified, but can't yet be edited in the event form.
• Remote images are blocked by default to protect your privacy: click Show, or Always for this sender.

Keyboard shortcuts

Single-key shortcuts are off while you type and when a dialog is open.

On a Mac, use Cmd instead of Ctrl.

AI in pulpInbox

pulpInbox has no built-in AI: sorting, rules and quick task entry rely on simple rules, applied on your device.

If your installation offers pulpAssist (Ctrl+J), the assistant can read the open message or the visible list, summarize a conversation, prepare a reply draft, and create an event or a task. Each action first appears in a card for you to accept. The assistant never sends a message: you review the draft and send it yourself. What it reads is passed to the AI service chosen by your administrator.

FAQ and troubleshooting

“The mail connection service isn't responding”: what should I do?

The local mailbox works without it, but sending, receiving and connected calendars need it. Your administrator has to start the mail bridge; let whoever manages pulpSuite know. Details in mail and accounts.

Why does pulpInbox ask for my password again?

Your password is never stored: it's only used to open the session. It stays in the page while the page is open. On online pulpSuite, you need to type it again after closing or reloading the page; with the bridge installed on your computer, after about two hours of inactivity or a restart of the bridge. Google and Microsoft accounts reconnect on their own as long as the authorization is valid. If an orange icon says Needs reconnecting, open the account settings and click Reconnect with Google or Microsoft.

Why does pulpInbox ask me to sign in to my pulpSuite account?

On online pulpSuite, mail is reserved for people signed in to their pulpSuite account. Click Open my account, sign in, then come back to pulpInbox: mail picks up again on its own. The local mailbox, calendar and contacts on your device stay usable without an account.

Do new messages arrive on their own?

Yes: the inbox updates the moment a message arrives, with nothing to refresh. If your provider doesn't support this, pulpInbox checks the mailbox every 5 minutes. The Refresh button (top of the list) forces a check; it is limited to once a minute per mailbox.

What are the sending limits?

On online pulpSuite: at most 20 recipients per message (To, Cc and Bcc), 100 messages per day per mailbox, 30 per hour, 25 MB at most with attachments, 500 MB of data exchanged per day. pulpInbox applies these limits in your browser. When a limit is reached, a message tells you how long to wait. Details in mail and accounts.

Can the pulpSuite server read my email?

Not if you tick End-to-end encryption (beta) in the account window, on online pulpSuite: your browser then encrypts the connection all the way to your mail server, and the pulpSuite server only relays it. It sees neither your password, nor your messages, nor your recipients; only the name of the server reached, the amount of data and the duration. The account window says so: End-to-end encrypted to your mail server. During the trial, the option is off by default: the connection goes through the pulpSuite server, which sees your password and your messages for the length of the session, without storing them. Connected calendars, on the other hand, always go through the server. Details in mail and accounts.

Can I read a mailbox located on my computer or network?

Not from online pulpSuite: the server only reaches public mail servers. Run the pulpSuite bridge on your computer instead: it then requires no pulpSuite account, applies no usage limits and can reach the servers on your network. See mail and accounts.

I can receive but not send with Microsoft 365

Sending is often turned off by default in Microsoft 365 organizations. Your administrator needs to allow it for your mailbox (the “authenticated SMTP” option).

My message is stuck in the outbox

You're writing from the local mailbox, which can't send. Add an email account, then send the message again from that account.

Where are my messages? Can I work offline?

Imported messages, drafts, the local calendar, contacts and tasks are stored in this device's browser and stay readable offline. Messages from an account stay with your provider; only those you've opened are kept on the device. If you clear your browser data, the local mailbox is lost: export it first (Import / export › Export).

Do folders I create show up at my provider?

No. Folders created in pulpInbox stay on the device, and drafts aren't copied to your provider. The account's existing folders are synchronized.

Can I accept or decline an invitation?

Not yet. Add to calendar puts the event in your calendar, but no reply is sent to the organizer. A cancellation you receive shows Meeting cancelled and Remove from calendar. There's no automatic out-of-office reply either.