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Gmail Pub/Sub -> Clawdbot

Goal: Gmail watch -> Pub/Sub push -> gog gmail watch serve -> Clawdbot webhook.

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Prereqs

  • gcloud installed and logged in (install guide).
  • gog (gogcli) installed and authorized for the Gmail account (gogcli.sh).
  • Clawdbot hooks enabled (see docs/webhook.md).
  • tailscale logged in (tailscale.com). Supported setup uses Tailscale Funnel for the public HTTPS endpoint. Other tunnel services can work, but are DIY/unsupported and require manual wiring. Right now, Tailscale is what we support.
Example hook config (enable Gmail preset mapping): 
{
  hooks: {
    enabled: true,
    token: "CLAWDBOT_HOOK_TOKEN",
    path: "/hooks",
    presets: ["gmail"]
  }
}
To deliver the Gmail summary to a chat surface, override the preset with a mapping that sets deliver + optional provider/to: 
{
  hooks: {
    enabled: true,
    token: "CLAWDBOT_HOOK_TOKEN",
    presets: ["gmail"],
    mappings: [
      {
        match: { path: "gmail" },
        action: "agent",
        wakeMode: "now",
        name: "Gmail",
        sessionKey: "hook:gmail:{{messages[0].id}}",
        messageTemplate:
          "New email from {{messages[0].from}}\nSubject: {{messages[0].subject}}\n{{messages[0].snippet}}\n{{messages[0].body}}",
        model: "openai/gpt-5.2-mini",
        deliver: true,
        provider: "last"
        // to: "+15551234567"
      }
    ]
  }
}
If you want a fixed channel, set provider + to. Otherwise provider: "last" uses the last delivery route (falls back to WhatsApp). To force a cheaper model for Gmail runs, set model in the mapping (provider/model or alias). If you enforce agent.models, include it there. To customize payload handling further, add hooks.mappings or a JS/TS transform module under hooks.transformsDir (see docs/webhook.md). Use the Clawdbot helper to wire everything together (installs deps on macOS via brew): 
clawdbot hooks gmail setup \
  --account [email protected]
Defaults:
  • Uses Tailscale Funnel for the public push endpoint.
  • Writes hooks.gmail config for clawdbot hooks gmail run.
  • Enables the Gmail hook preset (hooks.presets: ["gmail"]).
Path note: when tailscale.mode is enabled, Clawdbot automatically sets hooks.gmail.serve.path to / and keeps the public path at hooks.gmail.tailscale.path (default /gmail-pubsub) because Tailscale strips the set-path prefix before proxying. Want a custom endpoint? Use --push-endpoint <url> or --tailscale off. Platform note: on macOS the wizard installs gcloud, gogcli, and tailscale via Homebrew; on Linux install them manually first. Gateway auto-start (recommended):
  • When hooks.enabled=true and hooks.gmail.account is set, the Gateway starts gog gmail watch serve on boot and auto-renews the watch.
  • Set CLAWDBOT_SKIP_GMAIL_WATCHER=1 to opt out (useful if you run the daemon yourself).
  • Do not run the manual daemon at the same time, or you will hit listen tcp 127.0.0.1:8788: bind: address already in use.
Manual daemon (starts gog gmail watch serve + auto-renew): 
clawdbot hooks gmail run

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One-time setup

  1. Select the GCP project that owns the OAuth client used by gog.
gcloud auth login
gcloud config set project <project-id>
Note: Gmail watch requires the Pub/Sub topic to live in the same project as the OAuth client.
  1. Enable APIs:
gcloud services enable gmail.googleapis.com pubsub.googleapis.com
  1. Create a topic:
gcloud pubsub topics create gog-gmail-watch
  1. Allow Gmail push to publish:
gcloud pubsub topics add-iam-policy-binding gog-gmail-watch \
  --member=serviceAccount:[email protected] \
  --role=roles/pubsub.publisher

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Start the watch

gog gmail watch start \
  --account [email protected] \
  --label INBOX \
  --topic projects/<project-id>/topics/gog-gmail-watch
Save the history_id from the output (for debugging).

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Run the push handler

Local example (shared token auth): 
gog gmail watch serve \
  --account [email protected] \
  --bind 127.0.0.1 \
  --port 8788 \
  --path /gmail-pubsub \
  --token <shared> \
  --hook-url http://127.0.0.1:18789/hooks/gmail \
  --hook-token CLAWDBOT_HOOK_TOKEN \
  --include-body \
  --max-bytes 20000
Notes:
  • --token protects the push endpoint (x-gog-token or ?token=).
  • --hook-url points to Clawdbot /hooks/gmail (mapped; isolated run + summary to main).
  • --include-body and --max-bytes control the body snippet sent to Clawdbot.
Recommended: clawdbot hooks gmail run wraps the same flow and auto-renews the watch.

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Expose the handler (advanced, unsupported)

If you need a non-Tailscale tunnel, wire it manually and use the public URL in the push subscription (unsupported, no guardrails): 
cloudflared tunnel --url http://127.0.0.1:8788 --no-autoupdate
Use the generated URL as the push endpoint: 
gcloud pubsub subscriptions create gog-gmail-watch-push \
  --topic gog-gmail-watch \
  --push-endpoint "https://<public-url>/gmail-pubsub?token=<shared>"
Production: use a stable HTTPS endpoint and configure Pub/Sub OIDC JWT, then run: 
gog gmail watch serve --verify-oidc --oidc-email <svc@...>

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Test

Send a message to the watched inbox: 
gog gmail send \
  --account [email protected] \
  --to [email protected] \
  --subject "watch test" \
  --body "ping"
Check watch state and history: 
gog gmail watch status --account [email protected]
gog gmail history --account [email protected] --since <historyId>

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Troubleshooting

  • Invalid topicName: project mismatch (topic not in the OAuth client project).
  • User not authorized: missing roles/pubsub.publisher on the topic.
  • Empty messages: Gmail push only provides historyId; fetch via gog gmail history.

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Cleanup

gog gmail watch stop --account [email protected]
gcloud pubsub subscriptions delete gog-gmail-watch-push
gcloud pubsub topics delete gog-gmail-watch