GuideUpdated October 18, 2026
Put all your email addresses in one inbox
You can collect email from different providers in one inbox by forwarding each address to a common destination. Command Mail assigns a separate private intake address to each connected mailbox, so you can work from one place while keeping track of the original address. Forwarded messages are copies: changes do not sync back, and receiving messages for an address does not authorize sending from it.
Command Mail is our product. This guide sets up the incoming mail routes and checks the reply path separately. If your main question is how an AI assistant can search several accounts, use the existing multiple-account agent guide.
Contents
- The result: one place to work, recognizable addresses
- Prerequisites
- Decide whether forwarding matches the job
- Step by step: connect one address at a time
- A receiving address is not automatically a sender
- Bring over only the history you need
- Did it work?
- Troubleshooting
- Next steps
- Sources and date
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
01The result: one place to work, recognizable addresses
Your existing addresses can stay in use while new messages reach a shared working inbox. For example, you might collect a personal Gmail account, an Outlook account for a community group and hello@example.com at your domain host. The forwarding setup happens at each current provider. People writing to you do not need a new address just for this arrangement.[3]
Choose where you will actually process mail each day. Keeping an original copy is useful during the transition, but it creates a second place with its own read and filing state. An archived copy in Command Mail says nothing about whether the provider's original has been archived. If you need the original folders to remain your working system, a client that connects to those accounts directly may fit better.
02Prerequisites
You need access to each account's forwarding settings and a destination account in Command Mail. For your own domain, DNS access is needed when proving domain ownership. Signing up with Google does not configure the mail route: Command Mail's documentation lists your name, email address, profile-picture link and account ID, not access to your Gmail mailbox.[3]
Check the destination plan before connecting everything. Free allows one mailbox and the last 90 days, with no sending; you cannot create a second mailbox on Free. Pro supports up to ten mailboxes and removes the 90-day viewing window, without disabling existing retention settings. If several mailboxes already exist when you move back to Free, the additional ones pause: new mail keeps arriving and stays stored, but a suitable paid plan is needed to view it again. These are the published limits checked on 2026-10-18, not an unlimited-address offer.[4] For a workplace account, ask the administrator if forwarding to another service is allowed. An unavailable setting is a reason to check the account policy, not to bypass it.
03Decide whether forwarding matches the job
Forwarding is useful when the goal is to collect new messages, but it does not migrate an account or keep two services in sync. Before setting it up, decide what needs to happen to replies and original folders.
| What you need | Approach to consider | Check before choosing |
|---|---|---|
| All new messages in a central account | Forwarding to a main inbox | Spam exclusions, copies and sender setup |
| A common inbox for your own AI agent | Command Mail with forwarding | Plan, scopes and mailbox autonomy |
| Work inside the existing provider mailboxes | A client connected to those accounts | Provider and account-type support |
| Replace the old provider completely | A planned mailbox migration | Domain delivery, sending, archive and recovery |
This guide covers the forwarding approach. It does not ask you to replace a domain's MX records or close the original accounts. A move away from the provider is a different project: first establish reliable intake and understand where your replies will be sent from.
04Step by step: connect one address at a time
Finish one route before adding the next. That gives you a clear reference when a confirmation email or a new message fails to appear.
- Open
Settings → Connectionsin Command Mail. InAddresses, useConnect a mailbox, enter the complete existing address and selectAdd.[3] - Copy the private intake address assigned to that mailbox. Give each source address its own destination. The receiving implementation uses the private token to choose the mailbox; a typed recipient address alone does not select a customer's account.[3]
- Open the current provider's forwarding settings, enter that intake address and complete any confirmation process. The Gmail and Outlook paths below cover their documented web settings.
- Keep an original copy at the provider while checking the setup. Send a harmless new message to the original address from another account, using a distinct subject, and inspect its destination in Command Mail.
- Repeat the same connection, forwarding and verification process for the next address. Keep your own short record of each source and its destination. Treat intake addresses as internal delivery details; do not publish them in a screenshot or a public how-to.
The authenticated CLI can create the mailbox connection too. This command does not configure forwarding at your provider; that step still follows:[3]
commandmail mailboxes connect hello@example.comGmail: verify the destination, then enable the route
Adding a forwarding address is only the first part of Google's procedure. You must confirm the destination and then turn forwarding on.[1]
In Gmail on a computer, sign in to the source account. Open Settings → See all settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP, or the Forwarding tab where that label is shown. Choose Add a forwarding address, paste the private intake address and complete the dialog. Open the verification message in the destination inbox and follow its link.
Return to Gmail's settings and refresh the page. Select Forward a copy of incoming mail to and the confirmed destination, then save the change. Google recommends keeping Gmail's copy in the inbox. Its help page says automatic forwarding covers new messages except spam, so compare the source spam folder separately if a message seems missing.[1]
Outlook: use the instructions for your version
Microsoft documents Settings → Mail → Forwarding for new Outlook and Outlook on the web. Enable forwarding, enter the destination and save. Select Keep a copy of forwarded messages if you want originals to remain in the Outlook account. Microsoft notes that an additional sign-in can be required before these settings become available.[2]
For a personal Outlook.com account, the help page instead names Settings → Mail → Forwarding and IMAP. Enable forwarding there, set the destination and save. Use the help section for your account type rather than looking for another version's menu.[2]
Do not treat that sequence as a universal menu for every classic desktop Outlook installation. Microsoft's help distinguishes the versions. If you cannot find it, establish which Outlook and account type you are using before changing anything. For domain mail at another host, follow that host's forwarding instructions rather than using an Outlook screenshot as a reason to change DNS delivery.
05A receiving address is not automatically a sender
A forwarded message proves only that incoming delivery works. It does not give Command Mail the right to send as your personal Gmail or Outlook address. In the inspected code, listMailboxes reports an address's sending eligibility as can_send; the actual sending path checks the selected sender again.[3]
Use the authenticated CLI to inspect that status for each address. In its JSON output, can_send: true describes sender eligibility, not successful delivery or the sending scopes granted to an agent:
commandmail mailboxes list --jsonFor an owned forwarded domain, the implementation requires proven ownership and sending to be enabled for that domain on the service. An address belonging to another account may also require the domain owner's grant. A DNS TXT ownership check alone is therefore not evidence that sending is ready. Sending also needs Pro or a higher plan; the plan does not replace the sender check.[3]
For each mailbox, decide where you will reply. If it is receive-only, use the original provider for the response, or deliberately select a different sender that is configured to send. Check that the recipient should see this different address. A familiar display name does not turn it into the original sender.
06Bring over only the history you need
An archive import is a separate operation from forwarding. Export existing mail at the provider, connect the destination mailbox and use the supported CLI import. Command Mail documents MBOX and EML files, including folders of EML messages. For mail that should start in the archive, its example takes this form:[3]
commandmail import export.mbox --mailbox hello@example.com --state archiveStart with a small, non-sensitive sample and inspect the chosen mailbox, dates and message contents. Bring over the required remainder after that check. Imports do not create an ongoing connection to the archive: later edits at the old provider will not be reflected in the imported copy. Retain the export and access to the original until you are satisfied. No migration or delivery test was performed as part of writing this article.
07Did it work?
Check each incoming route independently. Have a harmless new message sent to every original address and inspect its subject, contents and mailbox assignment in Command Mail. Also inspect the original copy where you chose to keep one. A successful Gmail route does not prove the Outlook route is ready, and an empty inbox does not prove that all provider folders were checked.
Check outgoing mail as a separate task, using only a sender that is actually eligible to send. A saved draft is not evidence of sending. Acceptance by a sending service is not evidence that the recipient received the message. If you only need incoming mail for now, record that limited result and leave sending unconfigured. There is no need to enable agent sending or import a whole archive just to establish intake.
08Troubleshooting
Gmail lists the destination but nothing arrives. Check that you completed both destination confirmation and the subsequent enable-and-save step. Inspect spam in the source account too; Google excludes it from automatic forwarding.[1]
A second mailbox cannot be added, or an existing one is paused. Check the plan before replacing a working forwarding rule. Free will not create a second mailbox. When a previously larger mailbox collection moves to Free, the extra mailboxes keep receiving and storing mail, but a suitable paid plan is needed to view it again.[4]
Incoming mail works but a reply fails. Check the exact sender and plan. Repeating the forwarding setup or changing a display name will not grant sending eligibility. An AI agent also needs the appropriate scopes and an allowed mailbox autonomy level.[5]
The old account still shows unread mail. That is expected with separate forwarded copies. Decide on a daily working inbox instead of looking for a synchronization setting this process never established.
09Next steps
Once intake is verified, connect your assistant with the multiple-account agent guide. Start without sending scopes and review active rules and retention settings too: mail:read is not a general preservation lock. Read the permissions reference before relying on mailbox autonomy; it controls actions, not separate read visibility between mailboxes.[5]
Start Command Mail free with one address, then connect your agent.
10Sources and date
Updated: 2026-10-18. Provider instructions and Command Mail's implementation were inspected on this date. Verification steps describe checks for your setup, not measured results from a test we claim to have run.
Source inspection used commit d6ad1ce: the connection form and language catalogs, intake.ts with inbound handlers, outbox.ts with maySendFrom, the mailbox and import CLI handlers, and permission and read paths. This covers the workflows described here, not a comprehensive security audit.
Frequently asked questions
Can one inbox receive Gmail, Outlook and custom-domain email?
Yes, where the existing providers allow forwarding. Connect each address in Command Mail, then forward it to its own private intake address. Free allows one mailbox; adding a second requires a suitable paid plan. Pro supports up to ten.
Does reading a forwarded message mark the original as read?
No. Command Mail works on a separate copy. Reading, filing and archiving do not update the original provider mailbox. Importing an archive does not establish ongoing synchronization either.
Can I reply using a Gmail address that I forward here?
Forwarding does not make that address eligible to send. Check the exact sender's can_send status. A personal Gmail or Outlook address does not become a permitted sender just because incoming mail reaches Command Mail. Reply at the original provider if necessary.
Can I bring my old email too?
Command Mail supports one-time CLI imports of MBOX and EML exports, including directories of EML files. Connect the destination mailbox first. New forwarding does not fetch the complete archive, and Free shows only the last 90 days.
Must I allow an AI agent to send?
No. Start without sending scopes. mail:draft saves drafts without sending; mail:send-approved can later send the exact revision a person approved, except from a mailbox on read. Read access is account-wide, so mailbox autonomy is not a separate read-access boundary.