Nutshell and Gmail: what syncs, what doesn't, and how to set it up
Nutshell's native Gmail and Google Calendar sync logs email to contact timelines and syncs meetings both ways on every plan. The first import is limited to recent mail.
- Connector
- Native sync built by Nutshell, free, plus a free Nutshell for Gmail Chrome extension
- Sync direction
- Email: Gmail → Nutshell, and Nutshell sends through Gmail. Calendar: two-way. Tasks: Nutshell → Google only
- Setup time
- 10 minutes per user
- Availability
- All Nutshell plans (Foundation, Pro, PowerAI, Enterprise); Google Workspace account required per Nutshell's integration page
- Our rating
- 4 out of 5. Two-way calendar and email sync on every plan; the first import covers only about 90 days and new emails stay private until shared.
| What | Direction | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Email history, first sync | Gmail → Nutshell | Sent mail from the last 90 days or the latest 80 messages, whichever comes first. Received mail from the last 90 days or the latest 100 messages, whichever comes first. |
| Ongoing email | Gmail → Nutshell | Nutshell checks for new mail every few minutes. You choose all messages, or only messages carrying the Gmail label "Nutshell". |
| Email sending | Nutshell → Gmail | Nutshell sends from your connected Gmail account. Templates and open and click tracking work from inside Nutshell. |
| Sharing and person creation | Derived | Mail with an existing contact shows on their timeline if automatic sharing is on. Sharing an email with an unknown address creates a Person. |
| Calendar events and activities | Two-way | Date, time, all-day flag, location and attendees sync, including later edits. The event needs at least one participant who is not a Nutshell user. |
| Nutshell tasks | Nutshell → Gmail | Tasks appear in Google Calendar and Google Tasks as a Nutshell list. They carry no due date, and completing one in Google does not sync back. |
| Gmail sidebar | Two-way | The Chrome extension shows tasks, leads and timeline for people on a thread. It also logs notes, calls and meetings, and saves attachments to a record. |
Setting it up
- Check that the Gmail address is listed on your Nutshell profile. Each user connects their own account.
- Click your user icon, then Your Settings, then Email > Send. Click Set up email with Nutshell, then Start, then Connect with Google.
- Sign in with Google and click Allow. Nutshell asks permission to sync email and calendar.
- Open Sync settings and choose all messages or only messages labeled "Nutshell". Then choose automatic sharing or share-only-what-you-choose.
- Go to Your Settings > Calendar and click Get started. Choose whether Google events also sync into Nutshell, and whether Nutshell creates people from attendees.
- Install the Nutshell for Gmail extension from the Chrome Web Store and log in. Use it to send older threads into Nutshell.
- If Google shows "This app is blocked", a Workspace admin allows the Nutshell CRM app under Security > API Controls in the Google Admin console.
Where the integration stops
- The first sync imports a window, not your history. Nutshell does not import older mail automatically. Select threads in Gmail and send them with the Chrome extension.
- Synced email is private until shared. Only shared emails count toward activity reporting, quotas and leaderboards. Choose the automatic sharing option for reps with quotas.
- Calendar sync skips meetings between Nutshell users only. Google events from before the sync are not imported, and past events never become activities.
- One Gmail address per user syncs. Nutshell allows one Gmail account and one Office 365 account per user. Up to five addresses can connect through SMTP for sending only.
- Deleting in Gmail does not delete in Nutshell. A synced email stays in Nutshell until someone deletes it there.
- Tasks and Gmail templates have limits. Tasks created in Google never reach Nutshell. Gmail composer templates need a Nutshell Business plan or above, per the extension article.
Nutshell's Gmail connector logs your email onto contact timelines and syncs meetings with Google Calendar. Nutshell builds it, and it suits teams on Google Workspace that want email history on every record. It is included on every plan, so check Nutshell pricing only for the plan-specific extras below.
Teams are most often surprised by two defaults. The first import covers about 90 days of mail, not your whole mailbox. And synced email is private to its owner until it is shared. Read the sharing setting before you roll this out to a sales team.
The first sync is a window, and the history needs a second tool
Nutshell imports a limited set of mail on first connect. For sent mail, that is the last 90 days or the latest 80 messages. For received mail, it is the last 90 days or the latest 100 messages.
Everything after that syncs without a cap, and Nutshell checks for new mail every few minutes. Older conversations need the Chrome extension. You select threads in Gmail, click the Nutshell icon, and Nutshell adds them and creates people for the contacts on them.
The sync label gives you control. If you pick "only emails I label Nutshell", you decide what enters the CRM. A Gmail filter can apply the label automatically. One catch: a label applies to earlier messages in the thread, not later replies.
Sharing decides what your team sees and what reports count
Every synced email lands in the user's personal Nutshell inbox. The sharing option decides what reaches the team timelines. Automatic sharing publishes mail with existing contacts. The other option hides everything until the user shares a message.
This affects reporting. Per the connection article, only shared emails count toward activity reports, quotas and leaderboards. A rep on the hide-by-default setting will look inactive on the dashboard.
You can add addresses to a personal blocklist. Nutshell says blocked messages never reach its servers.
Calendar sync is two-way, with two exclusions
Google events and Nutshell activities sync both ways. Time, location, all-day status and attendees carry over, and so do later edits. If an attendee is not yet a Person, Nutshell can create one. You can switch that off and get placeholder people instead.
Two rules narrow it. The event needs at least one participant outside your Nutshell team. And Nutshell imports only future events, never past ones.
Tasks are the exception to two-way sync. Nutshell shows them in Google Calendar and Google Tasks. Tasks do not carry a due date, and nothing flows back from Google.
Requirements and plan details to check before you buy
Nutshell's integration page lists Foundation, Pro, PowerAI and Enterprise, and says the sync is free on all of them. It also says you must be a Google Workspace customer. Nutshell's extension article ties Gmail composer templates to a Business plan or above. That name is not in the integration page's plan list, so confirm the plan with Nutshell before you buy for templates.
The Chrome extension works only in Google Chrome.