> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.porcia.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Email Forwarding Setup

> Forward vendor emails to Porcia without OAuth connection

# Email Forwarding Setup

If you prefer not to connect via OAuth, you can forward specific vendor emails to your unique Porcia address. This gives you full control over what Porcia sees.

## When to Use Forwarding

**Choose forwarding if:**

* ✅ You want selective control over which emails Porcia processes
* ✅ You're uncomfortable granting OAuth access
* ✅ Your organization restricts third-party OAuth apps
* ✅ You use an email provider other than Gmail/Outlook

**Choose OAuth if:**

* ✅ You want automatic vendor discovery
* ✅ You want historical email scanning (6 months)
* ✅ You prefer hands-off setup

<Info>
  You can use both OAuth and forwarding simultaneously. For example, connect Gmail via OAuth and forward emails from another account.
</Info>

## Get Your Forwarding Address

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to Email Integration">
    Go to **Settings → Integrations → Email**
  </Step>

  <Step title="Find Your Forwarding Address">
    Look for the **Email Forwarding** section. You'll see your unique address:

    ```
    username.workspace-slug@inbox.porcia.org
    ```

    Each user in your workspace gets their own dedicated forwarding address. This means different team members can each forward their own vendor emails independently.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Copy the Address">
    Click **Copy** to copy your forwarding address to clipboard
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Setup Instructions by Email Provider

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Gmail">
    ### Gmail Forwarding Setup

    <Steps>
      <Step title="Open Gmail Settings">
        Click the gear icon → **See all settings**
      </Step>

      <Step title="Go to Filters">
        Click the **Filters and Blocked Addresses** tab
      </Step>

      <Step title="Create New Filter">
        Click **Create a new filter**
      </Step>

      <Step title="Set Filter Criteria">
        In the **From** field, enter vendor email domains (e.g., `@salesforce.com, @slack.com, @notion.so`)

        Or use keywords in **Subject** field (e.g., `invoice, renewal, subscription`)
      </Step>

      <Step title="Create Filter">
        Click **Create filter**
      </Step>

      <Step title="Forward to Porcia">
        Check **Forward it to** and enter your Porcia forwarding address

        Click **Create filter**
      </Step>

      <Step title="Verify Forwarding">
        Gmail will send a verification email to your Porcia address. This is automatically confirmed.
      </Step>
    </Steps>

    <Tip>
      Create multiple filters for different vendor categories (e.g., one for invoices, one for renewals).
    </Tip>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Outlook">
    ### Outlook Forwarding Setup

    <Steps>
      <Step title="Open Outlook Settings">
        Click the gear icon → **View all Outlook settings**
      </Step>

      <Step title="Go to Rules">
        Click **Mail → Rules**
      </Step>

      <Step title="Add New Rule">
        Click **Add new rule**
      </Step>

      <Step title="Name Your Rule">
        Enter a name like "Forward Vendor Emails to Porcia"
      </Step>

      <Step title="Set Conditions">
        Add conditions:

        * **From** contains vendor domains (e.g., `salesforce.com`)
        * Or **Subject** contains keywords (e.g., `invoice`)
      </Step>

      <Step title="Set Action">
        Under **Then**, select **Forward to**

        Enter your Porcia forwarding address
      </Step>

      <Step title="Save Rule">
        Click **Save** to activate the rule
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Apple Mail">
    ### Apple Mail Forwarding Setup

    <Steps>
      <Step title="Open Mail Preferences">
        Mail → **Preferences** (or Settings on macOS Ventura+)
      </Step>

      <Step title="Go to Rules">
        Click the **Rules** tab
      </Step>

      <Step title="Add Rule">
        Click **Add Rule**
      </Step>

      <Step title="Set Conditions">
        Configure conditions:

        * **From** contains vendor domains
        * Or **Subject** contains keywords like "invoice" or "renewal"
      </Step>

      <Step title="Set Action">
        Under **Perform the following actions**, select **Forward Message**

        Enter your Porcia forwarding address
      </Step>

      <Step title="Save">
        Click **OK** to save the rule
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Other Providers">
    ### Other Email Providers

    Most email providers support forwarding rules. Look for:

    * **Filters** (Gmail terminology)
    * **Rules** (Outlook/Apple Mail terminology)
    * **Forwarding** or **Auto-forward** settings

    General steps:

    1. Find your email provider's rules/filters settings
    2. Create a new rule
    3. Set condition: From vendor domains or Subject contains keywords
    4. Set action: Forward to your Porcia address
    5. Save and activate the rule

    <Accordion title="Common email providers">
      * **Yahoo Mail**: Settings → More Settings → Filters
      * **ProtonMail**: Settings → Filters → Add filter
      * **Zoho Mail**: Settings → Email Filters → Create Filter
      * **FastMail**: Settings → Rules → New Rule
    </Accordion>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Recommended Forwarding Rules

### By Vendor Domain

Forward all emails from specific vendor domains:

```
From: @salesforce.com
From: @slack.com
From: @notion.so
From: @atlassian.com
From: @hubspot.com
```

### By Subject Keywords

Forward emails with specific keywords in the subject:

```
Subject contains: invoice
Subject contains: renewal
Subject contains: subscription
Subject contains: payment
Subject contains: license
```

### By Sender Type

Forward emails from billing/accounts departments:

```
From: billing@
From: accounts@
From: invoices@
From: noreply@
```

<Tip>
  Start with broad rules (e.g., "invoice" in subject) and refine based on what gets forwarded. You can always add more specific rules later.
</Tip>

## Testing Your Setup

After setting up forwarding:

1. **Send a test email** - Forward a vendor email manually to your Porcia address
2. **Check Porcia dashboard** - The vendor should appear within 5 minutes
3. **Verify automatic forwarding** - Wait for a new vendor email to arrive and check if it's forwarded automatically

<Warning>
  If test emails aren't appearing in Porcia, check your email provider's sent folder to confirm forwarding is working.
</Warning>

## What Gets Processed

When you forward an email to Porcia:

1. **Email arrives** at your Porcia inbox
2. **AI analyzes** the email to identify vendor and extract structured data
3. **Raw email stored** encrypted in S3 for 90 days, then automatically deleted
4. **Vendor matched** to our global database
5. **Dashboard updated** with new information

<Info>
  Forwarded emails are processed the same way as OAuth-connected emails. The only difference is you control which emails are sent.
</Info>

## Limitations of Forwarding

Compared to OAuth connection, forwarding has some limitations:

| Feature              | OAuth               | Forwarding               |
| -------------------- | ------------------- | ------------------------ |
| Historical scan      | ✅ 6 months          | ❌ Only new emails        |
| Automatic processing | ✅ All vendor emails | ⚠️ Only forwarded emails |
| Setup time           | 2 minutes           | 10-15 minutes            |
| Maintenance          | None                | Update rules as needed   |

## Managing Forwarding Rules

### Adding More Vendors

As you discover new vendors:

1. Note the vendor's email domain (e.g., `@newvendor.com`)
2. Add a new forwarding rule for that domain
3. Future emails from that vendor will be forwarded automatically

### Pausing Forwarding

To temporarily stop forwarding:

1. Go to your email provider's rules/filters settings
2. Find your Porcia forwarding rules
3. Disable or delete the rules
4. Re-enable when ready

### Stopping Forwarding

To completely stop forwarding:

1. Delete all forwarding rules in your email provider
2. Optionally, go to Porcia Settings → Integrations → Email
3. Click **Disable Forwarding** to stop processing forwarded emails

## Privacy & Security

### What We Receive

* ✅ Only emails you explicitly forward
* ✅ Email metadata (sender, subject, date)
* ✅ Email content (for processing only)

### What We Store

* ✅ Vendor name and domain
* ✅ Extracted pricing and contract data
* ✅ Email metadata (sender, subject, date)
* ✅ Raw email content (stored encrypted for 90 days, then automatically deleted)

### Security

* **Unique address** - Your forwarding address is unique and private
* **Encryption** - All forwarded emails encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3)
* **Processing** - Raw email content stored encrypted for 90 days, then deleted
* **Access control** - Only your workspace can access extracted data

<Card title="Contact Support" icon="shield" href="mailto:support@porcia.org">
  Questions about how we handle forwarded emails? Contact us
</Card>

## Troubleshooting

### Emails Not Appearing in Porcia

1. **Check forwarding rules** - Verify rules are active in your email provider
2. **Test manually** - Forward an email manually to confirm the address works
3. **Check spam** - Vendor emails might be in your spam folder
4. **Wait 5-10 minutes** - Processing can take a few minutes

### Too Many Emails Being Forwarded

1. **Refine rules** - Make your forwarding rules more specific
2. **Use domain filters** - Forward only from known vendor domains
3. **Exclude marketing** - Add exclusions for promotional emails

### Forwarding Stopped Working

1. **Check email provider** - Rules may have been disabled or deleted
2. **Verify address** - Ensure you're using the correct Porcia forwarding address
3. **Check quota** - Some email providers limit forwarding volume

<Card title="More Troubleshooting Help" icon="wrench" href="/troubleshooting/email-sync">
  View complete email troubleshooting guide
</Card>

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Connect SSO" icon="key" href="/integrations/sso/overview">
    Add SSO discovery for complete visibility
  </Card>

  <Card title="Install Extension" icon="puzzle-piece" href="/integrations/extension/installation">
    Track browser usage
  </Card>

  <Card title="Manage Vendors" icon="building" href="/features/vendor-management">
    Organize your discovered vendors
  </Card>

  <Card title="View Analytics" icon="chart-line" href="/features/spend-analytics">
    Analyze your software spending
  </Card>
</CardGroup>