Quickstart

Our Quickstart is the fastest way to start using Nylas. If you are a first-time user, sign up for an account at Nylas and follow the on-screen instructions. We'll get your account connected and start to sync your data.

Welcome

When you first create an account with Nylas, you’ll land on our welcome page.

Connecting Your Account

Navigate through each of the steps to get started. Provide details about your role and expectations, then connect your account through the first steps and verify your credentials.

Tell us about yourself

Connect your account

Access Token

At Step 3, you'll receive your <ACCESS_TOKEN>. It's required to make API requests, so save this information in a safe place as you'll use it throughout the process.

Quickstart welcome page access token step 3

Only one connected account at a time

We only allow one connected account when using the Quickstart app. If you need to connect multiple accounts, create a new app.

First Request

After saving your <ACCESS_TOKEN>, you'll be able to make your first API request at Step 4. Click Run to make the GET request for your account information within the browser.

Make your first API request

Congratulations

You've succesfully made your first API request in Nylas!

Where to Begin

These beginning steps help you to get the most of Nylas. Start with creating a simple API request and then viewing the response. For more advanced guides, view our guide on Creating an App or check out the section on what's next.

Make an API Request

Start with creating a simple curl request for your account to view unread messages. Replace <ACCESS_TOKEN> in the code below with the access token value from your connected account.

GET Request

Use this GET /messages example to return all messages with additional query parameters to filter data.

curl --location --request GET 'https://api.nylas.com/messages?limit=100&unread=true' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer <ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
}

Response

With everything set up properly, you'll see a response similar to this example.

[
  {
    "account_id": "<ACCOUNT_ID>",
    "bcc": [
      {
        "email": "Albert Einstein",
        "name": "[email protected]"
      }
    ],
    "body": "<html>\\n<head>\\n <meta charset=\\\"UTF-8\\\">\\n <style type=\\\"text/css\\\">\\n html {\\n -webkit-text-size-adjust:none;\\n }\\n body {\\n width:100%;\\n margin:0 auto;\\n padding:0;\\n}\\n  p {\\n width:280px;\\n line-height: 16px;\\n letter-spacing: 0.5px;\\n }\\n </style>\\n <title>Welcome  ...  </html>",
    "cc": [
      {
        "email": "George Washington Carver",
        "name": "[email protected]"
      }
    ],
    "date": 1557950729,
    "events": [
      {}
    ],
    "files": [
      {
        "content_disposition": "attachment",
        "content_type": "image/jpeg",
        "filename": "image.jpeg",
        "id": "<IMAGE_ID>",
        "size": 2648890
      }
    ],
    "folder": {
      "display_name": "string",
      "id": "string",
      "name": "string"
    },
    "from": [
      {
        "name": "Marie Curie",
        "email": "[email protected]"
      }
    ],
    "id": "string",
    "object": "message",
    "reply_to": [
      {
        "email": "[email protected]",
        "name": "Stephanie Kwolek"
      }
    ],
    "snippet": "string",
    "starred": true,
    "subject": "string",
    "thread_id": "string",
    "to": [
      {
        "email": "[email protected]",
        "name": "Dorothy Vaughan"
      }
    ],
    "unread": true,
    "labels": [
      {
        "display_name": "Important",
        "id": "<LABEL_ID>",
        "name": "important"
      }
    ]
  }
]

Scopes

These authentication scopes help get you started using Nylas.

email.modify - Read and modify all messages, threads, file attachments, and read email metadata like headers. Doesn't include send.
email.send - Send messages only. No read or modify privileges on users' emails. Using email.send as the only scope with Gmail accounts may lead to unexpected threading behavior.
calendar - Read and modify calendars and events.
room_resources.read_only - Read available room resources for an account. Room resources for Office 365 are Admin Consent Required permissions.
contacts - Read and modify contacts.

Once you're ready to build for production, follow our Create an App Guide to authenticate an account with more scopes.

iCloud

You'll need to generate an app-specific password.
When you're asked for a password, use the app-specific you generated.
Look for a notification that has the <ACCESS_TOKEN> for your new account.
Copy this token and store it somewhere safe. You'll need it to make your first requests to the Nylas API.

Ready to build for production?

Take a look at our Create an App Guide.

What's Next?

When you've got your configurations complete, check out these features you can add to your application for more streamlined experiences for your users.

Webhooks - Receive notifications when certain events happen.
Scheduler - Add full calendar functionality for your users in your application.
Components - Build out seamless experiences with reusable and customizable elements.
SDK - SDK tools for Python, Node.js, Ruby, and Java.