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Automatically add Gmail sender contacts to MySQL database

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Important notice

This workflow is provided as-is. Please review and test before using in production.

1. Workflow Overview

This workflow processes emails received in Gmail and adds the sender's name and email address to a MySQL database. Use Cases: A sales or marketing agency can use this to automatically save client c...

Best for

  • Lead Generation automation workflows
  • intermediate n8n builders looking for reusable templates

Tools used

n8n-nodes-base.stickynote, n8n-nodes-base.mysql, n8n-nodes-base.gmailtrigger, n8n-nodes-base.code

Source and attribution

This workflow is cataloged by N8N Workflows and links back to its original n8n.io source page by Rosh Ragel.

Original n8n.io source

1.1 Workflow description

Title
Automatically add Gmail sender contacts to MySQL database
Workflow name
Automatically add Gmail sender contacts to MySQL database

This workflow processes emails received in Gmail and adds the sender's name and email address to a MySQL database.

Use Cases:

  • A sales or marketing agency can use this to automatically save client contact info to a database to build a list of leads
  • Companies can use this to automatically save contacts to a database in case of Gmail data loss / losing access to their Gmail account
  • Companies can build mailing lists to automatically send promotions to all of the clients who have contacted them in a given time period

Before using, you need to have:

  • Gmail credential
  • MySQL database credential
  • A Table in the MySQL database to store your contacts
  • The table should have a "name" column, which allows NULL values
  • The table should have an "email" column, which should be UNIQUE

How it works:

  • The Gmail Trigger will listen for a new email every minute
  • For each email, the code node will extract the name and email address of the sender. If there is no name, it will return null
  • The MySQL node will insert the new contact into a table in your database
  • If the contact email already exists in your database, the MySQL node will update the contact name

How to use:

  • Please set up the MySQL node by selecting the correct table to store contacts in
  • Please choose your "email" column to match on
  • Please choose your "name" column to store names

Customizing this Workflow:

  • You can customize this workflow to save more data to MySQL. Here are some examples:
  • In the MySQL node, click "Add Value", and choose one of the fields from the Gmail node to save in your database column. You can try saving the following items:
    • Subject line
    • MessageID
    • ThreadID
    • Snippet
    • Recipient Info

1.2 Logical Blocks

This catalog entry is organized from the workflow JSON. The node-level section below shows the executable blocks available for review before importing the template.

2. Block-by-Block Analysis

Block 1 - Sticky Note

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 2 - Sticky Note1

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 3 - Insert New Client in MySQL

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.mySql - mySql
Config choices
Version 2.4

Block 4 - Receive Email

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.gmailTrigger - gmailTrigger
Config choices
Version 1.2

Block 5 - Extract Client Name and Email

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.code - code
Config choices
Version 2

Block 6 - Sticky Note2

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 7 - Sticky Note3

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

3. Summary Table

Workflow Automatically add Gmail sender contacts to MySQL database
Complexity intermediate
Nodes 7
Categories Lead Generation
Author Rosh Ragel
Published 23 Jul 2025

4. Reproducing the Workflow from Scratch

  1. 1. Download the workflow JSON

    Use the JSON export at /data/workflows/6300/6300.json as the source template for this automation.

  2. 2. Import the template into n8n

    Open n8n, import the downloaded JSON, and review each node before activating the workflow.

  3. 3. Configure credentials and variables

    Replace placeholder credentials, API keys, webhook URLs, account IDs, and environment-specific values with your own settings.

  4. 4. Test with sample data

    Run the workflow manually or in a staging workspace, inspect node output, and confirm downstream systems receive the expected data.

  5. 5. Activate and monitor

    Enable the workflow only after testing, then monitor executions, errors, and rate limits during the first production runs.

5. General Notes & Resources

Review imported nodes carefully before activation. This catalog entry is intended to help you inspect the workflow structure, understand required services, and find related templates faster.

Node names, credentials, schedules, webhook paths, and external service limits may need adjustment for your workspace.

Frequently asked questions

What does Automatically add Gmail sender contacts to MySQL database do?

This workflow processes emails received in Gmail and adds the sender's name and email address to a MySQL database. Use Cases: A sales or marketing agency can use this to automatically save client c...

What do I need before importing this workflow?

Review the workflow JSON, configure any required credentials in n8n, and test the automation in a safe workspace before using it in production.

Can I customize this workflow?

Yes. Use the block-by-block analysis and the downloadable JSON to inspect each node, then adjust credentials, prompts, schedules, filters, or destinations for your Lead Generation use case.