Skip to main content

Scan Gmail links with VirusTotal and send alerts to WhatsApp, Teams, and Sheets

Workflow preview

Workflow preview
100%
Scan Gmail links with VirusTotal and send alerts to WhatsApp, Teams, and Sheets preview
Open on n8n.io

1. Workflow Overview

Who it's for This n8n workflow is designed for IT security professionals, email administrators, and organizations that want to automatically scan URLs received in emails for potential security thre...

Best for

  • SecOps automation workflows
  • advanced n8n builders looking for reusable templates

Tools used

n8n-nodes-base.gmailtrigger, n8n-nodes-base.splitinbatches, n8n-nodes-base.stickynote, n8n-nodes-base.code, n8n-nodes-base.if, n8n-nodes-base.httprequest, n8n-nodes-rapiwa.rapiwa, n8n-nodes-base.googlesheets

Source and attribution

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

Original n8n.io source

1.1 Workflow description

Title
Scan Gmail links with VirusTotal and send alerts to WhatsApp, Teams, and Sheets
Workflow name
Scan Gmail links with VirusTotal and send alerts to WhatsApp, Teams, and Sheets

Who it's for

This n8n workflow is designed for IT security professionals, email administrators, and organizations that want to automatically scan URLs received in emails for potential security threats. It provides a complete end-to-end system capable of automatically detecting malicious URLs using VirusTotal API, analyzing the results, and sending notifications when suspicious links are found.

Features

  • Automatically monitors Gmail for new emails on a continuous basis (every minute)
  • Extracts all URLs from email content while filtering out Google links
  • Scans each URL using VirusTotal's comprehensive security database
  • Categorizes URLs based on threat level (malicious, suspicious, harmless, undetected)
  • Sends immediate alerts through multiple channels (WhatsApp via Rapiwa, Microsoft Teams)
  • Updates Google Sheets with scan results for historical tracking and analysis
  • Processes URLs in batches to optimize performance
  • Filters out common Google links to reduce false positives

Requirements

  • Gmail account with OAuth2 credentials
  • VirusTotal API key
  • Google Sheets API access with OAuth2 credentials
  • Rapiwa API credentials for WhatsApp notifications
  • Microsoft Teams credentials for team notifications
  • A Google Sheet configured to store scan results

Important Notes

  • Workflow runs continuously, checking for new emails every minute
  • Only non-Google URLs are scanned to focus on potentially suspicious links
  • Results are categorized based on VirusTotal's analysis: malicious, suspicious, harmless, undetected, timeout, failure, or type_unsupported
  • Alert messages include the URL and all relevant security statistics from VirusTotal
  • All scan results are stored in a Google Sheet for future reference and analysis
  • The workflow processes URLs in batches to optimize performance and avoid API limits
  • Immediate notifications are sent when potentially malicious URLs are detected

Support & Help

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 - Gmail Trigger

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.gmailTrigger - gmailTrigger
Config choices
Version 1.3

Block 2 - Loop Over Items

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.splitInBatches - splitInBatches
Config choices
Version 3

Block 3 - Sticky Note1

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

Block 4 - Sticky Note2

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

Block 5 - Sticky Note4

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

Block 6 - Code (Converts the array of links into individual)

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

Block 7 - If (Checks if URLs contain "google.com" using regex)

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.if - if
Config choices
Version 2.3

Block 8 - If (Checks if URLs are not empty)

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.if - if
Config choices
Version 2.3

Block 9 - VirusTotal (Submits URLs for analysis)

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest - httpRequest
Config choices
Version 4.3

Block 10 - Code (VirusTotal report to extract relevant information)

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

Block 11 - Rapiwa (WhatsApp notification)

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-rapiwa.rapiwa - rapiwa
Config choices
Version 1

Block 12 - Logs the analysis results to a Google Sheet

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.googleSheets - googleSheets
Config choices
Version 4.7

Block 13 - Sends a Microsoft Teams notification

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

Block 14 - Sticky Note3

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

Block 15 - Code (Extracts URLs from email content)

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

Block 16 - Analysis report from VirusTotal

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest - httpRequest
Config choices
Version 4.1

3. Summary Table

Workflow Scan Gmail links with VirusTotal and send alerts to WhatsApp, Teams, and Sheets
Complexity advanced
Nodes 16
Categories SecOps
Author SpaGreen Creative
Published 22 Feb 2026

4. Reproducing the Workflow from Scratch

  1. 1. Download the workflow JSON

    Use the JSON export at /data/workflows/13581/13581.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 Scan Gmail links with VirusTotal and send alerts to WhatsApp, Teams, and Sheets do?

Who it's for This n8n workflow is designed for IT security professionals, email administrators, and organizations that want to automatically scan URLs received in emails for potential security thre...

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 SecOps use case.