Gmail API bulk email deletion inconsistencies: Why aren't all messages moving to trash?

Other Questions Gmail
1

I’m having trouble with a Node.js app using NestJS and the Gmail API. It’s supposed to move emails to trash in big groups. But it’s not working right. Some emails just won’t go to trash.

Here’s what’s happening:

  • We’re trying to trash 140,000 emails
  • Only about 80,000 actually end up in the trash
  • We’re using batchModify to add the TRASH label and take off the INBOX label

I’ve already tried:

  1. Adding error checks and logs
  2. Slowing down API calls when we hit limits
  3. Making sure our batches aren’t too big for Gmail

I’m really stumped. Could the Gmail API be messing up? Maybe I’m not handling the batches right? Should I add more logs to figure out what’s going wrong?

If anyone’s run into this before or has ideas, I’d love to hear them! Here’s a simplified version of what we’re doing:

async function trashEmails(gmail, senderEmail) {
  let nextPage = null;
  do {
    const emails = await gmail.searchMessages(senderEmail, nextPage);
    const ids = emails.map(e => e.id);
    
    for (let i = 0; i < ids.length; i += 1000) {
      const batch = ids.slice(i, i + 1000);
      await gmail.batchModify({
        add: ['TRASH'],
        remove: ['INBOX'],
        ids: batch
      });
    }
    
    nextPage = emails.nextPageToken;
  } while (nextPage);
}

Any help would be awesome!

2

I’ve dealt with Gmail API quirks before, and this sounds familiar. One thing that might be happening is some emails are ‘sticky’ - they resist auto-trashing due to various factors like importance flags or certain labels.

Have you considered using the ‘users.messages.get’ method to fetch more details about the emails that aren’t moving? This could reveal why they’re being stubborn. Also, you might want to implement a retry mechanism for failed operations.

Another thought: Are you accounting for potential changes in the mailbox while your operation is running? New emails coming in could throw off your counts. You might want to implement a ‘snapshot’ approach where you get all IDs first, then work through that static list.

Lastly, don’t discount the possibility of intermittent API issues. I’ve seen cases where seemingly identical requests behave differently. Logging request and response headers could provide clues if this is happening to you.

3

I’ve encountered similar issues with Gmail API bulk operations. One thing to consider is that some emails might be protected from automatic deletion or modification. This can include important system messages, starred emails, or those with certain labels.

To troubleshoot, I’d suggest implementing a more granular logging system. Log the IDs of emails that fail to move to trash, then manually check a sample to see if there’s a pattern. You might also want to add a delay between batches to avoid hitting rate limits.

Another approach is to use the ‘users.messages.trash’ endpoint for each message instead of batch modify. It’s slower but might be more reliable for this use case. If the issue persists, it could be worth reaching out to Google’s support channels for the Gmail API. They might have insights into any known limitations or bugs affecting bulk operations.