How to obtain Gmail XOAuth token for accessing emails?

Other Questions Gmail
1

Hey folks,

I’ve been trying to delete emails using the content provider, but it didn’t work out. So I switched to IMAP/POP3 libraries. I’m using the XOAuth library to connect to IMAP, but I’m stuck.

The connectToImap method needs six parameters, and I can’t figure out how to get two of them: oauthToken and oauthTokenSecret. Can anyone help me with this?

Here’s a simplified version of the code I’m working with:

public static IMAPStore getGmailConnection(String email, String token, String secret) throws Exception {
    Properties props = new Properties();
    props.setProperty("mail.imap.auth.mechanisms", "XOAUTH2");
    props.setProperty("mail.imap.ssl.enable", "true");

    Session session = Session.getInstance(props);

    IMAPStore store = (IMAPStore) session.getStore("imaps");
    store.connect("imap.gmail.com", email, createXOAuth2String(email, token, secret));

    return store;
}

Any ideas on how to get the OAuth token and secret? Thanks in advance!

2

I’ve dealt with a similar issue before. For Gmail, you actually don’t need the OAuth token secret anymore. Google has moved to OAuth 2.0, which uses a single access token.

To obtain the OAuth 2.0 token, you’ll need to set up a project in the Google Developer Console, enable the Gmail API, and create OAuth 2.0 credentials. Then, use these credentials in your app to request authorization from the user.

Once authorized, you’ll receive an access token. This token is what you’ll use in place of both the ‘token’ and ‘secret’ in your code. You might need to adjust your createXOAuth2String method to work with just the access token.

Remember, these tokens expire, so you’ll need to implement token refresh logic in your app to maintain access. It’s a bit of work to set up, but it’s more secure in the long run.

3

I’ve been down this road before, and it can be tricky. Instead of relying on XOAuth, I opted for the Gmail API directly because it is much simpler and more robust. My approach was to first create a project in the Google Cloud Console, enable the Gmail API, and set up OAuth 2.0 credentials. After that, I used the Google Client Library for Java to manage the OAuth flow, which handles token management including refreshing when needed. The library manages the token for you so you don’t have to worry about maintaining it manually. Although there is a slight learning curve, once you have everything set up, it becomes easier to work with than raw IMAP. Always ensure you handle exceptions properly and securely store sensitive information. Good luck with your project!

4

yo, i’ve been there too. google’s oauth can be a pain. have you tried using the gmail api instead? it’s way easier to set up. just create a project in google cloud console, enable the api, and get your credentials. then use the java client library to handle the oauth flow. it’ll manage tokens for you, so no need to mess with refresh logic. give it a shot!