A Gmail notifier that you can reply from
A Gmail bee shows your unread count on the desktop and wiggles when new mail arrives. Click it to read the conversation and reply, archive it, or write a new email, all in a small window. Then get back to what you were doing.
How it works
- Add the bee. Click the hexagon in the menu bar → Add a Bee → Gmail.
- Make an app password. Google's own way to connect a mail app. The account needs 2-Step Verification; the bee links you to both.
- Connect. Enter your address, paste the app password and click Connect. Your inbox appears within about half a minute.
Step by step, with what success looks like: the guide.
What you get
- Gmail's own conversations, labels, Archive, read and unread.
- An Unread only filter, one click away.
- Write new emails. Address suggestions come only from that bee's account, so you don't email a colleague from your personal address.
- One bee per address: two Gmail accounts are two bees.
- The bee checks every 30 seconds; click ↻ to check straight away.
Your password stays on your Mac. The app password is kept in this Mac's Keychain and never syncs. To stop Waggle using your Gmail, delete the "Waggle" app password in your Google account and the bee stops straight away. A work Google account may have app passwords or IMAP turned off by its administrator.
Price and requirements
Every bee is free for 14 days on each Mac, with no card and no account. After that, your first bee is free on one Mac. Worker Bees is £12.99 for any 3 bees and Whole Hive is £24.99 for every bee, each on up to 3 Macs. Both are paid once and include 12 months of Updates & Relay, then £9.99 per 12 months if you want it, with no automatic payments. See Pricing.
A Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 14 (Sonoma) or newer.
Questions
Why does Gmail use an app password?
It's Google's own way to connect a mail app, and it needs nothing set up in Google Cloud. The password stays in your Mac's Keychain. See FAQs.
What if Google doesn't offer me App passwords?
Turn on 2-Step Verification first. On a work account, your administrator may have turned app passwords or IMAP off; ask them.
Does it work with Outlook and other email?
Yes. Outlook bees use Microsoft's official sign-in, and Email bees work with any IMAP account.
Is it free?
Every bee is free for 14 days. After that, your first bee is free on one Mac.
More bees
Floating WhatsApp · Slack without opening Slack · Meeting countdown and Join · iMessage on a work Mac · Waggle and all-in-one chat apps