Gmail Counter with Google Apps Script

This Google Apps Script will display the unread Gmail counter for your mailbox to anyone on the Internet with a simple URL.

The count is published as text but you may use other formats (ContentService.MimeType) like RSS, JSON or even CSV and feed this data into other system - like tweets or even another spreadsheet.

function doGet() {
  var cache = CacheService.getPublicCache();
  var counter = cache.get('gmail-counter');

  // Cache the counter to stay within the Apps Script quota
  if (!counter) {
    counter = GmailApp.getInboxUnreadCount();
    // Cache the counter value for 20 minutes
    cache.put('gmail-counter', counter, 1200);
  }

  // You can customize the output message
  counter = 'There are ' + counter + ' unread messages in my Gmail Inbox.';

  // Output the result in plain text format
  return ContentService.createTextOutput(counter).setMimeType(ContentService.MimeType.TEXT);
}
Amit Agarwal

Amit Agarwal

Google Developer Expert, Google Cloud Champion

Amit Agarwal is a Google Developer Expert in Google Workspace and Google Apps Script. He holds an engineering degree in Computer Science (I.I.T.) and is the first professional blogger in India.

Amit has developed several popular Google add-ons including Mail Merge for Gmail and Document Studio. Read more on Lifehacker and YourStory

Awards & Titles

Digital Inspiration has won several awards since it's launch in 2004.

Google Developer Expert

Google Developer Expert

Google awarded us the Google Developer Expert award recogizing our work in Google Workspace.

ProductHunt Golden Kitty

ProductHunt Golden Kitty

Our Gmail tool won the Lifehack of the Year award at ProductHunt Golden Kitty Awards in 2017.

Microsoft MVP Alumni

Microsoft MVP Alumni

Microsoft awarded us the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) title for 5 years in a row.

Google Cloud Champion

Google Cloud Champion

Google awarded us the Champion Innovator title recognizing our technical skill and expertise.

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