Automation library · Documents and files

Extract tracking numbers from Gmail PDF attachments

Started by an arriving email, and works across Gmail and Google Sheets. 9 steps, 2 branches, 1 loop or waits: a working afternoon to understand properly.

Medium

9 stepsMedium: a working afternoon
2Branches: places the flow splits
1Loop or waits
2Services it connects to

The flow

Starts it 1Logic 4Service 4

The steps in the order they run, from what starts it.

  1. 1Gmail Trigger - PDF AttachmentsGmail triggerStarts it
  2. 2IF attachment_0 is PDFIfLogic
  3. 3Configure OCR OptionsSetLogic
  4. 4Upload attachment_0 to okraPDFHttp RequestService
  5. 5OCR Parse Uploaded PDFHttp RequestService
  6. 6Wait for Parse ResultWaitLogic
  7. 7Get Job ResultHttp RequestService
  8. 8If Job Finished?IfLogic
  9. 9Append Tracking Row to SheetsGoogle SheetsService

How it's built

Starts on
An arriving email
Steps
9, with 2 branches, 1 loop or waits
Size
Medium: a working afternoon
Connects to
Gmail, Google Sheets
Model
None. This is plumbing, not judgement

Questions

What does it need to run?

An n8n account, plus your own Gmail and Google Sheets accounts. You connect your own accounts after importing it; none are included.

What starts it?

It starts on an arriving email.

Does it use AI?

No. Every step is fixed logic or a call to a service, so it does the same thing every time.

How long does it take to set up?

Plan an afternoon. 9 steps is enough that you should read each one before running it.

How do I import it?

Copy the workflow, open a new workflow in n8n and paste. The steps appear on the canvas, ready for your own accounts.

Before you run it

Nothing here has been tested by us. It is somebody's working automation, read and described from its own steps. Treat the connections it wants as a list of accounts it will touch, and read the 9 steps before you point it at anything that matters.