Use SideQuest if your email is hosted on cPanel.

Step 1 Create a dedicated Gmail for SideQuest

Don't reuse a personal Gmail. Create a fresh one specifically for SideQuest so the label rules and forwarding don't tangle with your personal mail.

1. Go to accounts.google.com/signup and create a free Gmail. Pick a name like [email protected] — it's an internal address, no customer will ever see it.
2. Sign in to the new Gmail. Click the gear icon, then See all settings.
3. Under the Labels tab, click Create new label. Name it purchase-orders (exactly that, lowercase, with a hyphen). Save.

Step 2 Add a forwarder in cPanel

The exact wording varies by host, but the path is consistent across cPanel-based providers.

1. Sign in to your hosting account and open cPanel. Some hosts (Bluehost, HostGator) link to it from the main dashboard.
2. Look for Email Accounts or Forwarders. On most cPanel installs there's a dedicated Forwarders tile in the Email section.
3. Click Add Forwarder (sometimes labeled "Add Email Forwarder").
4. In the Address to Forward field, enter the local part of your orders address — e.g., orders for [email protected]. Pick your domain from the dropdown.
5. Pick Forward to email address and paste your dedicated Gmail from Step 1.
6. Click Add Forwarder.

GoDaddy Webmail / Workspace Email: the equivalent is Email Forwarding under your domain settings. Each forwarder maps one source address to one destination.

Namecheap Private Email: the Mail Settings → Auto-Forward section in webmail handles this on a per-mailbox basis.

Step 3 Add a Gmail filter to apply the purchase-orders label

Without a filter, forwarded mail lands in Gmail's inbox unlabeled and SideQuest never sees it.

1. Open the dedicated Gmail. Click the gear icon → See all settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses.
2. Click Create a new filter.
3. In the To field, enter your dedicated Gmail address (e.g., [email protected]).
4. Click Create filter.
5. Tick Apply the label and pick purchase-orders.
6. (Optional) Also tick Skip the Inbox if you don't want forwarded POs cluttering the Gmail inbox view.
7. Click Create filter.

If only some incoming mail is real POs, narrow the filter using From (your buyer domains) or Has the words (e.g., "purchase order"). Tightening the filter is easier than fixing a mis-labeled PO after the fact.

Step 4 Set up "Send mail as" so replies come from your real domain

This is the step that makes the buyer's reply look professional. SideQuest drafts the reply in Gmail; this setting controls what email address that reply appears to come from.

1. In the dedicated Gmail, click gear → See all settings → Accounts and Import.
2. Next to Send mail as, click Add another email address.
3. In the popup, enter your real customer-facing name and the real address (e.g., [email protected]). Untick Treat as an alias. Click Next Step.
4. Enter the SMTP settings from the table above:
   • SMTP Server: your host's outgoing mail server (see table)
   • Port: 587 (TLS) for most hosts
   • Username: your full mailbox address (e.g., [email protected])
   • Password: the mailbox password
   • Secured connection: TLS
5. Click Add Account. Gmail sends a verification code to [email protected]. Open that mailbox via webmail (cPanel → Email Accounts → Check Email, or your provider's webmail URL), grab the code, paste it back into Gmail's prompt.
6. Back on the Accounts and Import page, find When replying to a message and pick Reply from the same address the message was sent to.

Step 5 Connect SideQuest to the dedicated Gmail

Same flow as any other SideQuest install — just point it at the dedicated Gmail instead of a personal one.

1. Run the SideQuest install. Install prompt walks you through it.
2. When the Gmail OAuth step asks you to sign in, sign in with the dedicated Gmail you created in Step 1.
3. The GMAIL_PO_LABEL in your .env should already be purchase-orders.

Step 6 Test the full round trip

1. Have a colleague or test account send a PO to [email protected].
2. Wait 30 seconds for the forwarder to push it through.
3. Check the dedicated Gmail. The message should appear with the purchase-orders label.
4. In Claude Desktop, ask "list my incoming POs". The PO should appear.
5. Ask Claude to draft the reply. Open the resulting draft in Gmail — confirm the From field shows [email protected] and NOT the dedicated Gmail.
6. Send the reply. The buyer receives it from your real domain.