Gmail API In-Reply-To not working(Google not handling on one side)

Question

Problem: When Reply to email is sent via api then in receiver side it is showing as thread that contains two email messages(good on receivers side) but the sender has two different emails one in Inbox and one in Sent Mail(Problem in sender side).

for example:

Email is sent from A to B. Again B sends to A.

here in api i am giving the previous email message-id in "In-Reply-To" and "References",(according to rfc822 format) here Google is handling that message-id on the A side but not on B side. A receives the message in a single thread as two messages but in B's account it is showing as two separate emails one in Inbox and one in sent.

Api used:

https://www.googleapis.com/upload/gmail/v1/users/me/messages/send?uploadType=multipart Content-Type: "message/rfc822; boundary=foo_bar_baz"

request body is in rfc2822 format

Answer 1

Noticed this in my production app today as well. The change log did not give a clue as to what happened, but I found the problem in the new documentation for managing threads:

1. The requested threadId must be specified on the Message or Draft.Message you supply with your request.
2. The References and In-Reply-To headers must be set in compliance with the RFC 2822 standard.
3. The Subject headers must match.

In other words, the threadId needs to be supplied. I don't know if this is a bug or not, since it is not documented in the sending message-documentation that was updated on the same day.

I want to respond to the latest message in my inbox. Let's get the relevant information:

Request 1:

maxResults = 1
fields = messages/id

GET https://www.googleapis.com/gmail/v1/users/me/messages?maxResults=1&fields=messages%2Fid

Response 1:

{
 "messages": [
  {
   "id": "15071b210a1ac883",
   "threadId": "15071a4886871a10"
  }
 ]
}

Request 2:

format = metadata
metadataHeaders = In-Reply-To,References,Message-ID,Subject
fields = payload/headers

GET https://www.googleapis.com/gmail/v1/users/me/messages/15071b210a1ac883?format=metadata&metadataHeaders=In-Reply-To&metadataHeaders=References&metadataHeaders=Message-ID&metadataHeaders=Subject&fields=payload%2Fheaders

Response:

{
 "payload": {
  "headers": [
   {
    "name": "In-Reply-To",
    "value": "<CADsZLRyej6wRwCNYv91+dBu9uYhuqYo4pEqOpt41NftXJJqC7g@mail.gmail.com>"
   },
   {
    "name": "References",
    "value": "<CADsZLRyej6wRwCNYv91+dBu9uYhuqYo4pEqOpt41NftXJJqC7g@mail.gmail.com>"
   },
   {
    "name": "Message-ID",
    "value": "<CADsZLRzipMRrQv-A9m-r-EJafXXm1eS9ihw3ZD5g8ybfj+LYeg@mail.gmail.com>"
   },
   {
    "name": "Subject",
    "value": "Re: Perculiar"
   }
  ]
 }
}

All that is left is to create a message with all this data in the right places:

Request 3:

POST https://www.googleapis.com/upload/gmail/v1/users/me/messages/send?uploadType=multipart
Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="foo_bar_baz"

--foo_bar_baz
Content-Type: application/json; charset=UTF-8

{
  "threadId": "15071a4886871a10"
}

--foo_bar_baz
Content-Type: message/rfc822

Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="foo_bar"
In-Reply-To: <CADsZLRzipMRrQv-A9m-r-EJafXXm1eS9ihw3ZD5g8ybfj+LYeg@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CADsZLRyej6wRwCNYv91+dBu9uYhuqYo4pEqOpt41NftXJJqC7g@mail.gmail.com> <CADsZLRzipMRrQv-A9m-r-EJafXXm1eS9ihw3ZD5g8ybfj+LYeg@mail.gmail.com>
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Perculiar

--foo_bar
Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8"
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

<div dir="ltr"><b> This is where the message text goes </b></div>

--foo_bar
Content-Type: image/png
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="cool.png"

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

--foo_bar--
--foo_bar_baz--

This results in a new message with an attachment threaded like before: