{% extends "documentation/base.html" %} {% block doc_content %}

Inbox Management

Review incoming backup report emails, examine parsed results, and approve jobs for monitoring.

Overview

The Inbox is the central location where all imported backup report emails appear before being approved and linked to jobs. Think of it as a staging area where you review and validate incoming backup reports.

The inbox workflow:

  1. Import: Emails are automatically imported from your mailbox
  2. Parse: BackupChecks automatically parses email content to extract backup information
  3. Review: You review the parsed results in the inbox
  4. Approve: You approve emails to create backup jobs and link future reports
  5. Monitor: Approved jobs appear in Daily Jobs and other operational views

Accessing the Inbox

To access the inbox:

  1. Navigate to Inbox in the main navigation menu
  2. Available to Admin, Operator, and Viewer roles
  3. Viewers can see emails but cannot approve or delete them

Inbox Page Layout

The Inbox page displays a table with all unapproved imported emails. Each row represents one email message that has not yet been approved.

💡 Inbox Shows Only Unapproved Emails:
Once you approve an email, it immediately disappears from the inbox and the job appears in operational views (Jobs, Daily Jobs, Run Checks). The inbox only contains emails awaiting approval or deletion.
💡 Archived jobs are filtered out:
Mail messages whose linked job has been archived are hidden from the inbox. Messages without a linked job remain visible. To process emails for an archived job, unarchive the job first in Jobs.
💡 Parallel inboxes for API integrations:
This Inbox handles email-imported reports. API-based integrations have their own staging pages with the same approve-and-link flow:

Table Columns

Column Description
From Sender email address (e.g., backups@veeam.com)
Subject Email subject line
Date / time When the email was received (in configured timezone)
Backup Detected backup software (e.g., Veeam, Synology, NAKIVO)
Type Backup job type (e.g., Backup Job, Replication Job)
Job name Extracted backup job name from email content
Overall Overall status extracted from email (Success, Warning, Failed)
Parsed Timestamp when the email was parsed
EML Download link if raw .eml file is stored (blank if not stored)

Pagination

The inbox displays 50 emails per page. Use the pagination controls at the top and bottom of the table:

Viewing Email Details

To view the full content and parsed details of an email:

  1. Click anywhere on the email row in the inbox table
  2. A large modal dialog opens showing the email details

Email Detail Modal

The email detail modal uses a two-column layout:

Email Detail Modal
Figure 1: Email detail modal with metadata on the left and email body on the right

1. Metadata Section (Left Side)

Displays email header information on the left side of the modal:

Below the metadata, action buttons are available:

2. Email Body (Right Side)

The email body is displayed on the right side of the modal in an embedded iframe:

💡 HTML Rendering:
The email body is sandboxed in an iframe for security. This prevents malicious scripts from executing while still allowing you to see the formatted email content.

3. Parsed Objects (Left Side, Below Metadata)

If the email was successfully parsed, the backup objects are listed below the metadata on the left side:

Column Description
Name Object name (VM name, server name, etc.)
Object type Type of object (e.g., VM, Server, Repository)
Status Status of this object (Success, Warning, Failed)
Message Any error or warning message for this object

For example, a Veeam backup job email might show:

Approving Emails

Approving an email creates a backup job in BackupChecks and links it to a customer. Future emails matching the same job will be automatically linked.

How to Approve

  1. Open the email detail modal by clicking on an inbox row
  2. Review the email content and parsed objects
  3. Click the Approve button in the metadata section (left side)
  4. An approval dialog opens showing:
  5. Select the customer from the dropdown (or start typing to search)
  6. Click Confirm to approve
💡 Job Name Cannot Be Changed:
The job name is determined by the parser and cannot be modified during approval. If the parsed job name is incorrect, you need to fix the parser or contact support - you cannot manually override it during the approval process.
💡 Customer Selection:
Always create the customer account before approving emails. This allows you to immediately link the job to the correct customer. See Managing Customers for details.

What Happens After Approval

When you approve an email:

  1. A Job record is created in the database (if it doesn't already exist)
  2. A JobRun record is created, representing this specific backup run
  3. JobObject records are created for each parsed object (VMs, servers, etc.)
  4. The email is marked as approved and immediately disappears from the inbox
  5. The job immediately appears in Jobs, Daily Jobs, and Run Checks pages
  6. Future emails matching the same job are automatically approved and linked without appearing in the inbox
💡 Approved Emails Don't Return:
Once approved, an email permanently leaves the inbox. Future emails for the same job are automatically approved during import and never appear in the inbox - they go directly to operational views.
⚠️ Job Matching:
After approval, future emails are matched to this job based on sender address, job name, and backup software. If these change (e.g., job is renamed), you may need to approve a new email to create a new job record.

Re-parsing Emails

If an email was not parsed correctly, you can re-parse it after updating parser configuration. Re-parsing is only available from the inbox page, not from the email detail modal.

Re-parse All Emails

To re-parse all emails in the inbox at once:

  1. On the inbox page, click the Re-parse all button at the top of the page
  2. BackupChecks will re-run all parsers on all inbox emails
  3. The page will refresh showing updated parsed results
  4. Useful after adding new parsers or fixing parser bugs
💡 No Individual Re-parse:
There is no option to re-parse a single email. The "Re-parse all" button processes all emails in the inbox simultaneously. If you only want to re-parse specific emails, delete the others first, then use "Re-parse all", then re-import the deleted emails.
💡 When to Re-parse:
Re-parsing is useful when emails were imported before a parser was configured, or when parser logic has been updated. Re-parsing does not re-fetch emails from the mailbox - it only re-processes emails already in the database.

Deleting Emails

Admins and Operators can delete emails from the inbox.

Delete Single Email

  1. Open the email detail modal
  2. Click the Delete button
  3. Confirm the deletion
  4. The email is marked as deleted and moved out of the inbox

Bulk Delete Emails

  1. Check the checkboxes next to emails you want to delete
  2. Click the Delete selected button at the top of the inbox
  3. Confirm the bulk deletion
⚠️ Soft Delete:
Emails are soft-deleted, not permanently removed. Deleted emails are hidden from the inbox but remain in the database. Administrators can view deleted emails on the Deleted Mails page (visible only to Admin role).

Downloading .EML Files

If EML storage is enabled, you can download the original .eml file for any email:

  1. Open the email detail modal
  2. Click the Download .eml button
  3. The raw .eml file is downloaded to your browser
  4. You can open this file in Outlook, Thunderbird, or any email client

This is useful for:

Common Workflows

Setting Up a New Customer

  1. Create the customer in Customers page
  2. Wait for backup reports to arrive in the inbox (or trigger a manual import)
  3. Review each email for the customer in the inbox
  4. Approve each email, selecting the new customer from the dropdown
  5. The approved emails disappear from the inbox and jobs are created
  6. Jobs now appear in Jobs, Daily Jobs, and Run Checks pages
  7. Future backup reports are automatically approved and never appear in the inbox

Troubleshooting Unparsed Emails

  1. Find emails with empty Backup or Job name columns in the inbox table
  2. Open the email detail modal to review the email body and understand its format
  3. Check if a parser exists for this backup software:
  4. If no parser exists:
  5. After a parser is added by the developer, use Re-parse all on the inbox page to process the emails again
⚠️ Custom Parsers:
Parsers can only be created by the BackupChecks developer. End users cannot create or modify parsers. If you need support for a new backup software, contact support with sample email reports (.eml files).

Cleaning Up Spam or Test Emails

  1. Identify unwanted emails in the inbox (e.g., spam, test messages)
  2. Select them using checkboxes
  3. Click Delete selected
  4. Configure mail rules in your mailbox to prevent future spam

Best Practices

Next Steps

{% endblock %}