Gmail deep links in Asana tasks not working for shared mailboxes (Permission issues)

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Hi everyone,

Our team uses several shared Gmail accounts (workgroup mailboxes accessed by multiple users). We are struggling with a workflow issue regarding the connection between Asana tasks and specific emails.

The Issue: When one team member creates an Asana task and attaches a link to a specific email (either by pasting the URL or using the Asana for Gmail add-on), the link only works for the person who created it. When another team member — who has full access to the same shared mailbox — tries to click the link in Asana, they get a Google “404” or “Mail not found” error.

This happens because Gmail URLs include session identifiers (like /u/0/ or /u/1/) that are unique to the individual’s browser session, rather than a universal Message-ID.

What we’ve tried:

  • Using the official Asana for Gmail add-on.

  • Manually copying and pasting URLs from the browser.

My questions:

  1. Is there a way to generate a “permanent” or “universal” link to a Gmail thread that Asana can recognize regardless of which user is clicking it?

  2. Are there any specific settings in the Asana-Gmail integration that we should adjust to support shared/delegated accounts?

  3. Does anyone use a third-party connector or a specific workaround (like using Message-IDs) to ensure everyone can jump from an Asana task straight to the correct email?

This is a major bottleneck for us as we often have 2-3 people collaborating on the same client thread. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

2

Totally get the pain here. I’ve run into this with shared mailboxes too. Gmail’s links are tied to the user’s session and account slot (that /u/0 or /u/1 bit), so the URL that works for one person often breaks for others, even if everyone has access.

What works best in my experience:

Use the Message-ID based search URL in Gmail. It’s not pretty, but it’s the most universal.
In Gmail, open the email, click More Show original, copy the value of Message-ID
Build a link like: <UNVERIFIED_LINKHREF=“https://mail.google.com/mail/#search/rfc822msgid%3AMessage-ID-here !UNVERIFIED!”>https://mail.google.com/mail/#search/rfc822msgid%3AMessage-ID-here</UNVERIFIED_LINK>
Paste that into the Asana task. Anyone with access to that mailbox should land on the right thread
Tip: leaving out /u/0 helps avoid the account slot issue. Folks may need to switch to the shared mailbox if they have multiple accounts open

A few notes:

There isn’t a setting in the Asana for Gmail add-on to force universal links. The add-on opens emails in the context of the user who created the task, which is why you’re seeing the mismatch
If you want to make this smoother at scale, some teams auto-capture the Message-ID into a custom field when creating tasks from email, then generate the search link. You can do that with a lightweight script or an automation tool

Alternatives if the deep link is not critical:

Forward the email into Asana so the content lives on the task, then keep the Message-ID link as a backup for jumping into Gmail