Source: https://cli.nylas.com/docs/commands/email-metadata-show

# nylas email metadata show

Show full email metadata — headers, message IDs, and provider-specific fields.

Written by [Qasim Muhammad](https://cli.nylas.com/authors/qasim-muhammad) Staff SRE

Published February 13, 2026

Updated June 21, 2026

## What does nylas email metadata show do?

The nylas email metadata show command displays the raw headers and internal metadata for a message, including Message-ID, In-Reply-To, References, and provider-specific IDs. Useful for debugging delivery issues or threading problems.

## Usage

```bash
nylas email metadata show <message-id> [grant-id]
```

## Flags

| Flag | Description |
| --- | --- |
| --json | Output as JSON |
| --no-color | Disable color output |
| --verbose(-v) | Enable verbose output |
| --config | Custom config file path |
| --help(-h) | Show help for the command |
| --limit | Limit results (most list commands) |
| --yes(-y) | Skip confirmations |

## Examples

The nylas email metadata show command displays the raw headers and internal metadata for a message, including Message-ID, In-Reply-To, References, and provider-specific IDs.

### Show metadata for an email

```bash
nylas email metadata show msg_abc123
```

### Extract the Message-ID header

```bash
nylas email metadata show msg_abc123 --json | jq -r '.headers["Message-ID"]'
```

## Example output

```text
Metadata for msg_abc123
  key1:     campaign=q4
  key2:     type=invoice
  customer: acme-corp
```

## Troubleshooting

### Headers appear empty or incomplete

Some providers only return a subset of headers. Try --json for the full response including provider-specific fields.

### Message-ID differs from provider's webmail

Nylas normalizes Message-IDs. The raw RFC822 Message-ID is in the headers object; the top-level id is the Nylas internal ID.

## Related commands

[nylas email ai analyzeAnalyze recent emails with AI for a summary, categorization, and action items.](https://cli.nylas.com/docs/commands/email-ai-analyze)

[nylas email attachments downloadDownload an attachment](https://cli.nylas.com/docs/commands/email-attachments-download)

[nylas email attachments listList all attachments on a specific email.](https://cli.nylas.com/docs/commands/email-attachments-list)

[nylas email deleteDelete an email by message ID.](https://cli.nylas.com/docs/commands/email-delete)

[nylas email drafts createCreate a new draft email with optional attachments.](https://cli.nylas.com/docs/commands/email-drafts-create)

[nylas email drafts listList email drafts in your mailbox.](https://cli.nylas.com/docs/commands/email-drafts-list)

## Recommended guides

[List Fastmail emails from the CLIList Fastmail emails from the CLI through Nylas IMAP access, using app passwords, inbox filters, JSON output, and Fastmail-specific auth troubleshooting.](https://cli.nylas.com/guides/list-fastmail-emails)

[Why Cloud Servers Block SMTP PortsAWS, GCP, and Azure block outbound SMTP port 25 while ports 587 and 465 stay open. Confirm the block and send email over an HTTPS API instead.](https://cli.nylas.com/guides/smtp-ports-blocked-on-cloud-servers)

[Send Email From a Docker ContainerCloud providers block SMTP port 25 from containers. Send email over an HTTPS API on port 443 with one command and no mail daemon at all.](https://cli.nylas.com/guides/send-email-from-docker-container)

[MailerSend vs Nylas: Email ComparedMailerSend sends transactional email from verified domains. Nylas reads and syncs user inboxes across 6 providers. Compare features, pricing, and use cases.](https://cli.nylas.com/guides/mailersend-vs-nylas)

[Customer.io vs Nylas: Email ComparedCustomer.io sends lifecycle emails to your user base. Nylas reads and sends from real user inboxes via OAuth. Compare use cases, data access, and AI agents.](https://cli.nylas.com/guides/customerio-vs-nylas)

[Knock vs Nylas: Notifications vs Email APIKnock delivers multi-channel product notifications via workflows; Nylas provides two-way email and calendar sync. Compare scope, use cases, and agent support.](https://cli.nylas.com/guides/knock-vs-nylas)

Run `nylas email metadata show --help` for full help output.