From Gmail OAuth hell to one-line agent identity

I tried to give an AI agent its own email account three different ways. The first two took most of an afternoon. The third took 28 seconds. This is the migration story. Attempt 1: dedicated Gmail account The first instinct: just create a Gmail. Free, familiar, works everywhere. Forty-five minutes in: Created a new Google account with a phone number Google would accept (the agent does not have a phone) Configured 2FA, generated an app password (Gmail no longer accepts plain passwords for IMAP) Hi