Loopload – Guide

How to set up Loopload – and how to help it when a website changes.

What Loopload does

You show Loopload once how you get a file from a website – sign in, set the filters, download. From then on Loopload fetches the file by itself, on a schedule and in the background, and puts it into your folder. Everything runs on your Mac; passwords stay in the keychain, nothing is sent to us.

A recorded path like this is called a thread. A thread belongs to one website and ends in one folder.

Recording a thread

1. Click “Record new thread” (top right). A browser window opens – you are signed out there so that the sign-in gets recorded too.
2. Make the window large. Many sites then show a fixed sidebar instead of a ☰ menu, which replays more reliably. Loopload remembers the size and uses it again when playing.
3. Enter the address and sign in as usual – including a confirmation code.
4. Set the filters. Prefer ready-made periods such as “Last month” or the “Previous” arrow rather than clicking a fixed date – then it is right every month.
5. Download the file. It opens right away for checking and appears on the left under “Files in this recording”. Wrong file? Use the bin next to it – the download and the click before it are removed.
6. Do the same for further files, then “Done”.

Trying things out is fine: Loopload leaves out clicks into empty space and duplicate entries when playing. Sample files are stored in Downloads › “Loopload Aufnahme”.

If you accidentally record a different website for an existing thread, Loopload automatically creates a new thread – the old one stays unchanged.

Invoices from e-mails (mail thread)

Many invoices don’t come through a portal but by e-mail – as a PDF attachment or as a mail without attachment (e.g. Apple). That is what the mail thread is for; nothing needs to be recorded.

1. Select an invoice mail in the Mail app.
2. In Loopload click “✉ Mail thread” at the top right – or in the menu bar › “Selected mail as mail thread”.
3. Loopload takes the sender and the fixed words in the subject (e.g. “Your invoice”). You can adjust both.
4. Choose what to save: attachments (default: PDF) and/or the mail itself as PDF when there is no matching attachment. The PDF is then named e.g. “2026-10-20 Geo – Your invoice.pdf”.
5. For the first run choose how far back to search (1, 3 or 12 months). After that the thread only fetches what arrived since the last run – nothing twice.
6. Choose the target folder via the folder tile, set a schedule, done.

A mail thread appears as a loop like any other: mailbox → schedule → filter → documents → folder. A right-click “Add to Loopload” inside the Mail app is not allowed by Apple for third-party apps – hence the way via the selected mail.

The thread view

Every thread runs as a loop: along the top from the website to the right, then back along the bottom to the folder under the website. Each thread sits on its own tinted card; the colour comes from the site’s logo. Every tile can be clicked.

On the right is the Destinations column: one tile per folder with coloured dots for the threads that flow into it. The top line shows how many threads exist, how many are active (have a schedule), how many have never run and which one is running right now. A thread flashes once when it has fetched something new.

Sign-in and confirmation code (2FA)

The password you type while recording is stored in your Mac’s keychain. For the confirmation code there are three ways – click the sign-in tile to choose:

If the sign-in tile shows green “Automatic sign-in”, signing in works without you. With “Test: fresh sign-in” in the sign-in tile’s menu you check the whole path including the code – Loopload signs out first.

For codes from e-mail Loopload only takes mails that arrived after the click on “Sign in”, and never uses a code twice.

Taking the key from “Passwords” – step by step

1. Open the Passwords app on your Mac (Spotlight: “Passwords”) and unlock it.
2. Find the website’s entry, e.g. tesla.com, and click it. If it has a verification code (6 digits changing every 30 seconds), go on with step 3.
3. Right-click the verification code › “Copy Setup URL”. Don’t paste it anywhere – the key is now only on the clipboard.
4. In Loopload click the pencil (Edit) of the thread › section “Confirmation code” › “Take from clipboard”.
5. Loopload now shows a running code. It must match the code in “Passwords”. Loopload clears the clipboard afterwards.
6. The sign-in tile now shows green “Automatic sign-in · password + 2FA”.

No verification code in the entry? Then the site so far uses SMS or another app. In the site’s security settings choose “Authenticator app”; add the QR code shown to the entry in “Passwords” with “Set Up Verification Code”; then continue at step 3. If the site only offers codes by e-mail, use “Code from e-mail” instead.

Key gone (e.g. after a Loopload update): simply repeat steps 3–5. The key lives only in your Mac’s keychain – never share the setup URL; it is worth as much as your password.

Schedule, background, notifications

• Schedule: click the schedule tile – daily, weekly or monthly, with a time. For monthly invoices the 2nd or 3rd of the month works well.
• Queue: only one thread runs at a time; threads due at the same time run one after the other. A run that falls due while another runs, while the Mac sleeps or is offline is caught up later – nothing is skipped.
• In the background: runs invisibly; the browser window closes at the end. The Mac must be on.
• Open at login and icon in the menu bar: via the gear at the top right. From the menu bar you can also run any thread directly.
• Notification appears when something new was fetched or something is missing – otherwise Loopload stays quiet.
• Mail on errors (optional): gear › E-mail settings › “Send a mail when a thread fails twice in a row”. After the first failure Loopload retries after an hour; only the second one triggers the mail.
• Document not there yet (e.g. the October invoice only appears on the 5th): not an error, Loopload tries again the next day.
• Slow sites: Edit › More › “Play slowly” doubles all pauses.

When something goes wrong

Websites change. If Loopload can’t find a step, it first tries to get on by itself: it waits until the page is ready, if needed goes straight to the page where your clicks ended, or recalculates a period in the address for the right month. Only then does it call you – the affected tile flashes orange.

• Show instead of re-recording: just click the right element in the browser window. Loopload remembers it and continues. Or press “Continue” if you did the step yourself.
• Re-record: website tile › ⏺. The old recording is kept; Edit › More › “Restore previous recording” brings it back.
• Wrong file in the thread: documents tile › bin next to the file.
• Wrong period: if the file name contains a period (e.g. 20261001-20261031), it must be a whole month and the same for all files of a run. Otherwise Loopload reports “wrong period” instead of silently saving a wrong file.
• Duplicate files are not saved – same content or same unique name is skipped.
• Network drive not there: Loopload waits up to a minute for the drive and otherwise puts the file into Downloads › Loopload (can be switched off under Edit › More).
• What exactly happened: see the log (Edit › More › Log).

Setting up e-mail

Loopload uses e-mail for three things: reading confirmation codes (when a site sends the sign-in code by mail), fetching invoices from mails (mail threads) and telling you when a thread fails. For codes and mail threads use path A – it needs no setup. Path B only if you want mails from Loopload or don’t use the Mail app.

Path A: Mail app (recommended)

Requirement: the mail arrives in Apple’s Mail app on your Mac – whatever the provider (iCloud, IONOS, Gmail …) and even if forwarded.

1. Loopload: gear at the top right › E-mail settings …
2. Tick “Read confirmation codes from mails”.
3. “Read codes from” is set to “Mail app on this Mac” – leave it.
4. Press “Test Mail app”. macOS asks: “Loopload wants to control ‘Mail’” → OK. The prompt sometimes hides behind the window.
5. “✓ Mail app reachable (… mails since yesterday)” appears. Done.
6. For the thread: click the sign-in tile › “Get 2FA code from e-mail”. To check: same menu › “Test: fresh sign-in”.

If you declined the prompt in step 4: System Settings › Privacy & Security › Automation › Loopload › switch on Mail.

Path B: mailbox directly (server, user, password)

1. Gear › E-mail settings … › tick “Send a mail when …” (for notifications) and/or choose “Mailbox directly” under “Read codes from”.
2. Enter your e-mail address › “Detect”. Loopload fills in server and port and shows where your mails go.
3. Enter the password – which one, see the table.
4. “Test mailbox” and “Send test mail”. Both must show ✓.

Own domain (e.g. you@practice.com)

Which provider? “Detect” shows where mails for your domain arrive first (e.g. “mails go to mx00.ionos.de”). If that provider forwards them (e.g. to iCloud), use the provider where the mails end up – where you see them in the Mail app. Quick test: send yourself a mail to that address and see which mailbox it appears in.

Own domain with iCloud: as user enter not the domain address but your @icloud.com address (under “Manual” › User). Where to find it: System Settings › your name › iCloud › iCloud Mail. Apple doesn’t show it in the Mail app – so path A is usually easier here.

Messages and what they mean

Help from an AI assistant

If you get stuck, copy the text below into Claude (or another AI assistant) and fill in the two lines at the end. The assistant then knows Loopload and guides you step by step. Loopload has the same text under E-mail settings › “Copy help text for AI” – with your details already filled in. Never give the assistant your password.

I am setting up e-mail in the Mac app “Loopload” and need step-by-step help. Please ask what you need to know and explain every click. Never ask for my password.

How Loopload works (November 2026):
- Loopload automatically downloads files from websites. Some websites send a confirmation code by e-mail at sign-in; Loopload can read that code itself.
- Path A (recommended): Loopload reads the code from Apple’s Mail app on the Mac. Settings: gear at the top right › “E-mail settings …” › tick “Read confirmation codes from mails” › “Read codes from: Mail app on this Mac” › “Test Mail app”. macOS asks once “Loopload wants to control Mail” → OK. Declined? System Settings › Privacy & Security › Automation › Loopload › switch on Mail. Requirement: the code mail arrives in the Mail app (any provider, forwarded is fine).
- Path B: mailbox directly via IMAP/SMTP. Fields: e-mail address, “Detect” (fills in servers, shows the domain’s MX server), provider, password; under “Manual”: user, SMTP server, port (465 SSL / 587 STARTTLS), IMAP server (port 993), “Mails to”, sender. Buttons: “Test mailbox”, “Send test mail”.
- iCloud: app-specific password needed (account.apple.com › Sign-In and Security › App-Specific Passwords). IMAP imap.mail.me.com, SMTP smtp.mail.me.com:587. With an own domain the user is the @icloud.com address (System Settings › name › iCloud › iCloud Mail), not the domain address. “Login denied” almost always means: wrong user.
- Gmail: app password (myaccount.google.com/apppasswords). GMX/WEB.DE: switch on IMAP access in their settings. T-Online: separate e-mail password. Outlook/Microsoft 365: password sign-in often blocked → path A.
- Own domain: what counts is the mailbox where the mail ends up. If the domain provider forwards, use the target provider. Check in Terminal: dig +short MX my-domain.com

My situation:
- My e-mail domain: [e.g. practice.com]
- What Loopload reports: [copy the message]

Privacy and security

• Everything local: Loopload only talks to the websites you recorded and to your own mailbox. There is no Loopload server.
• Passwords and 2FA keys are stored only in your Mac’s keychain. The backup copy of your threads contains no passwords.
• Mails: Loopload only reads the mails it needs: for confirmation codes those of the last few minutes, for mail threads those from the sender you set. Nothing is deleted, moved or sent.
• Your threads stay with you: recorded threads are not shared with anyone.
• Separate sign-in per thread: each thread has its own browser storage – no site sees another site’s cookies.