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Email Body

Every incoming email gives you several versions of its body to choose from. You can use the plaintext version of the email, the HTML version (with or without the HTML tags), or a cleaned-up version that separates the sender's reply from their signature and from the quoted conversation below it.

These versions of the email body are available as email.body, email.bodyparts, and email.body_stripped.

What is the difference between email.body, email.bodyparts, and email.body_stripped?​

Put succinctly, email.body contains the full contents of the email message, email.bodyparts contains the plaintext and HTML versions of the email, and email.body_stripped breaks apart email.body to separate out the email signature as well as quoted email replies.

email.bodyparts contains each version the sender's email client sent​

Many email clients send two copies of the same message: a plaintext version and an HTML version. The email.bodyparts variables give you each one:

  • email.bodyparts.plaintext contains the plaintext version of the email. If the email has no plaintext version, it contains the HTML version with the HTML tags removed, the same text as email.bodyparts.html_to_plaintext.
  • email.bodyparts.html contains the HTML version of the email, including the HTML tags. If the email has no HTML version, this variable is empty.
  • email.bodyparts.html_to_plaintext contains the HTML version of the email with the HTML tags and code removed. If the email has no HTML version, this variable is empty.

email.body always contains readable text​

email.body contains the plaintext version of the email. If the sender's email client sent only an HTML version, email.body contains that HTML version with the HTML tags removed. Generally speaking, email.body is the first variable to consider when looking for the body of an email message.

email.body_stripped separates the reply from the signature and quoted text​

email.body_stripped splits the text of email.body into three parts:

  • email.body_stripped.quoted contains the quoted portion of the email, if one is found. This section is often found in email replies and contains the contents of the message that is being replied to.
  • email.body_stripped.signature contains the signature at the bottom of the email, if one is found. This section often includes the sender's name, address, phone number, etc. A signature is recognized when it starts with a separator line such as -- or __, or with a line such as Sent from my iPhone. A sign-off like Thanks, Dana with no separator stays in email.body_stripped.visible.
  • email.body_stripped.visible contains the rest of the message: just the body, with no signature and no copies of the previous message(s) quoted in the email. If no quoted text or signature is found, email.body_stripped.visible contains the entire email body. Because of this, email.body_stripped.visible is a safe choice: it contains either a cleaned-up version of the email or the entire email.

For example, if a client replies to a ticket notification with:

The backup on SRV01 failed again last night.

Thanks,
Dana Lee
Contoso Dental

On Mon, Oct 5, 2026 at 8:02 AM, Support <[email protected]> wrote:
> We have received your request and created ticket T20261005.0012.

Then email.body_stripped.visible contains Dana's reply (The backup on SRV01 failed again last night. and her sign-off), and email.body_stripped.quoted contains the earlier message quoted below it. {{email.body}} still contains everything, including the quoted message.

Which version should I use?​

The most common variable to use is email.body. This variable contains the full contents of the incoming email.

When creating an automation to process a reply to an email, it is common to use email.body_stripped.visible, which contains only the reply and leaves out the quoted email.

Sometimes, an outside mail system sends information in the HTML version of the email that is not present in the plaintext version of the email. In this case, create a special rule for this email sender and use email.bodyparts.html_to_plaintext.