Setup guide

Connect Google Chat.

Deliver arrival messages in Google Chat and optionally post safe arrival notices to a reception space.

Time
About 4 minutes
You need
Google Workspace admin
Done by
One admin, once
Updated
22 September 2026

Set it up

  1. Install from Marketplace

    Open the Just Arrived listing in Google Workspace Marketplace, choose Admin install, select the whole domain or an organisational unit, and continue. This makes the Just Arrived Chat app available to those users.
    Get the app first: Open the Just Arrived app in the Google Workspace Marketplace, then come back and follow the steps below.
    Trying it as one person? Choose Individual install instead — no admin needed. If the Google Chat card later shows an unclaimed installation from your domain, click Claim for this organisation.

  2. Say hi once

    In Google Chat, open Apps → Just Arrived and send “hi”. Just Arrived uses the Google-verified email to match the signed-in person to their employee record and link the workspace automatically.
    There are no IDs to collect. People are matched by the Google-verified email on their Chat account, so the employee email in Just Arrived must be their Google Workspace address.
    Screenshot for Say hi once

  3. Check who is linked

    Return to the Just Arrived admin and open Connections. Expand Google Chat, then review Installations, Matched hosts, Spaces, and Link people manually. Use the manual list for anyone who was not matched automatically.
    Spaces lists shared spaces the app has been added to. An office can post arrivals into one for a reception team — those posts contain the visitor's name, company, host first name and office, never email addresses, phone numbers, photos or reply buttons.
    Screenshot for Check who is linked

  4. Enable Google Chat for hosts

    In the Just Arrived admin, open Employees. To enrol everyone at once, click Select, tick Select everyone and click Google Chat in the Enroll in bar. To enrol one person, open them and switch Google Chat on under Alerts.
    A host who says hi is matched and switched on automatically. Use this step for hosts you linked manually, or to switch a host off again.
    Enrol everyone in one go: Select → Select everyone → Google Chat. You can also tick just the people you want before clicking the channel.
    Screenshot for Enable Google Chat for hosts

  5. Run a test check-in

    Use a Just Arrived kiosk to check in a test visitor and select yourself as the host. The card should arrive in Google Chat within about ten seconds; choose On my way and confirm that the reply appears on the kiosk.
    The reply buttons — On my way, Be there in 5, Can't make it — are the Host quick replies set under Offices. The reply the host taps is shown to the visitor on the kiosk and on the reception display.

If something doesn’t work

The workspace is unclaimed
Use Claim for this organisation on the Google Chat connection.
A person is unmatched
Use Link people manually or correct their employee email to match Google Workspace.
Self-hosted guide

Self-host Google Chat.

Create your own Google Chat app and connect it securely to Just Arrived.

Set it up

  1. Create a Google Cloud project

    Open console.cloud.google.com/projectcreate while signed in as a Google Workspace administrator. Give the project a name, make sure your organisation (your Workspace domain) is selected as the parent, and click Create. Wait for the notification that the project is ready, then pick it in the project selector at the top of the page. Everything in the following steps happens inside this project.
    Any project name works — the pictures use Your Company Chat. The name is only shown inside Google Cloud; your employees never see it.
    Screenshot for Create a Google Cloud project

  2. Enable the Google Chat API

    In the left menu choose APIs & Services → Library, search for "Google Chat API" and open it. Click Enable. When it has been enabled the blue button changes to Manage, as in the picture, and a green "API Enabled" tick appears.
    Screenshot for Enable the Google Chat API

  3. Give the Chat app a name and avatar

    Click Manage (or open APIs & Services → Enabled APIs & services → Google Chat API) and open the Configuration tab. Under Application info enter App name: Just Arrived, Avatar URL: https://justarrived.io/icon-512.png, and Description: Visitor arrival notifications. The App name is what your employees see in Google Chat, so keep it "Just Arrived" unless your organisation has a naming policy.
    Note the Project number (App ID) shown above the fields — you will need it again in step 9.
    Screenshot for Give the Chat app a name and avatar

  4. Switch on interactive features

    Scroll down to Interactive features and switch on Enable Interactive features. Under Functionality tick Join spaces and group conversations.
    Join spaces and group conversations lets the app post arrival notices to a shared reception space later. Direct messages to hosts work regardless.
    Screenshot for Switch on interactive features

  5. Connect the app to Just Arrived

    Under Connection settings choose HTTP endpoint URL. Under Triggers keep "Use a common HTTP endpoint URL for all triggers" and enter exactly https://justarrived.io/api/public/gchat/events in the HTTP endpoint URL field. Leave Commands and Link previews empty.
    Google fills in the Service Account Email automatically — leave it as it is. Just Arrived only needs the endpoint URL.
    Screenshot for Connect the app to Just Arrived

  6. Decide who can use the app, then save

    Under Visibility tick Make this Chat app available to specific people and groups in <your organisation> and enter the email address of a Google Group that contains everyone who should receive arrival messages (for example all-staff@yourcompany.com). Individual addresses work too, separated by commas. Leave Log errors to Logging ticked. Click Save at the bottom of the page.
    Group changes can take up to 24 hours to take effect; individual addresses are immediate. Add your own address directly if you want to test straight away.
    Screenshot for Decide who can use the app, then save

  7. Create a service account

    Just Arrived sends messages on behalf of your Chat app, and Google requires a service account for that. In the left menu choose IAM & Admin → Service Accounts → Create service account. Enter a name (the pictures use "Your Company Chat"); the ID fills in automatically. Skip the optional Permissions and Principals steps and click Create and close.
    The service account needs no roles — skip Permissions and Principals. Just Arrived only uses its key to send messages as your Chat app.
    Screenshot for Create a service account

  8. Download a JSON key for the service account

    Open the service account you just created, go to the Keys tab, click Add key → Create new key, choose JSON and click Create. A file downloads to your computer; you will upload it to Just Arrived in step 10.
    Treat the key file like a password: it is the only copy, and anyone holding it can send messages as your Chat app. Delete the downloaded file once it has been uploaded in step 10.
    Add key greyed out? Your Google Cloud organisation blocks service-account keys (the policy is iam.disableServiceAccountKeyCreation). Ask your Google Cloud administrator to allow key creation for this project only.
    Screenshot for Download a JSON key for the service account

  9. Find the project number

    In the left menu choose IAM & Admin → Settings and copy the Project number.
    Copy the Project number (11–12 digits), not the Project ID, which contains letters. It is the same number shown as App ID in step 3.
    Screenshot for Find the project number

  10. Enter the credentials in Just Arrived

    In Just Arrived open Connections → Google Chat and choose the Advanced tab. Paste the project number from step 9, upload the JSON key file from step 8 (or paste its contents), and click Save credentials.
    Both values must come from the same Google Cloud project. Just Arrived checks the key immediately — Platform credentials shows OK when it is accepted.
    Screenshot for Enter the credentials in Just Arrived

  11. Say hi, then test

    In Google Chat, open Apps (or the "+" next to Direct messages), find Just Arrived and send it "hi". The app replies and links your account by email; the Connections page updates to show the installation. Ask each host to do the same. Then check in a test visitor on a kiosk with yourself as host: the message arrives in Google Chat within a few seconds, and your reply appears on the kiosk.
    Anyone who was not matched automatically can be linked under Connections → Google Chat → Link people manually, or by correcting their employee email so it matches Google Workspace. To switch Google Chat on for everyone at once: Employees → Select → Select everyone → Google Chat.
    Screenshot for Say hi, then test

If something doesn’t work

The app doesn't appear in Google Chat
Visibility (step 6) does not include your account, or a group change is still propagating (up to 24 hours). Add your own address directly to test.
"Platform credentials" shows an error in Just Arrived
The JSON key belongs to a different project than the project number, or the key was deleted in Google Cloud. Check that both come from the same project (steps 8 and 9), or create a new key.
The app answers "hi" but arrivals never arrive
The host's Google Chat toggle is off on the Employees page, or the host has not yet messaged the app once. Both are visible under Connections → Google Chat → Matched hosts.
The workspace is unclaimed
Use Claim for this organisation on the Google Chat connection.
A person is unmatched
Use Link people manually or correct their employee email to match Google Workspace.

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