Inbox — Email Triage System

Self-contained email triage skill. Handles setup and recurring triage in a single command. Detects its own state and routes accordingly — no need to remember which mode to run.

State Detection (Always First)

Before anything else, check for the KB:

State	Route
Argument is update	→ Update Mode
${WORKSPACE}/Email/email-taxonomy.md does NOT exist	→ Setup Mode
${WORKSPACE}/Email/email-taxonomy.md exists	→ Triage Mode

Edge cases:

• User says "set up my inbox" but KB exists → acknowledge, ask: "run triage / update preferences / both?"
• User says "triage my inbox" but no KB → "No knowledge base found. Running setup first, then triage immediately after." → Setup → Triage
• Partial KB (some files missing) → list which files are missing, ask: "run full setup / fill in only the missing sections?"

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SETUP MODE — Build the Knowledge Base

Runs when no KB exists.

Conduct Discipline

Do NOT generate all files at once. Walk through the 8 sections one at a time. Each section commits its file(s) before moving on. Partial completion (user drops off mid-interview) still produces a usable partial KB.

• One question per turn. Never bundle — even across section boundaries.
• "Why I'm asking" on every question — users answer better when they know what's at stake.
• Forcing format where possible. Multi-choice > open-ended.
• Dependency-ordered. Section N informs Section N+1.

See references/grill_me_section_walk.md for the 8-section discipline detail.

Knowledge Base — 7 Files to Produce

Write to ${WORKSPACE}/Email/:

File	Purpose	Required?
email-taxonomy.md	Classification system + report preferences	Yes
email-patterns.md	Reply voice, tone, templates, hard rules	Yes
evaluation-framework.md	Decision tree for opportunity emails	Only if user receives pitches/opportunities
rate-card.md	Pricing, terms, negotiation posture	Only if user has pricing
blocklist.md	Auto-skip senders + learned decline patterns	Yes (seeded, grows over time)
tracker.md	Active follow-ups, overdue items, deadlines	Yes (starts mostly empty)
triage-log/	Directory for per-run logs	Yes (created empty)

Stop Condition

~25–31 questions total across 8 sections. Hard ceiling: 35 questions including sub-clarifications. Section 4 (Evaluation Framework) is skipped entirely when Section 1 surfaced no opportunity-email category. After Section 8's confirmation + handoff message, intake is closed — to change preferences, use update mode.

Section 1: The Big Picture

Six grill-me questions, one at a time:

• S1.Q1: "What do you do? Give me your role and business in 1–2 sentences. Why I'm asking: Context shapes what email patterns to expect — a solo creator's inbox looks nothing like an enterprise PM's."
• S1.Q2: "What dominates your inbox? Pick the top 1–2: sales pitches / client work / internal team / newsletters / customer support / financial / other. Why I'm asking: Dominant categories drive the taxonomy."
• S1.Q3: "Rough volume split — e.g., '60% business inquiries, 20% ops, 20% noise'. Why I'm asking: The split tells me where to focus triage effort."
• S1.Q4: "Which email address(es) should triage cover? Why I'm asking: If multiple, I'll set up per-address taxonomies."
• S1.Q5: "Run frequency: once daily / 2x daily / 3x daily / on-demand only? Why I'm asking: Drives the default search window in triage (9h overlap for 2x/day)."
• S1.Q6: "Anyone helping manage email — assistant, VA, team — or solo? Why I'm asking: Persona handling differs for delegated inboxes."

Action: Build mental model. Do NOT write files yet. Note whether opportunity emails are a category (drives S4 skip-logic).

Section 2: Email Categories

Propose 5–7 categories based on Section 1 — pre-recommend a subset:

• New Opportunities
• Active Conversations
• Action Required
• Financial
• Important/Personal
• Informational
• Ignore/Low Priority

Three forcing questions, one at a time:

• S2.Q1: "Here's my proposed taxonomy: [list]. Does this match your inbox reality — yes / mostly / no? Why I'm asking: If 'no', I need to redo the taxonomy before any other section makes sense."
• S2.Q2: "Missing categories? List them. (Skip if none.) Why I'm asking: Missing categories produce uncategorized emails downstream, which hurts triage quality."
• S2.Q3: "Which category takes the MOST time per email? Why I'm asking: That's where draft-reply effort needs to focus most."

Action: Generate email-taxonomy.md with categories, signals, and default actions per category.

Section 3: Reply Style & Voice

Six grill-me questions plus the critical sample request:

• S3.Q1: "Register: formal / casual / in-between? Why I'm asking: Calibrates default voice; we'll refine from samples next."
• S3.Q2: "Three communication pet peeves — phrases you hate, openings you avoid. Why I'm asking: I treat these as forbidden tokens in drafts."
• S3.Q3: "Phrases or sign-offs you always use — list as many as come to mind. Why I'm asking: These are your voice fingerprints."
• S3.Q4: "Different persona for different contexts — e.g., assistant replies as you? Why I'm asking: Persona context changes pronoun + signature handling."
• S3.Q5: "Typical reply length — one-liner / short paragraph / longer? Why I'm asking: Length is the easiest voice signal to get wrong."
• S3.Q6: "Hard rules — never X / always Y? Why I'm asking: Hard rules are enforced as non-negotiable in every draft."

S3.SAMPLES (highest-quality input):

Paste 3–5 real sent emails from your inbox.

Why I'm asking: Self-description of voice is unreliable. Real samples are the best signal — use scripts/voice_sample_analyzer.py to extract patterns.

Action: Generate email-patterns.md. See references/voice_calibration.md for the sample-extraction discipline.

Section 4: Evaluation Framework (Conditional)

Skip if Section 1 surfaced no opportunity emails. Otherwise six grill-me questions:

• S4.Q1: "First thing you check when pitched something — give me your gut filter. Why I'm asking: That's the top of the decision tree."
• S4.Q2: "Three instant deal-breakers. Why I'm asking: These become PASS-auto signals."
• S4.Q3: "Three things that make you immediately interested. Why I'm asking: These become TAKE-IT signals."
• S4.Q4: "Standard pricing / terms — or 'no fixed pricing'? Why I'm asking: If you have a rate card, I'll generate one."
• S4.Q5: "Negotiation posture: firm / flexible / depends on context? Why I'm asking: Drives draft tone on counter-offers."
• S4.Q6: "VIP senders or organizations that always get engagement. Why I'm asking: VIP list bypasses normal PASS filters."

Action: Generate evaluation-framework.md + rate-card.md (if pricing exists).

Section 5: Blocklist & Patterns

• S5.Q1: "Senders or domains to always skip. (Skip if none.) Why I'm asking: Auto-blocklist saves the most time per run."
• S5.Q2: "Patterns in emails you always delete. Why I'm asking: Patterns let triage auto-skip variants without exact-match maintenance."
• S5.Q3: "Specific companies / recruiters / newsletters wasting time. Why I'm asking: These seed the blocklist; triage will add more as you override decisions."

Action: Generate blocklist.md.

Section 6: Current State

• S6.Q1: "Active threads you're tracking — list with one-line context each. (Skip if none.) Why I'm asking: These become tracker entries so triage knows existing context."
• S6.Q2: "Overdue replies? Why I'm asking: Triage flags these as priority every run until resolved."
• S6.Q3: "Time-sensitive items with deadlines? Why I'm asking: Tracker enforces deadlines and surfaces them as overdue at the right time."

Action: Generate tracker.md + create empty triage-log/ directory.

Section 7: Report Preferences

• S7.Q1: "Delivery format: email draft to self / file in workspace / chat summary only. Why I'm asking: The triage report goes here every run."
• S7.Q2: "Detail level: 30-second scan / detailed breakdown / both. Why I'm asking: Affects report length."
• S7.Q3: "Anything always shown first — e.g., overdue payments, VIP messages? Why I'm asking: Custom top-of-report rules surface what you care about above standard sections."

Action: Append report preferences to email-taxonomy.md.

Section 8: Confirmation & Handoff

List every file created with a one-sentence summary. Run scripts/kb_validator.py --workspace ${WORKSPACE} to confirm the 7-file contract is satisfied.

Then ask:

Your triage system is ready. Run triage now?

1. Yes — process my inbox immediately
2. No — I'll invoke it separately

If yes → transition directly to Triage Mode below.

Privacy Boundary

Never persist passwords, full account numbers, SSNs, or other sensitive credentials in KB files. If volunteered during the interview, acknowledge but don't store — write [stored separately by user] in the relevant file.

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TRIAGE MODE — Recurring Email Triage

Runs when KB exists. Light-intake by design.

DRAFTS ONLY — Never Send

This skill creates drafts. It NEVER sends.

Non-negotiable. The scripts/draft_safety_validator.py enforces it post-run. Any send-shaped tool call in the action log fails validation. See references/drafts_only_safety.md.

Step 0: Grill-Me Intake (0–2 Optional Override Questions)

Q1 (only when on-demand run is outside normal cadence):

Override the default 9-hour search window? yes (specify hours) / no.

Why I'm asking: If you're running outside your normal cadence, you may want a wider or narrower window.

Q2 (only when user invokes with category-skip intent):

Skip any categories this run? E.g., "skip newsletters".

Why I'm asking: Sometimes you just want to scan opportunities or clear active threads.

Max 2 questions. Default invocations skip both and run with KB-default preferences.

Step 1: Determine Search Window

Use scripts/search_window_calculator.py --cadence <CADENCE> --now <ISO>:

Cadence (from email-taxonomy.md)	Default window
once daily	26h
2x daily	9h
3x daily	6h
on-demand only	24h (asks Q1)

Step 2: Email Search

Two queries:

• Primary: Inbox + sent after window_start
• Secondary: Starred unread (catch flagged items missed in primary)

Collect per email: sender, subject, date, snippet, thread ID, labels.

Provider adapter:

Provider	Tool
Gmail	Gmail MCP
Outlook / Microsoft 365	Outlook MCP
IMAP (Fastmail, ProtonMail, etc.)	IMAP MCP if available; halt otherwise
(no email tool available)	Halt: "No email tool registered for this session."

Step 3: Classification

Apply taxonomy from email-taxonomy.md. For lowest-priority category (newsletters/automation/spam): skip thread reads entirely. For everything else: read full thread.

Step 4: Sender Research

For senders not in tracker / blocklist / prior logs:

1. Check blocklist.md → if matched, auto-skip
2. Check tracker.md → if known thread, note existing context
3. For opportunity senders: web search for legitimacy, social presence, intermediary status

Skip entirely for: known senders, internal email, automated notifications, obvious low-priority.

Step 5: Recommendations

Apply evaluation-framework.md (skip this step entirely if file doesn't exist):

Category	When	Output
TAKE IT	Meets criteria	Recommend engaging; draft reply (Step 6)
WORTH CONSIDERING	Has potential, needs user judgment	Surface context; draft for user to edit
PASS	Doesn't meet criteria	Brief "why" (1–3 sentences); draft polite decline
FLAG FOR REVIEW	Unusual; needs direct user decision	Surface fully; NO draft

See references/triage_decision_framework.md for the framework canon.

Step 6: Drafts

Draft using email-patterns.md voice rules. NEVER call any send operation. Only create drafts.

Draft body must honor:

• Voice register + forbidden tokens (S3.Q2 pet peeves)
• Sign-off patterns + persona context
• Hard rules (S3.Q6 — non-negotiable)
• Reply length per email-patterns.md

Do NOT draft for: newsletters, automation, FYI threads, already-replied threads, blocked senders.

Tone by recommendation:

• TAKE IT → engaged + concrete next step
• WORTH → curious + 1–2 clarifying questions
• PASS → polite decline + brief reason (no hedging promises)
• FLAG → NO draft

Step 7: Report Delivery

Honor preference from email-taxonomy.md. Default: email draft to self.

Subject: Inbox Triage — [Day], [Month Date] ([Run Label])

Sections (in order):

1. Overview — 2–3 sentences. What happened? Anything urgent?
2. Stats — Processed / drafts created / action needed / skipped
3. Action Needed — Overdue items, decisions, drafts to review, deadlines
4. Quick Reference — One line per email: **Sender** — summary + recommendation
5. Detailed Cards — Opportunities, active threads, flags. No draft text previews.
6. Footer — Timestamp + KB update summary

HTML formatting (if applicable): inline CSS only (Gmail strips <style>). Color-coded: green → TAKE IT, amber → WORTH CONSIDERING, red → PASS, purple → FLAG FOR REVIEW, blue → active conversation.

Step 8: Knowledge Base Update

blocklist.md: append new declined senders + patterns; remove if user overrode.

tracker.md: append new follow-ups, update existing, mark resolved, flag overdue, remove resolved items older than 30 days, add entry to update log.

After 5+ runs, suggest KB improvements: "You always decline emails from X — add as auto-skip?"

Step 9: Internal Log

Save to ${WORKSPACE}/Email/triage-log/[YYYY-MM-DD]-[run-label].md:

• Emails processed with classifications
• Recommendations made
• Drafts created (with thread refs)
• KB updates made
• Notable observations

Audit trail for scripts/draft_safety_validator.py.

Step 10: Empty Inbox Handling

Even with zero new emails:

1. Check tracker.md for items due today or overdue
2. Generate minimal report: "No new actionable emails since last run"
3. Flag overdue items

Skip Steps 3–6 entirely on empty inbox.

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UPDATE MODE — Refresh Preferences

Triggered by /notion inbox update or "update my inbox preferences."

1. Detect existing files at ${WORKSPACE}/Email/
2. For each file, ask: replace / merge / skip
3. Walk only the sections whose files the user chose to update
4. Skip sections whose files the user kept

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Critical Rules

1. DRAFTS ONLY — NEVER SEND. Non-negotiable.
2. Privacy. No passwords / credentials in KB files.
3. Accuracy over speed. When unsure, flag for review.
4. Respect the KB. Documented preferences are source of truth. Don't override with judgment.
5. Transparency. Note every KB change in the triage log.
6. First runs need oversight. Document this expectation for the user.

Error Handling

Situation	Behavior
No KB + triage invoked	Run setup first, then triage
KB exists + setup invoked	Acknowledge; offer triage / update / both
Partial KB (missing files)	List gaps; offer full setup or fill missing sections only
Workspace inaccessible	Stop; tell user where files would go; ask for path
Email tool unavailable	Halt with clear message
User refuses voice samples	Use self-description; flag in patterns file that calibration may need iteration
User drops off mid-interview	Honor partial KB; committed files are usable
100+ new emails	Flag volume; offer to focus on priority categories only
Sender in both blocklist and tracker	Tracker wins; note inconsistency in log

Portability

• Claude Code CLI: Native — writes markdown files directly to filesystem, uses Gmail/Outlook MCP.
• Claude.ai web: Generate files as artifacts; instruct user to save to workspace.

Tooling

Script	Role
scripts/kb_validator.py	Validates the 7-file KB after setup (required files present, conditional files match sections run, headers + structure correct).
scripts/section_progress_tracker.py	JSON-backed walk state across the 8 interview sections.
scripts/voice_sample_analyzer.py	Extracts voice patterns from pasted sent-email samples.
scripts/kb_reader.py	Reads + validates the 7-file KB at triage start. Halts on missing required files.
scripts/search_window_calculator.py	Computes window_start from cadence + current time. Returns run_label. Honors Q1 override.
scripts/draft_safety_validator.py	Post-run scan of action log for any send-shaped tool call. FAIL if detected.

References

• references/grill_me_section_walk.md — 8-section discipline, skip-logic, commit-per-section
• references/voice_calibration.md — sample-based voice extraction theory + anti-patterns
• references/kb_file_contract.md — 7-file contract (structure, sections, read behavior)
• references/triage_decision_framework.md — TAKE IT / WORTH / PASS / FLAG taxonomy
• references/drafts_only_safety.md — NEVER-SEND discipline canon

Anti-Patterns To Reject

• Sending emails — drafts only, non-negotiable
• Generating all KB files at once instead of walking sections
• Asking all questions in one batch (breaks grill-me discipline)
• Persisting sensitive credentials in KB
• Operating triage without KB files
• Skipping KB updates at end of triage run
• Overriding user's documented preferences with own judgment
• Skipping the "why this question matters" on setup questions
• Including draft text previews in triage report (drafts are already in email client)
• Provider lock-in without adapter pattern