Mail Management Skill#

This skill provides a robust command-line interface ( scripts/mail_cli.py) for managing emails across multiple accounts.

Core Capabilities#

• Fetch: Retrieve emails via IMAP and save them locally (.eml, .json, and SQLite index). Skips already downloaded emails based on message_id.
• Search: Query the local database for fast retrieval based on sender, subject, content, and date.
• Read: View the full content of an email, including its text and attachment metadata.
• Send/Reply/Forward: Send new emails or reply/forward existing ones via SMTP.
• Manage: Mark as read/starred, move between folders, or delete emails.
• Summarize: Since the skill provides full email text, you (Claude/Trae) can use your own intelligence to summarize the content, extract to-dos, or identify key dates.

Workflow#

1. Initial Setup#

The user must provide an .env file in the root directory (or use example.env as a template). Ensure python-dotenv, imap-tools, beautifulsoup4 are installed ( pip install -r requirements.txt).

2. Fetching Emails#

Fetching emails is an asynchronous process because it can take time. When you run the fetch command, it will return a task_id immediately.

bash

./scripts/mail_cli.py fetch --limit 50 --days 7

Note: If you need to fetch more than 100 emails, you MUST append the --confirm flag, and you should ask the user for confirmation first.

Check the status of the fetch task using the returned task_id:

bash

./scripts/mail_cli.py fetch-status "<task_id>"

Wait a few seconds and poll the status until it returns "status": "completed". Once completed, you MUST immediately use the summarize command to generate a professional report for the user, passing the task_id so it only summarizes the newly fetched emails:

bash

./scripts/mail_cli.py summarize --task-id "<task_id>"

3. Summarizing Emails#

Generate a professional, categorized Markdown report of emails (overall stats, verification codes, important emails, action required, and others):

bash

./scripts/mail_cli.py summarize --task-id "<task_id>"

If you just want to summarize recent emails without a specific task:

bash

./scripts/mail_cli.py summarize --limit 20

4. Searching Emails#

Search locally first. This is much faster and doesn't hit the server:

bash

./scripts/mail_cli.py search --query "meeting" --limit 10
./scripts/mail_cli.py search --sender "boss@company.com" --is-read 0

5. Reading an Email#

To read the full text and get attachment info, use the message_id from the search results:

bash

./scripts/mail_cli.py read "<message_id>"

6. Sending Emails#

bash

./scripts/mail_cli.py send --to "recipient@example.com" --subject "Hello" --body "Message body" --attach "path/to/file1" "path/to/file2"

7. Managing Emails#

• Mark: ./scripts/mail_cli.py mark "<message_id>" --read 1 --starred 1
• Move: ./scripts/mail_cli.py move "<message_id>" "Archive"
• Delete: ./scripts/mail_cli.py delete "<message_id>"

8. Exporting#

Export local database for analysis:

bash

./scripts/mail_cli.py export --format csv --output emails.csv

Best Practices#

• Always Search Local First: Do not fetch unless the user explicitly asks to "check for new emails" or if a local search yields no results.
• Handling Replies: To reply, first read the original email to get context and sender, then use send with Re: <subject> and the recipient's address.
• Smart Summarization: Use the summarize command for quick professional reports. For deeper analysis of a single thread, use read and analyze the content directly.