Inbox Zero Triage

What this skill does

Reads an inbox snapshot (mbox file or a JSON export from Gmail's API) and classifies each message into Action, Waiting, Reference, or Archive. Highlights "two-minute" candidates that can be cleared immediately.

Inputs

• inbox_path: an mbox file or a JSON dump from gmail.users.messages.list + .get.
• Optional me_address: your email address (used to detect direct mentions).
• Optional vip_list: senders whose emails always go to Action.

Steps

1. Parse the inbox; for each message capture: from, to, subject, body (first 500 chars), labels, date.
2. Detect message kind:
   • Notification (no-reply, automated): mark Reference unless body contains direct action ("Click to confirm").
   • Newsletter / promotional: mark Archive unless flagged subscribed-and-relevant.
   • Personal direct message addressed to me_address: candidate for Action or Waiting.
   • Calendar invite (with text/calendar part): Action unless already accepted.
   • Receipts/invoices: Reference.
3. For Action candidates, classify by required effort:
   • Two-minute reply (short question, RSVP, simple ack): tag 2min.
   • Awaiting reply (you sent the last message and they owe you): Waiting.
   • Multi-step / longer than 5 minutes: Action with effort estimate >5min.
4. VIP override: senders in vip_list always go to Action with priority high.
5. Detect threads where you've already replied; the head of an unbroken sender thread is Action only if their last message asks a question.
6. Output a markdown checklist sorted by bucket: Action (2min first, then >5min), Waiting (sorted by days waiting), Reference, Archive.
7. Generate a "process this batch" checklist with the 2min items at the top.
8. Save to inbox-triage-<date>.md.

Output

inbox-triage-<date>.md with four sections (Action, Waiting, Reference, Archive). Each row: sender, subject, one-line gist, suggested next step. Stdout prints counts per bucket and 2min count.

Verification

Sample 20 random rows and validate the classification by hand; expect >85% agreement. For Waiting items, cross-check that the user sent the last message (look at thread history); if not, downgrade to Reference. Two-minute candidates should be re-readable in under 30 seconds; if a candidate's body needs scrolling, demote.

Edge cases

• Email containing attachments without body context: peek the filename and route to Reference unless the filename hints at an action ("contract-pending.pdf" -> Action).
• Threads with many participants: only the most recent message dictates the bucket; older replies are context.
• Calendar invites past the meeting date: Archive.
• Auto-generated personal emails (e.g., from your future self via a reminder service): treat as a personal-direct-message but tag self-reminder.