InboxZero

Intelligent email triage and management layer on top of himalaya CLI.

Prerequisites

• •himalaya CLI installed and configured with at least one IMAP/SMTP account
• •Verify: himalaya envelope list returns results

Commands

1. Triage Inbox

Scan and categorize all unread emails by urgency and type.

himalaya envelope list --output json

For each email, read the content:

himalaya message read <id>

Categorize every email into exactly one bucket:

• •🔴 Urgent — Time-sensitive, requires action within hours (deadlines, outages, boss/client escalations)
• •🟡 Needs Reply — Expects a response but not time-critical (questions, requests, invitations)
• •🔵 Actionable — Requires action but no reply (tasks, approvals, review requests)
• •⚪ FYI — Informational only (updates, CC'd threads, status reports)
• •🗑️ Noise — Promotional, marketing, automated notifications with no value

See references/category-rules.md for detailed classification heuristics.

Output as a sorted list, urgent first. Include sender, subject, and a one-line summary for each.

2. Daily Digest

Generate a concise morning briefing. Run triage first, then format as:

# 📬 Daily Email Digest — {date}

## 🔴 Urgent ({count})
- [Sender] Subject — one-line summary

## 🟡 Needs Reply ({count})
- [Sender] Subject — one-line summary

## 🔵 Action Items ({count})
- [Sender] Subject — one-line summary

## ⚪ FYI ({count})
- [Sender] Subject — one-line summary

## 🗑️ Noise ({count} skipped)

## 📊 Stats
- Total unread: X | Urgent: X | Needs reply: X

Output inline or write to inbox-digest-{date}.md if user requests file output.

3. Draft Replies

Auto-draft responses for routine emails. See references/reply-templates.md for templates.

Draft types:

• •Meeting confirmation — Accept/decline with brief note
• •Acknowledgment — "Got it, thanks" variations
• •Simple question — Direct answer if context is clear
• •Scheduling — Propose times or confirm availability
• •Delegation — Forward suggestion with context

Workflow:

1. •Read the email: himalaya message read <id>
2. •Generate draft using appropriate template and context
3. •Present draft to user for approval
4. •On approval, send: echo '<mml>' | himalaya template send

Never send without explicit user approval.

4. Follow-up Tracking

Identify emails needing follow-up and track response status.

Check sent folder for emails awaiting replies:

himalaya envelope list --folder Sent --output json

Flag criteria:

• •Sent email asked a question or made a request
• •No reply received within expected timeframe (default: 48h)
• •Thread has gone silent after user's last message

Output overdue follow-ups with:

• •Original send date
• •Recipient
• •Subject
• •Days waiting
• •Suggested nudge action

5. Unsubscribe Recommendations

Identify newsletters and promotions the user rarely engages with.

Signals for recommending unsubscribe:

• •Sender appears 5+ times in last 30 days
• •User has never replied to or opened these
• •Contains "unsubscribe" link in body
• •From a known newsletter/marketing domain pattern

Present as a list with sender, frequency, and recommendation (unsubscribe / keep / reduce frequency).

Key Principles

• •Read-only by default. Never move, delete, or send without explicit approval.
• •himalaya is the engine. Always use himalaya CLI for email operations — never access IMAP directly.
• •Batch efficiently. Use --output json for structured parsing. Read full messages only when classification requires it.
• •Respect privacy. Email content stays in the conversation context. Never log or persist email bodies unless explicitly requested.
• •Be conservative with urgency. When uncertain, categorize lower rather than higher urgency.