Thunderbird Email Skill

Compose emails via Thunderbird's command-line interface.

When to Use

Activate this skill when the user:

• •Says "use tb to send an email to..."
• •Says "tb email" or "thunderbird email"
• •Specifically asks to use Thunderbird for composing
• •Wants to send via their daily email driver (not KMail)

For KMail D-Bus composition, use the email skill instead (default).

Workflow

Step 1: Gather Information

Collect from user or context:

• •Recipient: Email address (required)
• •Subject: Email subject line (required)
• •Body: The message content (required)
• •From: Optional sender identity

Step 2: Format the Body

For short messages:

• •Word-wrap at 72 characters
• •Replace newlines with URL-encoded %0A for command line
• •Or keep simple single-line messages as-is

For long messages:

• •Write body to a temp file
• •Use message= parameter to reference the file

Step 3: Compose via Command Line

Use Bash to invoke Thunderbird:

thunderbird -compose "to='recipient@example.com',subject='Subject Line',body='Message text',format=text" &

Parameters:

• •to - Recipient email address
• •cc - CC recipients (optional)
• •bcc - BCC recipients (optional)
• •subject - Email subject
• •body - Short message body
• •message - Path to file containing body (for long text)
• •attachment - Path to file attachment
• •from - Sender identity
• •format - text or html

Step 4: Confirm

Inform the user that the Thunderbird composer is open and ready for review.

Handling Long Messages

For messages with multiple paragraphs or special characters:

1. •Write the body to a temp file:

cat > /tmp/email-body.txt << 'EOF'
Your message here.

Multiple paragraphs work fine.

No escaping needed in the file.
EOF

1. •Use the message parameter:

thunderbird -compose "to='recipient@example.com',subject='Subject',message='/tmp/email-body.txt',format=text" &

Example Commands

Simple message:

thunderbird -compose "to='mark@example.com',subject='Quick note',body='Just a short message.',format=text" &

With from identity:

thunderbird -compose "to='mark@example.com',from='markc@renta.net',subject='Hello',body='Message here',format=text" &

With attachment:

thunderbird -compose "to='mark@example.com',subject='Document',body='See attached.',attachment='/path/to/file.pdf',format=text" &

From file:

thunderbird -compose "to='mark@example.com',subject='Long message',message='/tmp/body.txt',format=text" &

Important Notes

• •Thunderbird must be running (or will start)
• •The & backgrounds the command so Claude doesn't wait
• •Use format=text for plain text emails
• •Single quotes inside values need escaping or use file method
• •URL encoding: newline = %0A, space = %20

Comparison with KMail