Email Check Sub-Skill

Purpose

This sub-skill handles intelligent inbox triage by connecting to Gmail or Outlook via MCP, analyzing unread emails, scoring them by importance, categorizing them, and generating reply suggestions for high-priority items.

Workflow

1. Detect Available Email Provider

Check which MCP tools are available:

• Gmail: search_gmail_messages, get_gmail_messages_content_batch, get_gmail_thread_content, list_gmail_labels
• Outlook: list-mail-messages, list-mail-folder-messages, get-mail-message

Prefer Gmail if both are available (better batch operations).

2. Fetch Unread Emails

For Gmail:

search_gmail_messages(query="is:unread", max_results=50)

For Outlook:

list-mail-messages (defaults to recent messages, filter for unread)

3. Batch Fetch Email Content

For Gmail:

get_gmail_messages_content_batch(message_ids=[...])  # Up to 25 at a time

If more than 25 unread, prioritize most recent first.

For Outlook:

get-mail-message for each message (sequential)

Limit to 25 emails maximum to avoid overwhelming analysis.

4. Score Each Email (0-100)

Apply the following scoring algorithm:

Base Score: 50

Sender Recognition (+20 to -20)

• +20: VIP/known contact (domain matches user's company, appears in sent folder frequently)
• +10: Recognized sender (has prior thread history)
• 0: Unknown sender with legitimate domain
• -15: Newsletter/automated sender (bulk email headers, unsubscribe links)
• -20: Notification sender (no-reply@, noreply@, automated@)

Direct Address (+15 to -10)

• +15: Primary recipient (To: field)
• 0: CC'd (CC: field)
• -10: BCC'd or mass email (many recipients)

Thread Depth (+10)

• +10: Reply in active thread (Re: subject, multiple messages in thread)
• 0: New email (no thread history)

Urgency Keywords (+15)

Check subject and first 200 characters for:

• urgent, ASAP, deadline, action required, immediate, time-sensitive, expiring, expires, due
• +15 if any urgency keyword found

Calendar/Meeting (+20)

• +20: Calendar invite, meeting request, event notification
• Detect via attachments (ics file) or subject patterns (Invitation:, Meeting:)

Deadline Detection (+25)

Parse email body for dates/deadlines:

• +25: Deadline within 48 hours
• +10: Deadline within 7 days
• 0: No deadline or deadline > 7 days

Business Relevance (+15 to -10)

If email-profile.md exists in parent directory:

• +15: Mentions user's key topics, clients, projects
• +5: Industry-relevant keywords
• -10: Off-topic or personal (if business inbox)

Final Score Calculation

Sum all adjustments to base score of 50. Clamp to 0-100 range.

5. Categorize Emails

Based on final score:

6. Generate Reply Suggestions

For emails scored 85+ (Urgent category):

1. Read full thread context using get_gmail_thread_content or equivalent
2. Check for email-profile.md in parent directory for user's:
   • Brand voice (professional, casual, direct, warm)
   • Common sign-off
   • Industry/role context
3. Draft two reply options:
   • Brief: 1-2 sentences, direct answer
   • Detailed: 1 paragraph with context

Do NOT draft replies if:

• Email requires research beyond available context
• Email needs user decision (approve/decline, choose option)
• Email is FYI/informational only
• Email is calendar invite (suggest accept/decline/tentative instead)

In these cases, output: "This email requires your personal attention: [reason]"

7. Output Format

## Inbox Summary

**X unread emails** | Y Urgent | Z Important | W Routine | V Low Priority

### Urgent (Action Required)

| # | From | Subject | Score | Suggested Action |
|---|------|---------|-------|------------------|
| 1 | sender@domain.com | Subject line | 95 | [Reply/Review/Respond] |
| 2 | ... | ... | 88 | ... |

---

### Important

| # | From | Subject | Score | Category |
|---|------|---------|-------|----------|
| 3 | ... | ... | 78 | Meeting follow-up |
| 4 | ... | ... | 70 | Client inquiry |

---

### Routine & Low Priority

- **Routine (40-64)**: X emails - [grouped summary by sender/topic]
- **Low Priority (20-39)**: Y emails - newsletters, notifications
- **Archive (<20)**: Z emails - automated/noise

---

### Suggested Replies

#### 1. Re: [Subject] (to: sender@domain.com)

**Context:** [Why this email scored high, key points]

**Brief Option:**
> [1-2 sentence reply]
>
> [Sign-off]

**Detailed Option:**
> [Paragraph with more context/explanation]
>
> [Sign-off]

#### 2. Re: [Next urgent email]

[Repeat format]

---

### Emails Requiring Personal Attention

- **#X - [Subject]**: Needs decision on [topic]
- **#Y - [Subject]**: Requires research before responding

Scoring Signal Reference

Reply Suggestion Guidelines

Tone Adaptation

If email-profile.md exists, adapt replies to match:

• Professional: Formal, structured, clear
• Casual: Friendly, conversational
• Direct: Brief, action-oriented
• Warm: Personable, relationship-focused

Default to professional-friendly if no profile exists.

Reply Structure

Brief Option:

• Answer the core question/request
• 1-2 sentences maximum
• Clear next step if needed

Detailed Option:

• Address all points raised
• Provide context or explanation
• 1 paragraph (3-5 sentences)
• Suggest next steps or timeline

When NOT to Draft

• Email asks for approval/decision → Suggest: "Review and approve/decline X"
• Email requires data you don't have → "This email requires your personal attention: needs [data/info]"
• Email is complex multi-part → "This email requires your personal attention: multiple decisions needed"
• Email is FYI only → Suggested Action: "Review (no response needed)"

Error Handling

No MCP Connection

If neither Gmail nor Outlook MCP is available:

Error: No email provider connected. Please ensure Gmail MCP or Outlook MCP is configured.

Empty Inbox

## Inbox Summary
**0 unread emails** - Your inbox is clear!

MCP Rate Limits

If batch fetch fails, fall back to individual message retrieval (slower but reliable).

Thread Context Unavailable

If get_gmail_thread_content fails, draft replies based on single message only (note: "Limited context - single message view").

Integration Points

email-profile.md (optional)

If exists in parent directory (../email-profile.md), use for:

• Brand voice detection
• Business relevance scoring
• Reply tone/style matching
• Common topics/clients list

Gmail-Specific Features

• Use labels to refine categorization (e.g., skip "Promotions" labeled emails)
• Check sent folder for sender recognition

Outlook-Specific Features

• Use folder structure for context (Inbox vs Focused)
• Leverage categories if available

Performance Optimization

• Batch fetch