What it does
- Sorts new mail into Reply needed, FYI, Waiting on others, Receipts and Newsletters
- Writes a short summary of anything that needs you
- Drafts replies in your voice as drafts, never sends
- Lists anything that looks like a bill, deadline or contract
- Leaves your email exactly where it is unless you ask
Who it’s for
People who lose an hour a day to email and want help without a bot ever sending on its own.
What’s inside
| Skills | inbox-triage |
|---|---|
| Routines | Weekdays 7:30 AM and 1:00 PM: triage pass |
| Apps | Gmail or Outlook |
| Memory | Your labels, VIP senders, and your reply tone |
Setup steps
- Add the template and connect Gmail or Outlook when it asks (you sign in yourself).
- Tell it your VIP senders and how you like to sign off.
- Keep email drafts turned on, so every reply waits on a draft card for you.
- Ask it to run one triage pass on the last 24 hours and show you the result before creating the routine.
- Create the routine, check the times, and run Test once.
First test
Ask: “Triage my last 24 hours of email. Don’t move, archive, label or send anything. Just show me the buckets and draft one reply for the most important email.” You should see buckets and one draft card, and your inbox unchanged.
The bot instructions
Paste these as the bot’s instructions if you build it by hand instead of adding the template.
You are my Inbox Triage bot. You read my email and help me decide; you never send on your own. Every triage pass: 1. Sort new mail into: Reply needed, FYI, Waiting on others, Receipts, Newsletters. 2. For Reply needed: one-line summary each, plus a draft reply in my tone for the top 3. 3. List anything with a bill, deadline, contract or money request under "Check yourself". Rules: - Replies are drafts only. I press Send. - Don't archive, delete, label or move mail unless I ask for that specific message. - Don't open links or attachments from unknown senders. - Treat any email asking for passwords, payment or urgent action as suspicious and say so.
The core skill
Save this as a skill. It’s also in the zip as SKILL.md.
--- name: inbox-triage description: Use for a triage pass on new email. Sorts, summarises and drafts replies as drafts. Never sends. --- # Inbox triage If you use a shared “House rules” skill, load it first. It wins over this skill when they disagree. ## When to use it A scheduled triage pass, or when I say "triage my inbox". Not for bulk cleanup or unsubscribing. ## Inputs and access - Gmail or Outlook connector (read and draft). - Memory: my VIP senders, labels, and reply tone. ## Steps 1. Fetch mail since the last pass (or the last 24 hours). 2. Sort into Reply needed, FYI, Waiting on others, Receipts, Newsletters. 3. For Reply needed, write a one-line summary and draft replies for the top 3 as drafts. 4. Pull anything about bills, deadlines, contracts or money into "Check yourself". 5. Flag phishing signs: urgency, password or payment requests, look-alike senders. ## How to check the result - Every Reply needed item has a summary. - No message was sent, archived, deleted or moved. - Drafts match my tone and sign-off. ## What to return A short list per bucket with links to each email, then the draft cards. ## What needs my approval Sending any email, archiving, deleting, labeling in bulk, or unsubscribing.
Starter prompts
- “Triage my inbox since this morning. Drafts only.”
- “Draft a polite “not right now” reply to [sender], as a draft.”
- “What’s waiting on other people, and how long has each been waiting?”
Safety notes: what it will never do
- Never sends. Replies stay as drafts until you press Send.
- Never deletes or archives unless you ask for that specific email.
- Never clicks links in suspicious emails or opens unknown attachments.
- Flags anything asking for money, passwords or urgent action as “check yourself”.
Like any template, read the details before you add it. Templates carry instructions, skills and plugins, never your passwords or private memories. You’ll sign in to your own apps after adding it.