| name | spark-recipe-priority-tuning |
| description | Fine-tune Spark's priority category by marking key contacts as primary and adjusting notification importance. |
| metadata | {"version":"1.0.0","requires":{"skills":["spark"],"accessLevel":"triage"}} |
Recipe: Priority Tuning
Fine-tune who gets auto-prioritized by reviewing the current priority category and adjusting contact-level settings.
Prerequisite: Read the spark base skill for tool reference and filter syntax.
Access level required: triage.
Steps
Step 1: Review current priority mail
emails { "folder": "Inbox", "filter": "category:priority newer_than:14d" }
Look at which senders appear in the priority category. Ask the user: are these the right people? Anyone missing? Anyone who shouldn't be here?
Step 2: Check who's currently marked as primary
Browse priority mail to identify the senders Spark is auto-prioritizing. Note any patterns - are important contacts missing, or are low-priority senders appearing?
Step 3: Add missing VIPs
For contacts whose emails should always be prioritized:
contact-action { "action_name": "markContactAsPrimary", "emails": ["vip@company.com"] }
This tells Spark to auto-prioritize all future email from this sender.
Step 4: Remove false priorities
For contacts that are showing up in priority but shouldn't be:
contact-action { "action_name": "unmarkContactAsPrimary", "emails": ["noisy-sender@example.com"] }
Step 5: Adjust notification importance
For contacts where the user wants push notifications:
contact-action { "action_name": "markContactAsImportant", "emails": ["boss@company.com"] }
For contacts that are priority but don't need notifications:
contact-action { "action_name": "unmarkContactAsImportant", "emails": ["low-urgency@example.com"] }
Step 6: Verify the changes
emails { "folder": "Inbox", "filter": "category:priority is:unread" }
Check that the priority category now reflects the user's preferences. New mail from adjusted contacts will appear in the correct category.
Tips
markContactAsPrimary is the strongest signal - it guarantees the contact's emails land in priority.
markContactAsImportant controls push notifications, which is separate from category placement.
- Changes apply to all future mail from the contact, not retroactively to existing emails.
- Run this recipe after onboarding a new client, joining a new team, or changing roles - priority contacts change with context.
- When contacts are in the wrong category entirely (not just missing from priority), use
contact-action's changeCategoryPersonal / changeCategoryNotification / changeCategoryNewsletters to reclassify all future mail from that sender.
- A well-tuned priority category means the user can check just
category:priority for a reliable "must-read" view.