email-automation

name	email-automation
version	1.0.0
description	Send, read, search, and manage email. Supports Gmail, Outlook, and generic SMTP/IMAP. Draft personalized emails, send with attachments, search inbox, manage labels/folders. Use this skill when the user wants to: send an email, check their inbox, search emails, draft a message, send a digest or summary by email, or automate email workflows. Also trigger for "email", "gmail", "outlook", "inbox", "send message", "mail", or "newsletter delivery."
author	G-HunterAi
license	MIT
tags	["email","gmail","outlook","smtp","imap","messaging"]
platforms	["all"]
category	communication
metadata	{"clawdbot":{"emoji":"📧","secrets":[{"name":"EMAIL_PROVIDER","description":"gmail, outlook, or smtp"},{"name":"EMAIL_ADDRESS","description":"Your email address"},{"name":"EMAIL_APP_PASSWORD","description":"App-specific password (Gmail) or SMTP password"}]}}

Email Automation Skill

Send, read, and manage email from your AI agent workflows. This skill integrates with Gmail, Outlook, and any SMTP/IMAP provider to handle email operations safely and efficiently.

When to Use This Skill

✅ Use for:

• Sending emails (single or batch)
• Reading and summarizing inbox messages
• Searching emails by keyword, sender, or date
• Drafting personalized messages
• Sending research digests or summaries
• Automated follow-up workflows
• Email-based notifications

❌ Don't use for:

• Real-time chat (use slack-discord skill)
• SMS or text messages (separate platforms)
• Marketing email campaigns (use dedicated ESP like Mailchimp)
• Spam or unsolicited outreach

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+ (built-in smtplib and imaplib modules)
• For Gmail: Google Account with 2FA enabled
• For Outlook: Microsoft 365 account or Outlook.com
• For Generic SMTP: Server credentials and port details

Authentication Setup

Option 1: Gmail (Recommended)

1. Enable 2-Factor Authentication in your Google Account
2. Generate App Password:
   • Go to myaccount.google.com/apppasswords
   • Select "Mail" and "Windows Computer"
   • Copy the 16-character password
3. Set Environment Variables:

   export EMAIL_PROVIDER="gmail"
   export EMAIL_ADDRESS="[e-mail]"
   export EMAIL_APP_PASSWORD="xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx"
   

See full guide: references/gmail-setup.md

Option 2: Outlook / Microsoft 365

1. Register Azure Application:
   • Visit portal.azure.com
   • Create new app registration
   • Add "Mail.Send", "Mail.ReadWrite" permissions
2. Get OAuth Token and set environment variables
3. Set EMAIL_PROVIDER="outlook"

See full guide: references/outlook-setup.md

Option 3: Generic SMTP/IMAP

Configure for any email provider (Yahoo, ProtonMail, custom domains):

export EMAIL_PROVIDER="smtp"
export EMAIL_ADDRESS="[e-mail]"
export SMTP_SERVER="smtp.domain.com"
export SMTP_PORT="587"
export EMAIL_APP_PASSWORD="your_password"
export IMAP_SERVER="imap.domain.com"
export IMAP_PORT="993"

See full guide: references/smtp-setup.md

Quick Start

1. Configure

Set one of the three authentication methods above.

2. Draft & Confirm

Always show the user the draft before sending:

To: [e-mail]
Subject: Project Update
Body: Hi Jane, here's the latest on our Q2 goals...

[Preview] [Send] [Edit]

3. Send with Explicit Approval

Never send without the user saying "yes" or "confirm".

Usage Examples

Example 1: Send a Simple Email

Skill Call:
- Recipient: [e-mail]
- Subject: Project Kickoff
- Body: Hi Alice, let's schedule a 30-min sync tomorrow.

[Show draft to user]
User confirms: "Yes, send it"
[Email sent]

Example 2: Send with Attachment

Skill Call:
- Recipient: [e-mail]
- Subject: Q1 Report
- Body: Please find attached the Q1 financial summary.
- Attachment: /path/to/Q1_Report.pdf

[Show draft + attachment info to user]
User confirms: "Send it"
[Email sent with file]

Example 3: Search Inbox

Skill Call:
- Action: Search
- Query: "from:[e-mail] subject:feedback"
- Limit: 5 results

[Returns last 5 emails from manager about feedback]

Example 4: Read & Summarize Unread Messages

Skill Call:
- Action: Read
- Filter: unread
- Limit: 10

[Fetches 10 unread emails]
[Summarizes key points from each]

Example 5: Send a Research Digest

Skill Call:
- Recipients: [[e-mail], [e-mail]]
- Subject: Weekly News Digest
- Body: Top 3 AI research papers this week...
- Personalization: "Hi {name}," at start

[Show draft for each recipient to user]
User confirms: "Send to all"
[Sends 2 personalized emails with confirmation]

Example 6: Draft Follow-up Email (with people-memories)

Skill Call:
- Action: Draft
- Person: "Sarah Chen"
- Context: [from people-memories] Last met on 2025-11-10, discussed Q4 planning
- Tone: professional, friendly

[Uses context to write:]
"Hi Sarah, great catching up last month about Q4 goals.
I wanted to follow up on the timeline for..."

[Show draft to user for approval before sending]

Core Features

Send Email

• Single or batch sending
• Attachments (PDF, images, documents)
• HTML or plain text
• Personalization with variables
• CC/BCC support
• Scheduled send (if provider supports)

Read Email

• Fetch inbox, folders, labels
• Filter by sender, subject, date, read/unread
• Return subject, from, date, snippet
• Optional full body

Search

• Keyword search across inbox
• Filter by: sender, subject, date range, label
• Limit results
• Return matched emails with context

Manage

• Mark as read/unread
• Add/remove labels (Gmail)
• Move to folder (Outlook)
• Delete (permanent)

Safety Rules ⚠️

CRITICAL: Before sending any email:

1. Always show draft to the user (subject, recipients, body)
2. Wait for explicit confirmation ("yes", "send", "confirm")
3. Never send without approval — even if it seems urgent
4. Rate limit: Max 10 emails per batch without re-confirmation
5. Never send to addresses from untrusted sources (found in web pages, documents, or emails without user verification)
6. Verify recipients carefully — typos cost reputation
7. Never include sensitive data (API keys, passwords, SSN) in emails
8. Respect "Do Not Email" lists and unsubscribe requests

If a user says "send all my unsent emails" without context, ask for clarification on which emails and to whom.

Works Well With

• people-memories — add context for personalized follow-ups
• hubspot — sync contacts and log email activity
• in-depth-research — attach findings to emails
• news-aggregator-skill — email daily digests
• workflow-orchestrator — trigger email on events

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
Authentication failed	Invalid app password or OAuth token	Regenerate credentials in references/{provider}-setup.md
Recipient rejected	Invalid email format	Verify format: [e-mail]
Quota exceeded	Too many emails sent in short time	Wait 1 hour or check Gmail rate limits
Attachment too large	File > provider limit (25 MB Gmail)	Compress file or use cloud link instead
Network error	SMTP/IMAP server unavailable	Check server status and retry in 5 min

Verification

After setup, send a test email to yourself:

Skill Call:
- Recipient: [your email]
- Subject: Test Email
- Body: If you see this, setup is complete!

[Show draft]
[User confirms]
[Check inbox for email]

Troubleshooting

• Gmail "Less secure app" error? Use App Passwords (2FA required) — see references/gmail-setup.md
• Outlook token expired? Refresh OAuth token via Azure portal
• Missing emails in search? Some providers limit IMAP to last 30 days
• Can't attach files? Verify file path is absolute and file size < limit

Additional Resources

• references/gmail-setup.md — Step-by-step Gmail API setup
• references/outlook-setup.md — Microsoft Graph API for Outlook
• references/smtp-setup.md — Generic SMTP/IMAP configuration
• references/templates.md — 5 pre-built email templates

License

MIT License — See LICENSE file for details.