sendmux-attachments

name	sendmux-attachments
description	Use Sendmux attachment workflows without wasting model context on base64. Use when uploading, downloading, reading, forwarding, or sending email attachments through Sendmux MCP, CLI, SDKs, or direct HTTP, especially when choosing file_path vs presigned upload URL vs inline base64, reading inbound attachments with mailbox_read_attachment, fetching short-lived download_url links, or attaching local files to outbound mail.
license	Apache-2.0
metadata	{"author":"sendmux","version":"1.0"}

Sendmux attachments

Use this skill whenever a Sendmux task involves attachment bytes.

Core rule

Do not pipe real files through model context as base64 unless the file is tiny and agent-authored. Prefer paths or signed URLs.

Mode	Use when	Token cost	Limit
Local file_path	Local stdio MCP can read the user-shared file root.	tiny	Mailbox cap: 7,500,000 bytes; Sending upload cap: 18 MiB.
Presigned upload URL	Hosted MCP, shell-capable agents, or large local files.	tiny	Mailbox cap: 7,500,000 bytes; Sending upload cap: 18 MiB; exact size is signed.
CLI --attach / SDK file helpers	Terminal or application code can read the file.	tiny	Mailbox cap for mailbox sends; Sending upload cap: 18 MiB and final message cap: 25 MB.
Inline base64	Small generated text/files only.	high	MCP inline cap is 32 KiB decoded.

Approximate base64 cost: 25 KB becomes about 11K generated tokens; 1 MB is impractical. A file path is usually under 100 tokens.

Security model

• A caller must authenticate to mint upload URLs or upload directly.
• The later presigned PUT has no Authorization header, but it only works with the unguessable short-lived signed URL and exact headers returned by Sendmux.
• Do not invent file-type allow-lists. Set the best Content-Type; let Sendmux return the real validation error if a file is rejected.
• For presigned PUT, send the exact Content-Type and Content-Length returned with the URL.
• Direct Sending API binary uploads require exact Content-Length. CLI, SDK, and MCP file helpers calculate it for you.
• Do not try to bypass upload size caps. For mailbox uploads, split or externally host files over 7,500,000 bytes.
• For MCP reads, call mailbox_read_attachment first. It returns inline text for text-like attachments and a link for binary or oversized files.
• For direct downloads, use the download_url in attachment metadata promptly. If it expires, fetch the message or attachment metadata again.
• Sending API sends use attachment_id refs returned by Sending upload endpoints. Mailbox sends use blob_id refs returned by mailbox upload endpoints. Do not mix them.

MCP

Mailbox upload and read

Use mailbox_upload_attachment before mailbox_send_message.

Local stdio, cheapest path:

mailbox_upload_attachment
filename: report.pdf
content_type: application/pdf
file_path: /absolute/path/report.pdf

The file path must be inside a filesystem root shared by the MCP client. Hosted MCP rejects file_path.

Hosted or shell-capable path:

mailbox_upload_attachment
filename: report.pdf
content_type: application/pdf
size_bytes: 5242880
presign_upload_url: true

Then upload without an API key:

curl -X PUT "$UPLOAD_URL" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/pdf" \
  -H "Content-Length: 5242880" \
  --data-binary @./report.pdf

Use the returned blob_id in mailbox_send_message:

{
  "attachments": [
    {
      "blob_id": "blob_...",
      "filename": "report.pdf",
      "content_type": "application/pdf"
    }
  ]
}

For tiny generated content only, use content_base64. If the tool rejects size, switch to file_path, presigned upload, CLI, or SDK file helpers.

To read inbound attachments, call mailbox_read_attachment with message_id and attachment_id.

mailbox_read_attachment
message_id: msg_...
attachment_id: att_...

Use returned text directly for text-like files. If the tool returns resource_link / download_url, fetch the link promptly outside model context. Use mailbox_get_attachment only when metadata is enough or you need to refresh an expired link. Do not construct attachment URLs manually.

Sending API upload

Local stdio, cheapest path:

sending_upload_attachment
filename: report.pdf
content_type: application/pdf
file_path: /absolute/path/report.pdf

Use the returned attachment_id in sending_send_email or sending_send_email_batch:

{
  "attachments": [{ "attachment_id": "att_..." }]
}

Hosted or shell-capable path:

sending_create_attachment_upload
filename: report.pdf
content_type: application/pdf
size_bytes: 5242880

Then PUT the file bytes to the returned upload_url with the returned headers, including X-Sendmux-Upload-Token; do not add a Sendmux API key:

curl -X PUT "$UPLOAD_URL" \
  -H "X-Sendmux-Upload-Token: $UPLOAD_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/pdf" \
  -H "Content-Length: 5242880" \
  --data-binary @./report.pdf

Use the attachment_id from the upload response in the send request. Use sending_get_attachment only for metadata checks.

CLI

Mailbox send with a local attachment in one command:

SENDMUX_API_KEY="$SENDMUX_MBX_KEY" sendmux mailbox:send-message \
  --idempotency-key "$IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
  --attach ./report.pdf \
  --body '{
    "to": [{ "email": "[e-mail]", "name": null }],
    "subject": "Report",
    "text_body": "Attached."
  }' \
  --json

Sending API with a local attachment:

SENDMUX_API_KEY="$SENDMUX_MBX_KEY" sendmux sending:send \
  --idempotency-key "$IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
  --attach ./report.pdf \
  --body-file ./email.json \
  --json

Upload a Sending attachment first, then send by attachment_id:

SENDMUX_API_KEY="$SENDMUX_MBX_KEY" sendmux sending:upload-attachment \
  --body-file ./report.pdf \
  --query filename=report.pdf \
  --query content_type=application/pdf \
  --json

Presigned mailbox upload from a local file:

SENDMUX_API_KEY="$SENDMUX_MBX_KEY" sendmux mailbox:upload-attachment \
  --file ./report.pdf \
  --via-presigned \
  --json

Mint only:

SENDMUX_API_KEY="$SENDMUX_MBX_KEY" sendmux mailbox:create-attachment-upload \
  --file ./report.pdf \
  --json

Override MIME type with --content-type only when inference is wrong.

Direct HTTP

Sending API direct upload with an API key:

SIZE_BYTES="$(wc -c < ./report.pdf | tr -d '[:space:]')"

curl -X POST "https://smtp.sendmux.ai/api/v1/emails/attachments?filename=report.pdf&content_type=application/pdf" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SENDMUX_MBX_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/pdf" \
  -H "Content-Length: $SIZE_BYTES" \
  --data-binary @./report.pdf

Sending API delegated upload:

curl -X POST "https://smtp.sendmux.ai/api/v1/emails/attachment-uploads" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SENDMUX_MBX_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"filename":"report.pdf","content_type":"application/pdf","size_bytes":5242880}'

Then PUT to the returned upload_url with returned headers and no Sendmux API key. Use GET /emails/attachments/{attachment_id} only for metadata checks.

TypeScript

Node file helpers live under Node subpaths so browser bundles stay clean.

Mailbox:

import { createMailboxClient } from "@sendmux/mailbox";
import {
  readMailboxTextAttachment,
  sendMailboxMessageWithFiles,
} from "@sendmux/mailbox/node";

const client = createMailboxClient({ apiKey: process.env.SENDMUX_API_KEY! });

await sendMailboxMessageWithFiles({
  client,
  files: ["./report.pdf"],
  headers: { "Idempotency-Key": idempotencyKey },
  body: {
    to: [{ email: "[e-mail]", name: null }],
    subject: "Report",
    text_body: "Attached.",
  },
});

const text = await readMailboxTextAttachment({
  client,
  messageId: "msg_...",
  attachmentId: "att_...",
});

Sending API:

import { createSendingClient } from "@sendmux/sending";
import { sendEmailWithFiles } from "@sendmux/sending/node";

const client = createSendingClient({ apiKey: process.env.SENDMUX_API_KEY! });

await sendEmailWithFiles({
  client,
  files: ["./report.pdf"],
  headers: { "Idempotency-Key": idempotencyKey },
  body: {
    from: { email: "[e-mail]" },
    to: { email: "[e-mail]" },
    subject: "Report",
    html_body: "<p>Attached.</p>",
  },
});

The combined package also exposes @sendmux/sdk/node.

Python

Mailbox:

from sendmux_mailbox import create_mailbox_client, read_mailbox_text_attachment, send_mailbox_message_with_files

client = create_mailbox_client(api_key=api_key)

send_mailbox_message_with_files(
    client,
    files=["./report.pdf"],
    body={
        "to": [{"email": "[e-mail]", "name": None}],
        "subject": "Report",
        "text_body": "Attached.",
    },
    idempotency_key=idempotency_key,
)

text = read_mailbox_text_attachment(
    client,
    message_id="msg_...",
    attachment_id="att_...",
)

Sending API:

from sendmux_sending import create_sending_client, send_email_with_files

client = create_sending_client(api_key=api_key)

send_email_with_files(
    client,
    files=["./report.pdf"],
    body={
        "from": {"email": "[e-mail]"},
        "to": {"email": "[e-mail]"},
        "subject": "Report",
        "html_body": "<p>Attached.</p>",
    },
    idempotency_key=idempotency_key,
)

Routing

• Sending content and recipient approval: sendmux-send-email.
• Mailbox search, triage, reply flow: sendmux-mailbox-agent.
• Exact terminal command mechanics: sendmux-cli.
• MCP installation or hosted/local setup: sendmux-mcp-setup.
• General token-efficiency decisions: sendmux-token-efficient-usage.