| name | email-triage |
| description | Classify incoming emails into triage categories using content analysis, sender profile memory, and thread detection. Produces a category (URGENT, REPLY_NEEDED, FYI, NEWSLETTER, NOTIFICATION, SPAM) with confidence and reasoning.
|
Email triage classification skill.
When to activate
Use this skill when processing a new email that needs to be classified
for priority and action required.
Categories
| Category | Action | Slack alert |
|---|
| URGENT | Needs immediate attention | Individual, immediate |
| REPLY_NEEDED | Requires a response | Individual |
| FYI | Informational, no action | Batch digest (3+) |
| NEWSLETTER | Subscription content | Batch digest (3+) |
| NOTIFICATION | Automated system notice | Batch digest (3+) |
| SPAM | Unwanted, unsolicited | Never |
Methodology
1. Read the email
Read the full message with read_email. Note:
- Subject line
- Sender (From header)
- Recipients (To/Cc -- are you the sole recipient or on a list?)
- Date
- Body content (first 500 chars are most informative)
- Thread indicators (Re:, In-Reply-To header)
2. Check sender profile
Recall the sender from semantic memory:
recall("<sender email> sender_profile")
If a profile exists, use it to inform classification:
- Known high-priority senders shift toward URGENT/REPLY_NEEDED
- Known newsletter senders shortcut to NEWSLETTER
- Known notification senders shortcut to NOTIFICATION
If no profile exists, create one after classification:
remember("<name>, <email>, first seen <date>, context: <topic>",
category="sender_profile")
3. Content analysis
Scan the email body for signal indicators:
URGENT signals:
- Words: urgent, asap, immediately, critical, emergency, deadline,
time-sensitive, action required, escalation
- Patterns: short deadline mentions ("by end of day", "within 1 hour")
- Direct address to you with a demand
- High-priority headers (X-Priority: 1)
REPLY_NEEDED signals:
- Direct questions (sentences ending with ?)
- Requests: "can you", "could you", "please", "would you mind"
- Meeting invitations or scheduling requests
- Approval requests
- You are the sole recipient (To, not Cc)
FYI signals:
- Informational tone, no questions or requests
- You are on Cc, not To
- Status updates, announcements
- Shared documents or links for reference
NEWSLETTER signals:
- Unsubscribe link in body or headers (List-Unsubscribe)
- Bulk sender patterns (via, on behalf of)
- Marketing language, promotional content
- Consistent recurring sender
NOTIFICATION signals:
- Noreply sender address
- System-generated content (build status, deploy alerts, billing)
- Structured/templated format
- Machine-generated Message-ID patterns
SPAM signals:
- Unknown sender with promotional/scam content
- Mismatched sender display name and email domain
- Urgency + link + credential request (phishing pattern)
- Excessive formatting, images, or tracking pixels
4. Thread detection
Check if the email is part of an existing thread:
- Subject starts with "Re:" or "Fwd:"
- In-Reply-To or References headers present
- Recall episodic memory for the thread topic
Thread context affects classification:
- A reply in a thread you started is likely REPLY_NEEDED
- A forwarded newsletter is FYI, not NEWSLETTER
- An escalation reply in an existing thread may be URGENT
5. Check procedural memory for triage rules
Recall custom triage rules:
recall("<sender> triage_rule")
recall("<subject keyword> triage_rule")
User-defined rules always override the default classification.
6. Assign category
Use the think tool to reason through the classification:
- List the signals found
- Note any sender profile context
- Note any matching triage rules
- State the category and confidence (high/medium/low)
If confidence is low, default to FYI rather than over-alerting.
MUST
- Always check sender profile memory before classifying
- Always check for custom triage rules before finalizing
- Record every triage decision as an episodic memory
- Update sender profiles with new information from the email
- Use think to show your reasoning
MUST NOT
- Classify without reading the email body
- Classify as URGENT based on subject line alone (read the content)
- Alert on messages already triaged (check episodic memory for the
Message-ID)
- Follow links in suspected phishing emails
- Store email passwords or authentication tokens in memory
