email-extractor

name	email-extractor
description	Expert in email content extraction and analysis. **Use whenever the user mentions .eml files, email messages, says "Extract email information", "Using the email information", or requests to extract, parse, analyze, or process email files.** Handles email thread parsing, attachment extraction, and converting emails to structured markdown format for AI processing. (project, gitignored)

Email Extractor Skill

You are an expert in extracting and analyzing email content from .eml files, converting them to AI-friendly markdown format with proper thread handling and attachment extraction.

⚠️ CRITICAL REQUIREMENT: ALWAYS USE FULL FILE PATHS

YOU MUST ALWAYS use absolute/full paths when working with .eml files.

✅ CORRECT:

~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract /Users/sebastien.morand/Downloads/message.eml
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/email.eml -o ~/Documents/extracted

❌ INCORRECT:

~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract message.eml
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ./message.eml

Why: Always use full absolute paths or paths starting with ~/ for the input .eml file to ensure reliable file access.

Core Capabilities

• Email content extraction from .eml files
• Thread-aware parsing (preserves email conversation flow)
• Attachment extraction (all file types)
• Markdown conversion with proper formatting
• Header parsing (From, To, Cc, Subject, Date)
• HTML email rendering to readable text
• Multi-part email handling
• Smart default output paths based on email subject
• Optional cleanup for temporary extractions

Quick Start

Basic Usage

Binary Location: ~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor

# Basic extraction (creates folder in .eml's directory)
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract /path/to/message.eml

# Extract to specific output directory
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/email.eml -o ~/Documents/extracted

# Get help on available commands
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor --help
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract --help

Default Output Paths

When no output directory specified:

• Email: /path/to/message.eml
• Output: /path/to/message_email/ (same directory as .eml)

When custom output directory specified:

• Email: /path/to/message.eml
• Custom output: /target/
• Final output: /target/message_email/ (sanitized subject or filename appended)

Examples:

# Extract ~/Downloads/original_msg.eml → Output: ~/Downloads/original_msg_email/
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/original_msg.eml

# Extract to custom location → Output: ~/Documents/extracted/
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/original_msg.eml -o ~/Documents/extracted

Output Structure

Every extraction creates:

email_name/
├── email.md              # Email content with thread structure
└── attachments/          # Folder containing all attachments (if any)
    ├── document.pdf
    ├── image.png
    └── ...

Common Workflows

1. Extract and Analyze Email

# Extract email
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/message.eml

# Read content
cat ~/Downloads/message_email/email.md
ls ~/Downloads/message_email/attachments/

Process: Extract → Read email.md → Review attachments → Analyze content and thread structure

2. Extract Email from Downloads

When user says "We have an email" with a subject/title, emails are in ~/Downloads/ as .eml files:

# Search for .eml files
find ~/Downloads -name "*.eml" -type f

# Extract the matching email
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/found_email.eml

3. Batch Process Multiple Emails

# Process all .eml files in directory
for eml in ~/Downloads/*.eml; do
    ~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract "$eml"
done

4. Extract to Custom Location

# Extract to specific output directory
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/temp.eml -o /tmp/email-analysis

Email Markdown Format

The generated email.md file includes:

Header Section

• From: Sender name and email
• To: Recipients
• Cc: Carbon copy recipients (if any)
• Date: Sent date/time
• Subject: Email subject line

Thread Structure

Emails are organized respecting the conversation thread:

# Email: [Subject]

## Metadata
- **From:** John Doe <[e-mail]>
- **To:** Jane Smith <[e-mail]>
- **Date:** 2024-11-11 10:30:00
- **Subject:** Project Update

## Attachments
- document.pdf (attachments/document.pdf)
- image.png (attachments/image.png)

---

## Message Thread

### Latest Message (2024-11-11 10:30)
**From:** John Doe

[Message content]

---

### Previous Message (2024-11-10 15:20)
**From:** Jane Smith

[Message content]

Binary Details

How It Works

The email-extractor is a compiled Go binary that:

• Parses .eml files using Go's native email libraries
• Extracts email content, headers, and attachments
• Generates structured markdown output
• Handles multi-part emails and complex MIME structures
• No runtime dependencies required (static binary)

Available Commands

~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract <input_eml> [flags]

Command: extract

• <input_eml> (required): Full path to .eml file
• -o, --output (optional): Output directory path
• -h, --help: Show help for extract command

Global Commands:

• --help: Show all available commands and global options
• version: Show binary version information

Prerequisites & Setup

Required

• None - The binary is statically compiled and has no runtime dependencies

Installation

The binary is already compiled and located in:

~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor

To rebuild from source (if needed), see the CLAUDE.md file in this skill directory.

Response Approach

When helping with email extraction:

1. Understand task: What information needed? Are attachments important? Need thread structure?
2. Locate email: Check mentioned locations, search ~/Downloads for .eml files
3. Extract content: Use appropriate method (cleanup vs. permanent)
4. Process: Read email.md, identify attachments, understand thread flow
5. Provide results: Summarize email content, list attachments, highlight key information
6. Clean up: Note extraction location, provide commands for further analysis

Performance & Best Practices

Performance:

• Near-instant extraction (compiled binary)
• No setup time required
• No runtime dependencies
• No API calls or external services
• Minimal memory footprint

When to use default path: Single emails, permanent archives, files organized alongside .eml files

When to use -o flag: Multiple extractions, analysis projects, separating source and processed files, organizing output in specific directories

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Email file not found":

ls -lh /path/to/file.eml
find ~/Downloads -name "*.eml" -type f

"Cannot decode email":

• Email might be corrupted
• Try opening in email client first
• Check file size: ls -lh file.eml

Binary permission issues:

# Make binary executable if needed
chmod +x ~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor

# Verify binary works
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor --help

Integration with Topic Management

This skill integrates with the topic-manager skill:

Trigger Keywords:

• User says "Extract email information"
• User says "Using the email information"
• User says "Update topic [name] with email" or "Update topic [name] using the email"
• User mentions .eml files in context of topic updates

Workflow when updating topics with email information:

1. Invoke email-extractor skill to extract email content and attachments
2. Upload email.md to topic's Emails folder using google-drive-manager
3. Upload attachments to appropriate topic folders:
   • Presentations (PPT, PDF) → Prez folder
   • Audio/video → Records folder
   • Other documents → Misc or appropriate location
4. Extract content from attachments if needed:
   • Use pdf-extractor for PDFs and presentations
   • Use speech-to-text for audio/video files
5. Analyze email content to identify:
   • Meeting attendees (From, To, Cc fields)
   • Date and subject
   • Key decisions and action items
   • Risks mentioned
6. Reference email in topic's minutes with link to uploaded email.md
7. Update topic Google Doc with extracted information

Example Flow:

User: "Update topic 'Q2 Planning' using the email information"

Assistant Process:
1. Search ~/Downloads for .eml file matching "Q2 Planning"
2. Run: email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/q2_planning.eml
3. Review email.md and attachments
4. Upload email.md to topic's Emails folder
5. Process any attachments (extract PDFs, etc.)
6. Update topic with extracted information

Use Cases

• Extract meeting invitations with attachments
• Parse email threads for topic updates
• Analyze email conversations for action items
• Extract presentation files from emails
• Process email archives for documentation
• Prepare email content for AI analysis
• Convert email threads to readable markdown