things3-inbox-triage

name	things3-inbox-triage
description	GTD-style inbox triage for Things 3 — walks every item in the inbox, classifies it (do-now, schedule, delegate, archive, delete), and applies the user's choice via MCP write tools. Requires explicit confirmation before any destructive op. Use when the user wants to "triage", "process", or "clear" their Things 3 inbox.

/things3-inbox-triage

A GTD-style inbox triage workflow over the rust-things3 MCP server. Walks each inbox item with the user, applies their disposition, and confirms before deletion. Companion to things3-daily-review — the daily-review skill is read-only; this one writes.

Claude Code slash command

To use /things3-inbox-triage as a Claude Code slash command, copy the skill to your local skills directory and patch in a trigger key. The canonical file omits it because skills-ref validate rejects unknown frontmatter fields.

cp -r skills/things3-inbox-triage ~/.claude/skills/things3-inbox-triage
python3 -c "
import pathlib, re
p = pathlib.Path('~/.claude/skills/things3-inbox-triage/SKILL.md').expanduser()
p.write_text(re.sub(r'(?m)^---\$(?=\n\n)', 'trigger: /things3-inbox-triage\n---', p.read_text(), count=1))
"

Prerequisites

The things3 foundational skill must be installed and the MCP server configured before running this workflow — see ../things3/SKILL.md for setup instructions.

Backend note. Writes route through AppleScript by default on macOS (see ../things3/SKILL.md → Mutation backend). The first write of the session may trigger a one-time macOS Automation permission prompt; grant it and continue.

When to use this skill

• Clearing a piled-up Things 3 inbox during a weekly review
• Processing items captured throughout the day before end-of-day shutdown
• Any time the user says "triage my inbox", "process my inbox", or "get to inbox zero"

Recipe

Step 1 — Pull the inbox

{
  "name": "get_inbox",
  "arguments": { "limit": 50 }
}

If the response is empty, report "Inbox is clear" and stop. Otherwise, present a one-line count: "N items to triage."

Step 2 — Walk each item, classify, apply

For each inbox item, in the order returned:

1. Show the item. Display title, notes (if present), and any existing tags so the user can decide without switching to Things 3.
2. Ask for a disposition — exactly one of:
   • do-now — do or schedule for today
   • schedule — defer to a future date
   • delegate — hand off (typically tagged @waiting)
   • archive — already done, mark complete
   • delete — capture mistake; remove from inbox
3. Apply the choice by calling the matching tool below. Confirm to the user with a one-line acknowledgement (e.g. "✓ scheduled for 2026-05-10") and move to the next item.

Disposition	MCP call	Notes
do-now	update_task with start_date = today (or move to a project)	Optional: also add_tag_to_task with today if the user uses that convention
schedule	update_task with start_date = future date and/or deadline	Ask for the date if the user did not supply one
delegate	add_tag_to_task with tag_title: "@waiting" (adjust to user's convention); optionally update_task to append a notes line "delegated to NAME"	The task stays in the inbox (or is moved to a "Waiting" project if the user has one)
archive	complete_task	Use when the item was already finished
delete	Confirm first with the user (show title + ask "delete this?"), then delete_task	delete_task is a soft-delete (moves to Trash); not reversible from this skill

Confirmation rule for delete_task. Always re-show the item title and ask for explicit "yes" before calling delete_task. Do not batch-confirm a list. This is the only step in this skill that requires a hard stop.

Step 3 — Bulk shortcuts (optional)

If the user wants to fast-path a group of similar items, prefer the bulk tools over a loop:

• bulk_complete — archive several items at once
• bulk_move — relocate several items into a project or area
• bulk_update_dates — schedule several items for the same date
• bulk_delete — only after the user confirms the full list

Bulk calls run a single AppleScript and report per-item success/failure in the response. Re-run get_inbox after a bulk op to confirm what landed.

Step 4 — Confirm completion

After the last item:

{
  "name": "get_inbox",
  "arguments": { "limit": 50 }
}

Report the final state:

• "Inbox cleared." if empty.
• "N item(s) remaining" with the titles, if the user stopped early.

Output format

Each item-pass produces a compact log line, suitable for streaming back to the user:

[1/12] "Email Q3 vendor list" — schedule → 2026-05-10
[2/12] "Pick up dry cleaning" — do-now (today)
[3/12] "Old TODO from December" — delete (confirmed)

Tally at the end:

Triage summary
  do-now:    2
  schedule:  5
  delegate:  1
  archive:   3
  delete:    1
  remaining: 0

Notes

• Delete is a soft-delete — items move to the Things 3 Trash. The MCP server has no tool to permanently purge or restore from Trash; users do that in the Things 3 UI.
• For the read-only complement (today's plan, recent work, overdue), see the companion things3-daily-review skill.
• This skill is a recipe, not a guarantee — if any tool call fails (e.g. macOS Automation permission revoked), surface the error to the user and stop the loop rather than skipping items silently.