| name | send-email |
| description | Send email via Gmail (plain text, HTML, or with attachments). Use when the user asks to email something, send a summary by email, email a report, or deliver content to an email address. Requires SMTP_FROM_EMAIL and GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD in the container.
|
| metadata | {"openclaw":{"emoji":"📧","requires":{"bins":["python3"]}}} |
Send Email — Gmail (plain, HTML, attachments)
Send outbound email using the workspace script. Supports plain text, HTML, and attachments. Credentials: set SMTP_FROM_EMAIL and GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD in the agent .env (they are passed into the container). The script also reads from workspace/skills/send-email/.env if present (e.g. if you create that file manually for exec contexts that don't inherit env).
When to use
- "Email me the summary" / "Send this to me by email"
- "Email that report to user@example.com"
- Onboarding/heartbeat status emails (see HEARTBEAT.md)
- Any outbound delivery to an email address
Pipeline (execute in order)
STEP 1 — Prepare body file (must be in workspace)
Create the message body as a file in the workspace so the exec can read it. Do not use /tmp — the sandbox may not see the same path.
- Plain text:
write to e.g. workspace/email_body.txt or workspace/memory/tmp_email.txt with the body content.
- HTML: Same, then use
--html in Step 2.
- Use the full path in Step 2:
/home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace/email_body.txt (or whatever path you used).
STEP 2 — Send via script
Plain text only (no attachments):
python3 /home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace/skills/send-email/scripts/send_email.py "<to@email.com>" "<Subject>" "<path-to-body-file>"
HTML body (no attachments):
python3 /home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace/skills/send-email/scripts/send_email.py "<to@email.com>" "<Subject>" "<path-to-body-file>" --html
With attachments:
python3 /home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace/skills/send-email/scripts/send_email.py "<to@email.com>" "<Subject>" "<path-to-body-file>" [--html] --attach <file1> [file2 ...]
- Replace
<to@email.com>, <Subject>, and <path-to-body-file> with real values.
- Body file path: Must be a path the exec can read — use a file you created with
write in the workspace (e.g. /home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace/email_body.txt). Do not use /tmp/... as the sandbox may not see it. Use --html only if the body file is HTML.
- Attachments are optional; list one or more file paths after
--attach.
STEP 3 — Reply
- Success: Confirm briefly (e.g. "Done, emailed that to you."). Do not mention the script or env vars.
- Failure: If the script exits non-zero or prints an error, say email couldn't be sent right now. Do not expose SMTP or env details to the user. Log failure to onboarding-log.md if in a heartbeat/onboarding context (per HEARTBEAT.md).
Capabilities (what you can say)
| Capability | Supported |
|---|
| Plain text | Yes |
| Rich HTML | Yes (use --html) |
| Attachments | Yes (use --attach file1 [file2 ...]) |
Rules
- Never mention the script path, SMTP, or "Gmail" in the user-facing reply.
- Recipient comes from the user ("email me at x@y.com") or from USER.md / TODO (admin/owner email).
- Exec runs in the sandbox; no user approval is required.
If the agent says it cannot run the script
- Exec host: If the container has no Docker, set
EXEC_HOST=gateway in agent.conf and run ./scripts/compose-up.sh <agent> -d so exec runs in the container.
- Env in container: Ensure
SMTP_FROM_EMAIL and GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD are in the agent .env; restart after editing. Optionally create workspace/skills/send-email/.env with those two vars if the exec context doesn't inherit Docker env.
- Exec allowlist:
config/exec-approvals.json (or OpenClaw exec config) must allow running python3 and the script path. Run compose-up to sync config → config-runtime after changes.
