add-email-triage

name	add-email-triage
description	Set up email triage — hourly inbox scanning that creates MS365 To Do tasks (or Apple Reminders if installed, or file-backed todos as a last resort) for actionable emails. Filing happens when the task is completed. Requires email accounts (/add-email-account) and archive config (/add-email-archive).

Add Email Triage

Interactive setup for the email triage system. Configures hourly inbox scanning that identifies actionable emails and creates a to-do item for each one. When the user checks off the item (on iPhone via the Reminders app, in Microsoft To Do, in Outlook — anywhere), the scheduler's reconciliation poll picks it up and files the associated email.

Prerequisites:

• At least one email account registered (run /add-email-account)
• Email archive configured with taxonomy and rules (run /add-email-archive)
• A to-do surface. This skill assumes MS365 Tasks is the primary surface — it's what /add-email-account (MS365 path) sets up, and its tap-completes sync back to us through the MS365 reconciler. Apple Reminders is supported as an alternative if you prefer to keep tasks in iCloud and have installed /add-apple-reminders — but pick one; running both against the same email account leads to duplicate task items and duplicate filings when completed.

Tool surface

Email triage uses MS365 To Do for new items via mcp__ms365__create-todo-task into the user's default task list (typically named Tasks). When the task is tap-completed on any Microsoft surface (Outlook, MS To Do, iOS Reminders Exchange list), src/ms365-reconciler.ts picks it up within ~5 min and enqueues the filing action.

Clean titles + sidecar metadata. The user-visible task title is of the form <concise action> → /<account>/<folder> (e.g. Reply to Dr. Smith re: budget → /gmail/Sorted/Work). The email-filing metadata (message id, sender, subject, proposed folder) lives in a sidecar JSON at groups/<main>/email-triage/state/tasks.json, keyed by task id. Do not stuff JSON into the task body — iOS Reminders renders body text as a second line under the title and it reads as noise.

If this install uses Apple Reminders instead (via /add-apple-reminders), the same clean-title + sidecar pattern applies into an "Email Actions" list, and src/reminders-reconciler.ts handles the completions via EventKit. Only one surface should be active at a time.

If MS365 is temporarily unreachable, fall back to the deprecated mcp__nanoclaw__todo_create (or Apple Reminders, if installed). Log the fallback so the user knows to re-enable MS365 once things are back.

Phase 1: Prerequisites

Check if already configured

MAIN_FOLDER=$(sqlite3 store/nanoclaw.db "SELECT folder FROM registered_groups WHERE is_main = 1 LIMIT 1;" 2>/dev/null)
echo "MAIN_FOLDER=${MAIN_FOLDER:-unknown}"
test -f "groups/${MAIN_FOLDER}/email-triage/config.yaml" && echo "CONFIGURED" || echo "NOT_CONFIGURED"

If CONFIGURED, show current config and ask whether to reconfigure or leave as-is.

Check email accounts

test -f "groups/${MAIN_FOLDER}/email-accounts.yaml" && cat "groups/${MAIN_FOLDER}/email-accounts.yaml" || echo "NO_ACCOUNTS"

If NO_ACCOUNTS:

No email accounts registered. Run /add-email-account first.

Stop here.

Check archive config

test -f "groups/${MAIN_FOLDER}/email-archive/config.yaml" && echo "ARCHIVE_OK" || echo "NO_ARCHIVE"
test -f "groups/${MAIN_FOLDER}/email-archive/rules.yaml" && echo "RULES_OK" || echo "NO_RULES"

If either missing:

Email archive not configured. Run /add-email-archive first — triage reuses the archive's taxonomy and sender rules.

Stop here.

Phase 2: Configure

Create directory structure

mkdir -p "groups/${MAIN_FOLDER}/email-triage/state"

Choose accounts

Read the accounts from email-accounts.yaml and present:

Which accounts should triage scan?

1. gmail (gws) — @g.clemson.edu
2. outlook (ms365) — @clemson.edu

Default: all. Or pick specific ones.

Use AskUserQuestion.

Configure settings

Ask the user to confirm or adjust:

Triage settings:

• Scan frequency: every hour (0 * * * *)
• Default due date: 3 days from email receipt (for items without explicit deadlines)
• Todo list name: "Email Actions"

Want to change any of these?

Use AskUserQuestion.

Write config

Write groups/${MAIN_FOLDER}/email-triage/config.yaml:

# Email Triage Configuration
# Scans inbox hourly, creates todos for actionable emails
# Filing happens when todos are completed
# Shares taxonomy and rules with email-archive/

accounts:
  - gmail
  - outlook

schedule:
  scan_cron: "0 * * * *"
  timezone: "America/New_York"

reminders:
  list: "Email Actions"
  default_due_days: 1
  overdue_nag: true

classification:
  rules_path: "../email-archive/rules.yaml"

state_path: "state/"

Initialize state

Write groups/${MAIN_FOLDER}/email-triage/state/progress.yaml:

accounts:
  gmail:
    last_scan_date: null
    total_scanned: 0
    total_todos_created: 0
  outlook:
    last_scan_date: null
    total_scanned: 0
    total_todos_created: 0
stats:
  total_filed: 0
  total_skipped: 0

Phase 3: Schedule

Set up the hourly scan:

Use schedule_task:
  schedule_type: "cron"
  schedule_value: "0 * * * *"
  context_mode: "isolated"
  prompt: "[SCHEDULED TASK] /email-triage scan"

Phase 4: Rebuild and Done

./container/build.sh

Email triage configured for N account(s).

• Inbox scan: every hour
• Todo list: "Email Actions"
• Filing: manual (complete the todo to file the email)

Commands:

• /email-triage — scan new emails now
• /email-triage status — view pending action items
• /email-triage file <id> — complete a todo and file the email

The first hourly scan will run at the next hour mark. Or send /email-triage now to scan immediately.