email-resend

requires.env	RESEND_API_KEY,DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL,DEFAULT_FROM_NAME
license	Apache-2.0
name	email-resend
description	Send and receive emails using the Resend API. Use for: (1) sending emails directly via Resend API, (2) receiving email notifications via cron, (3) drafting replies with proper threading, (4) downloading attachments from inbound emails. **Required env vars:** RESEND_API_KEY (API key), DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL (sender email), DEFAULT_FROM_NAME (sender name). **License: Apache-2.0** — See LICENSE file for details.

License

Apache License 2.0 — See LICENSE file for full text.

Email via Resend

Send and receive emails using the Resend API.

Configuration

No config file needed. The skill auto-discovers settings from:

1. OpenClaw context — channel, chat_id, user email/name (from context)
2. Environment variables — for API keys
3. Interactive prompts — asks user if required info missing

Required Environment Variables

export RESEND_API_KEY="re_123456789"        # Resend API key (required)
export DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL="[e-mail]" # Sender email (required)
export DEFAULT_FROM_NAME="Your Name"        # Sender display name (required)
# Channel/target set by agent from context/memory - not hardcoded

First-Time Setup

When the skill is first invoked, the sub-agent should:

1. Check context — OpenClaw context already has:

   • context.user.email (from USER.md)
   • context.channel (from current session)
   • context.chat_id
   • context.thread_id (for topics)

2. Check memory — Use memory_search tool:

   • Query: "email notification channel preference"
   • Query: "email from address"

3. If missing, ask user — Via chat message:

   • "Which email should I send from?"
   • "Which channel for email notifications?"

4. Commit to memory — Write preferences to persist across sessions:

   write path="memory/email-preferences.md" content="---
   from_email: $EMAIL
   from_name: $NAME
   notification_channel: $CHANNEL
   chat_id: \"$CHAT_ID\"
   thread_id: \"$THREAD_ID\"
   ---
   
   # Email Notification Preferences
   Saved $(date)
   "
   

   This ensures memory_search finds it in future sessions.

Format (YAML frontmatter):

---
from_email: [e-mail]
from_name: Your Name
notification_channel: telegram  # or discord, signal, whatsapp, etc - from memory or ask user
chat_id: "123456789"
thread_id: "334"  # optional, for topics
---

Context Fields (Available in Sub-Agent)

Field	Source	Example
user.email	USER.md	[e-mail]
user.name	USER.md	Your Name
channel	OpenClaw	from context
chat_id	OpenClaw	123456789
thread_id	OpenClaw	334

The skill uses these directly from OpenClaw context — no parsing needed.

Usage

Inbound (Receive)

Cron Setup

openclaw cron add \
  --name "email-resend-inbound" \
  --every 15m \
  --session-target isolated \
  --message "Follow instructions in skills/email-resend/cron-prompts/email-inbound.md" \
  --to "YOUR_CHAT_ID" \
  --announce

Manual Check

python3 skills/email-resend/scripts/inbound.py

Notification Format

Each new email triggers a notification with:

• From, Subject, Date
• Body preview (~2000 chars)
• Attachment list (if any)
• Importance: 🔥 HIGH / 📅 MEETING / 📬 NORMAL

Acknowledge Flow

Reply to the notification message (using notification reply) to acknowledge, or type:

• done / ack - mark as read

Use draft-reply.py to compose replies with proper quoting.

Important: Always use inline replies ([[reply_to_current]]) to keep messages linked in the thread. This enables:

• Proper custody chain tracking
• Reply-to-email tracing
• Better conversation flow

CRITICAL: When responding via OpenClaw message tool, use replyTo parameter (not [[reply_to_current]] tag):

message(action="send", channel="<from-context>", replyTo="<msg_id>", ...)

Scripts

Script	Purpose
inbound.py	Check emails, send notifications
draft-reply.py	Draft reply workflow with quoting & threading
outbound.py	Send emails directly
download_attachment.py	Download attachments from inbound emails

Downloading Attachments

To download attachments from an inbound email:

# List attachments (shows IDs)
python3 scripts/download_attachment.py <email_id> --list

# Download all to directory
python3 scripts/download_attachment.py <email_id> --output-dir ./attachments

# Download specific attachment
python3 scripts/download_attachment.py <email_id> --attachment-id <attachment_id>

Note: The API path is /emails/receiving/{email_id}/attachments (not the standard /emails/ path).

State Files

• memory/email-resend-inbound-notified.json — pending/acknowledged emails
• memory/email-message-map.json — notification message_id → email_id (legacy)
• memory/email-custody-chain.json — Full DAG of email → notification → actions
• memory/email-msg-to-chain.json — notification message_id → chain lookup
• memory/email-draft-state.json — Active draft state (email_id, status, reply_content)

See docs/custody-chain.md for DAG design.

Outbound (Send)

python3 skills/email-resend/scripts/outbound.py \
  --to "[e-mail]" \
  --subject "Hello" \
  --body "Message text"

# With attachments
python3 skills/email-resend/scripts/outbound.py \
  --to "[e-mail]" \
  --subject "Here's the file" \
  --body "See attachment" \
  --attachment ./file.pdf \
  --attachment ./image.png

⚠️ CRITICAL: Email Threading Rule (2026-02-22)

MANDATORY: Always use draft-reply.py for replying to emails.

This is non-negotiable. Failure to follow this rule will result in broken Gmail threading.

Why This Matters

• Gmail threads emails based on In-Reply-To AND References headers
• Using wrong headers = reply appears as NEW thread = context lost
• There's no way to fix this after sending

✅ Correct Workflow (ALWAYS USE THIS)

# Step 1: Start draft (fetches Message-ID automatically)
python3 skills/email-resend/scripts/draft-reply.py start <email_id>

# Step 2: Set reply content
python3 skills/email-resend/scripts/draft-reply.py content "Your reply"

# Step 3: Send
python3 skills/email-resend/scripts/draft-reply.py send

⚠️ CRITICAL: Approval Execution Rule (2026-02-22)

When user approves a draft, you MUST execute the send command immediately.

The mistake to avoid:

• ❌ Show draft for approval → User says "send" → Only acknowledge, don't execute
• ✅ Show draft for approval → User says "send" → RUN draft-reply.py send → Then confirm

Correct workflow:

1. Show draft for approval
2. User replies "approve", "send", "yes", or "ok"
3. IMMEDIATELY run: draft-reply.py send
4. Only THEN confirm to user

Never:

• Only acknowledge the approval without executing
• Ask for confirmation after user already approved
• Wait to send - do it immediately

❌ NEVER Do These Things

NEVER use outbound.py for replies:

# WRONG - will break threading
python3 skills/email-resend/scripts/outbound.py \
  --to "[e-mail]" --subject "Re: Original" --body "Reply"

NEVER manually construct --reply-to flags:

# WRONG - guessing Message-ID format never works
python3 skills/email-resend/scripts/outbound.py \
  --to "[e-mail]" --subject "Re: Original" --body "Reply" \
  --reply-to "<some-guess>@resend"

NEVER skip the workflow when subject starts with "Re:":

# WRONG - replying without threading headers breaks thread
python3 skills/email-resend/scripts/outbound.py \
  --to "[e-mail]" --subject "Re: Previous Thread" --body "Quick reply"

outbound.py Only For New Emails

outbound.py is for new emails only (not replies):

• First contact
• Announcements
• Emails where you intentionally want a NEW thread

For anything that could be a reply, use draft-reply.py.

Requirements

• RESEND_API_KEY environment variable set
• Python requests library

Draft Reply Best Practices

When composing a reply via draft-reply.py:

1. Always quote the original — Include the original message with > prefix so recipient knows what you're responding to

2. Use proper threading — Set In-Reply-To and References headers using the original email's Message-ID

3. Keep subject line — Start with Re: prefix to maintain thread (but avoid "Re: Re:")

4. Structure:

   Your reply here
   
   ---
   
   On [date] [original sender] wrote:
   > quoted original message
   > continues here
   

5. Multiple replies supported — After sending, draft is marked as "sent" so you can reply again to the same thread. Use resume command to continue.

6. No double Re: — If original subject already starts with "Re:", don't add another

7. Custody Chain — Track full lineage:

   • Email → notification → All replies/actions
   • DAG structure with parent links
   • Any message traces back to original email

Draft Reply Commands

Command	Purpose
start <email_id>	Start a draft reply to an email
resume	Continue a sent thread to reply again
content "text"	Set reply content
send	Send the reply
cancel	Cancel the draft
status	Show current draft status

After sending, use resume to reply again to the same thread — threading headers are preserved.

Run tests:

python3 skills/email-resend/tests/test_inbound.py

Expected: 40 tests, all passing.

If tests fail:

1. Check which test failed and why
2. Fix the feature/code to match expected behavior
3. Or update tests if feature intentionally changed