// Email — inbox triage, compose (send/reply/draft), and Cora AI assistant. Routes by intent. "email", "inbox", "triage", "send email", "reply", "draft", "cora", "brief", "email todos", "endocrine"
[HINT] Download the complete skill directory including SKILL.md and all related files
| name | endocrine |
| description | Email — inbox triage, compose (send/reply/draft), and Cora AI assistant. Routes by intent. "email", "inbox", "triage", "send email", "reply", "draft", "cora", "brief", "email todos", "endocrine" |
| effort | high |
| user_invocable | true |
| triggers | ["endocrine","email","inbox","email triage","review inbox","send email","reply to email","draft email","compose email","cora","email brief","email todos"] |
All email operations live here: triage, compose, Cora assistant. Internal routing by intent.
| Intent | Mode | Trigger phrases |
|---|---|---|
| Read / clear inbox | Triage | "triage", "review inbox", "check email", "clear inbox" |
| Write outbound | Compose | "send", "reply", "draft", "compose" |
| Cora AI assistant | Cora | "cora", "brief", "cora todos" |
If intent is ambiguous ("email" alone with no verb), ask once: triage or compose?
All Gmail ops default to the endosomal MCP tool. Typed inputs, structured outputs, enforceable contracts. Actions: search, thread, categorize, archive, mark_read, label, filter, send.
Fall back to gog gmail CLI only for endosomal gaps (see finding_endosomal_mcp_gaps.md):
--quote (auto blockquote of original)drafts create, drafts list, drafts delete)--never-spam --importantAll other paths go through endosomal MCP. Never shell out to gog gmail for anything endosomal covers.
A collaborative inbox review. Pull inbox + unread briefs, read everything, work through items with Terry.
Rule: classify first, act in batches — never archive without categorizing.
endosomal action=search query="..."; negation clauses (-in:inbox) go inside one query string, not as separate tokens.endosomal action=thread thread_id=<id>; snippets miss context that changes the category.endosomal action=categorize email_text="..." on ambiguous emails; deterministic pass handles most, LLM only fires on genuine ambiguity.endosomal action=archive message_ids=[...] call. Never archive one at a time.endosomal action=filter (dry_run=true first) after you've seen the pattern recur in 3+ messages. Confirm before flipping dry_run=false.| Don't | Do |
|---|---|
| Archive without classifying | Categorize, then batch archive |
| Assume newsletter = archive | Check for action signals in body |
| Create filters for one-off senders | Wait for 3+ recurrences |
| Mark read without archiving action items | Surface action_required before touching read state |
| Pass negation as separate args | Pass as one quoted query string |
Run in parallel:
[[Email Threads Tracker]] (~/epigenome/chromatin/Email Threads Tracker.md) — status on ongoing threads so you don't re-read histories or re-ask resolved questions.memory/priming.md — check for any WHEN: email triage entries. Surface matched reminders before presenting the inbox. Delete entries after actioning.amicus lookup <name> to surface last contact date and context. Only for replies/meetings where relationship context would help — not every email.Run in parallel:
cora brief — list all briefs, check for unread onesendosomal action=search query="in:inbox" — full inbox listendosomal action=search query="label:Cora/Action" — Cora-flagged actions outside inboxendosomal action=search query="-in:inbox newer_than:7d" — silent miss sweep, all non-inbox emailsCora/Action emails must be triaged even though they're not in inbox — Cora flagged them as requiring action but stripped INBOX. Treat them identically to inbox items.
Silent miss sweep catches anything not in inbox — interview emails, ATS notifications, banking alerts, anything Cora moved to brief-only or Gmail miscategorised. Expect noise — scan for anything actionable and restore INBOX via endosomal action=label name=INBOX message_ids=[<id>].
Then read all unread briefs before triaging:
cora brief show <id> # for each unread brief
If cora brief show errors, note it but continue with the inbox. Multiple unread briefs → read newest first, older may be superseded.
Extract any action items from briefs and include them in Step 2 alongside inbox emails.
Categorise every email into one of four buckets:
| Bucket | Criteria | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Action required | Needs a reply, decision, or follow-up | Present with context |
| Borderline | Probably noise but could matter — low confidence | One-line mention before archiving |
| Monitor / waiting | Ball is in someone else's court | Note and archive if clean |
| Archive now | Transactional, automated, or already handled | Archive without presenting |
Borderline bucket exists because email delegation is a single point of failure. When in doubt, surface it in one line rather than silently archiving. Examples: financial emails from unfamiliar senders, anything mentioning deadlines, emails from domains that previously contained action items. Present borderline items as a compact list after action-required items — Terry can scan in 10 seconds and say "all fine" or flag one.
Archive now without asking: OTPs, login notifications, password resets, automated "pending request" emails that have been superseded, booking confirmations already actioned.
Always-surface heuristics. Some email types warrant attention regardless of apparent actionability:
notifications@github.com) — surface even positive feedback ("LGTM", "that is cool!"). It signals merge momentum. Do not deprioritise as "no action required".endosomal action=thread thread_id=<id> and grep body for href="https://myaccount.smartone.com/QRBill[^"]*". Surface as clickable link with amount + due date.jobalerts-noreply@linkedin.com) — if a Cora brief mentions them, scan role titles Manager+ only. Speculor handles bulk job triage separately.Probe-question semantics (added 2026-05-04 Slot 31). When Terry asks "really nothing?" / "anything else?" / "are we sure?" after a sweep that CC has marked complete, treat it as a forcing function for re-scan with higher gain — NOT as a request for confirmation of the prior pass. The probe means "test whether your default-to-finished is real." Re-scan the briefs/inbox at higher signal threshold (large transactions, off-hours senders, unfamiliar domains, anything you sorted as routine without explicit verification). Codified after the same 2026-05-04 Slot 31 instance — HKD 50K only surfaced on probe.
Cora Briefs emails — read before archiving. Each brief email in inbox represents unread digest content. Read via cora brief show <id> first, extract action items, then archive the email. Never batch-archive briefs without reading them.
Post-discussion cleanup. After presenting items and getting Terry's agreement ("archive", "mark read", "all fine"), immediately mark_read + archive the discussed noise items in one batch. Don't wait for a separate instruction — agreement IS the gate.
Batch processing over one-by-one. Don't work through items sequentially waiting for approval on each. Instead:
Thematic grouping for large inboxes (>10 items). When presenting, group by theme (banking/tax, shipping, notifications, action-needed) rather than chronological order. Batch auto-archivable groups first (expired OTPs, superseded notifications, bot reviews on closed PRs), then present remaining groups for review. This lets Terry process faster — one "y" per theme instead of per email.
Present the action-required list first. For each item, include:
After Terry gives calls on the batch:
cora email show <id> or endosomal action=thread thread_id=<id> for threads that need draftingPrefer Gmail filters over unsubscribing. When a sender is consistently noise, create a filter via endosomal action=filter from_sender="<sender>" archive=true dry_run=true (flip dry_run=false to apply). Filters are reversible, don't require waiting for unsub propagation, and emails remain in archive for Cora briefs.
Filter-creation scope preflight (run once per session before any filter attempt). Both endosomal action=filter and gog gmail filters create require the gmail.settings.basic OAuth scope. If that scope is missing, every filter call 403s with insufficientPermissions — and the failure mode is identical across both tools, so there's no second-tool fallback. Before the first filter attempt of a session, either (a) gog gmail filters list --plain returns existing filters cleanly → scope is present, proceed, or (b) any 403 with "insufficient authentication scopes" → STOP, do NOT retry on the second tool. Queue the proposed filter spec for after the re-auth (Praxis Quick item) instead. See marks/finding_gog_endosomal_missing_gmail_settings_scope.md. Codified after 2026-04-28 triage where two tools hit the same 403 on the same scope gap before the pattern surfaced.
After working through all action items, batch-archive using the right tool per source:
cora email archive <id> first; if it still shows in inbox after, fall back to endosomal action=archive message_ids=[<id>,...]endosomal action=archive message_ids=[...] (cora email archive fails — Cora never indexed these)endosomal action=search query="in:inbox" after archiving — cora email archive doesn't always remove INBOX cleanlyBatch, one call per source. Verify with endosomal action=search query="in:inbox" at the end.
HARD GATE: Cora brief emails must be read via cora brief show <id> before archiving. Even in ad-hoc inbox checks outside full triage mode — never batch-archive a Cora brief notification without reading its content first. Extract action items, then archive.
Then mark all processed briefs as read and archive their notification emails:
cora brief show <brief_id> # read content FIRST
cora brief read <brief_id> # mark brief as read
cora email archive <brief_notification_email_id> # archive the "Morning Brief | ..." email
Confirm count: "Archived X emails. Inbox zero."
Note: Gmail's "All Mail" unread badge will still show a count — Cora intentionally never marks emails as read (the brief is the reading interface). Inbox zero is the goal; All Mail unread count is expected noise.
After the session:
[open] items in NOW.md that were resolved[[Email Threads Tracker]] — add new active threads, update status, move resolved to Resolved sectionIf Terry exits triage mode (says "done", moves to a different task, signals session-end) before giving explicit batch calls on the noise list, ask once before closing: "Archive the N noise items from the triage now, or leave the inbox as-is?" Do not assume "Done" on the action items implicitly authorises archiving the noise — they're separate decisions, and silent leave-as-is leaves the inbox in a stuck state where the same items resurface next triage. One question, then act on the answer. Codified after Slot 57 (2026-05-06): triage surfaced 18 noise items, Terry signalled "Done" after action items were resolved, noise was left un-archived because the agreement-IS-the-gate rule has no end-of-session prompt for unattended batches.
endosomal action=thread thread_id=<id>).endosomal action=search query="from:<domain>".--never-spam --important filter. Endosomal's filter action lacks those flags, so use gog gmail filters create --from "<domain>" --never-spam --important. Currently set: aia.com, mtr.com.hk, capco.com, myworkday.com, greenhouse.io, lever.co, smartrecruiters.com, taleo.net, icims.com.cora brief show errors → try porta run fallback (below), continue with endosomal inbox searchendosomal action=search query="from:<domain>" before concluding missing[open] and archivecora brief show crash fallbackWhen cora brief show <id> crashes mid-render (known issue: PPS payment items), read the brief via browser:
cora email show <brief_email_id> # find the "Read full brief" link
porta run --domain cora.computer --selector body "https://cora.computer/14910/briefs?date=<YYYY-MM-DD>&time=morning"
URL pattern: https://cora.computer/14910/briefs?date=YYYY-MM-DD&time=morning (account ID 14910). Login to cora.computer in Chrome first.
Writing emails: send, reply with quote, drafts with attachments.
Before any compose-and-send action (email, Teams reply, WhatsApp draft handed to Terry, partner-comms): create a standalone chromatin file with the verbatim draft FIRST, then send. The standalone file is the precondition, not a post-hoc artefact.
File path: ~/epigenome/chromatin/immunity/YYYY-MM-DD-terry-<recipient>-<subject>.md (or terry-reply-<recipient>-<subject>.md for replies).
Required frontmatter:
title, date, sent_at, type (correspondence-sent / correspondence-draft), channel, from, to, in_reply_to: (wikilink to incoming if reply), commits_to: (any explicit promise/deadline), related: (interlinks to relevant chromatin notes — paper version, project notes, profiles).Body sections: verbatim sent text under ## Sent text (verbatim), drafting context if applicable, commitment vs delivery state.
Why mandatory: feedback_standalone_correspondence_notes.md (PROTECTED, confirmed=2). The recurring failure mode is outbound captured only as a daily-note summary; commitments / verbatim / interlinks get lost. Three days later when traceability is needed, the verbatim has to be recovered via anam search of the session JSONL — slow, brittle, sometimes impossible if the session was on a different harness.
Skip ONLY for: pure logistics ("sure, 3pm works"), one-line acknowledgements, or messages with no commitment / decision / directional content. Bar is low: when in doubt, file it.
Backstop if missed at send time: cytokinesis §1a question 7 catches this at wrap. Backfill via anam search of session JSONL for verbatim; mark with backfilled: + backfill_source: frontmatter for transparency.
Default path is endosomal MCP. Covers to, cc, subject, body, reply_to_message_id, attach.
endosomal action=send
to="recipient@example.com"
subject="<subject>"
body="<body>"
cc="<optional cc>"
attach=["/path/to/file.pdf", ...]
Always confirm with user before executing send. If send fails, report "Send failed" and keep the body for retry; do not silently retry.
Always use --reply-to-message-id + --quote when replying. Never omit --quote unless explicitly asked. Until endosomal supports a quote flag, use gog:
gog gmail send \
--reply-to-message-id "<message_id>" \
--quote \
--to "<recipient_email>" \
--subject "Re: <original_subject>" \
--body "<reply_body>"
--quote fetches the original and includes it as blockquote (HTML blue border + plain > prefix)--reply-to-message-id, not just --thread-idgog gmail drafts create \
--to "recipient@example.com" \
--cc "cc@example.com" \
--subject "Re: Thread Subject" \
--reply-to-message-id "<message_id>" \
--body "Message body" \
--attach /path/to/file1.pdf \
--attach /path/to/file2.pdf
--reply-to-message-id threads the draft correctly (sets In-Reply-To/References headers)--attach is repeatablesend command has no --draft flag — use drafts creategog gmail drafts list --plain
gog gmail drafts delete <draft_id> --force
If delete fails, report "Draft delete failed" and keep the draft ID in output.
"Did this email go out?"
gog gmail get <message_id> --plain | grep "label_ids"
label_ids contains SENT → actually sentlabel_ids contains DRAFT → NOT sent, still a draftA message in a thread view may be a DRAFT, not sent — always verify labels before claiming a message was sent.
When reporting status:
gog gmail thread show truncates bodygog gmail thread show <id> truncates the email body at ~1000 chars. For full content — headers (e.g. List-Unsubscribe) and base64 body parts — use endosomal action=thread thread_id=<id> (which does not truncate), or as a fallback:
gog gmail thread get <id> --json | python3 -c "
import sys, json
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
def walk(obj):
if isinstance(obj, dict):
if obj.get('name','').lower() == 'list-unsubscribe': print(obj.get('value',''))
for v in obj.values(): walk(v)
elif isinstance(obj, list): [walk(i) for i in obj]
walk(data)
"
gog requires GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD in env. If not set (e.g. in Claude Code Bash calls):
GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD=<password> gog gmail send ...
Password: 1Password item sge746vsbefyi6pojwwodzu3o4, field gog_keyring_password.
Grep email-drafting marks BEFORE writing the first draft, not just at session start. Genome §How to Think requires marks-grep when entering a domain; CC's failure mode is to grep at session start, then drift through multiple email iterations without re-checking. The em-dash recurrence (5+ violations across one session, 2026-05-02) demonstrated this — rule loaded at session start, violated at every draft.
grep -l "email\|drafting\|writing style" ~/epigenome/marks/*.md | head -5
Read feedback_email_drafting_style.md (PROTECTED, confirmed=1+) at minimum: no em dashes, no en dashes, no filler closers, no exclamation marks by default. Re-read at each major draft revision, not just first-draft.
When user iterates on a single micro-decision (preposition choice, single-phrase add/drop, one-word swap) and the same decision cycles 2+ times, stop producing fresh "honest comparison" tables and declare taste-level. This applies when both options work and the choice is preference, not analysis.
Stronger trigger (sharpened 2026-05-04 after 2nd instance): the trigger is not "same micro-decision asked twice" — it's "user has questioned ANY aspect of the SAME draft 2 times via 'should we / what if / is it X?' framing." Even if the questions hop between micro-decisions (closer warmth, length-match, phrasing, filler), the cycle count is per-draft, not per-decision. After 2 such pushbacks on the same draft, the next response defaults to taste-level handling for whatever micro-decision arrives next — do not produce a fresh comparison.
Decision tree at cycle 2+:
Anti-pattern (filed as finding_cc_polish_iteration_micro_edit_thrash.md): producing a fresh "honest comparison" table each cycle that conveniently lands where the user's question implies. Each cycle CC produces new tables/pros-cons/"honest reads" instead of recognizing taste-decision. This dilutes signal, costs tokens, and trains user to expect CC will flip on demand.
The sibling-pattern epistemics file is ~/epigenome/chromatin/euchromatin/epistemics/reactive-flip-needs-independent-grounding.md — that covers grounded-position pushback. Polish-iteration thrash is the taste-decision sub-case where there are no grounds to defend; the right move is naming the decision-type, not generating analysis.
Recurrence note (2026-05-04 Slot 31): 2nd instance — Cartier reply 6 cycles, BOCHK reply 3 cycles. Skill-edit-only enforcement is demonstrably not deterring. If 3rd instance occurs, escalate to mitosis cycle as deterministic-enforcement candidate (hook: count fresh comparison frames within last N turns, fire when ≥2 same-draft).
Cora (cora.computer) is an AI email assistant that processes Gmail, generates daily briefs, manages todos, and drafts replies. Interact via the cora CLI.
cora whoami # verify authenticated
cora status # account status, brief settings, usage
If not authenticated: cora login --token=<TOKEN_FROM_1PASSWORD>. Token lives in 1Password (do NOT hardcode in files).
cora brief # list recent briefs
cora brief show # show latest brief details
cora brief show <id> # show specific brief
cora brief show --open # show and open in browser
cora brief --json # JSON output (briefs use --json, not --format json)
cora brief read <id> # mark brief as read
Crash fallback — see "Triage fail states > cora brief show crash fallback" above.
Cora maintains its own action queue independent of Gmail labels:
cora todo list # pending todos
cora todo list --all # include completed
cora todo show <id> # details
cora todo create "Title" # new todo
cora todo create "Title" --priority high --due tomorrow # with options
cora todo edit <id> --title "New" --priority low # update
cora todo complete <id> # mark done
cora todo delete <id> --force # delete
cora todo list --format json # JSON output
cora email glimpse # fast cached inbox view
cora email search "query" # search with Gmail query syntax
cora email show <id> # full email details
cora email archive <id> # archive
cora email draft <id> # queue reply draft (async, returns immediately)
cora chat send "message" # new conversation (10-60s)
cora chat send "message" --chat <id> # continue conversation
Prefer instant commands. Chat is for open-ended requests that don't map to a CLI verb.
cora chat send — chat is 10-60s--json, not --format json (unlike other commands)cora flow — requires interactive stdin, will hangCora/Action label: invisible workflow (confirmed Mar 2026)Emails labelled Cora/Action by Cora are excluded from both the inbox (INBOX stripped) AND the daily brief. The label exists but leads nowhere — no workflow surfaces it automatically.
Mitigation: Triage mode Step 1 explicitly pulls label:Cora/Action as a parallel search. Always triage these alongside the inbox.
Confirmed cases: MTR interview Mar 4 2026 (important_draft category), AIA/Cherry Ma Mar 6 2026 (CATEGORY_PERSONAL, no INBOX, no Cora label), AIA Workday Mar 9 2026 (from aia@myworkday.com, no Cora label). Root cause unclear — may be Gmail miscategorisation or Cora stripping INBOX during processing.
Permanent mitigation: Gmail filters force --important and --never-spam for active job domains. See Triage workflow conventions > Domain filters. Add new company domains when applying; ATS platforms are covered globally.
When expecting a reply, also proactively search:
endosomal action=search query="from:<domain>"
If email is missing INBOX label, restore it:
endosomal action=label name=INBOX message_ids=[<id>]
Cora intentionally never marks emails as read. Model: the daily brief is the reading interface, not Gmail. Cora labels emails (Cora/Newsletter, Cora/Payments, etc.) but leaves read/unread state alone. The Next Brief label tracks "briefed yet", not Gmail's unread flag.
Don't try to zero the All Mail unread count — it accumulates again. Set Gmail's unread badge to inbox-only (Settings → General → Inbox count). Inbox zero is the goal; All Mail unread is noise.
0 — Success1 — General error2 — Authentication required (cora login)3 — Resource not found4 — Validation error--quote reply and drafts CRUD — tracked in finding_endosomal_mcp_gaps.md. Compose mode falls back to gog gmail for these two cases.brief show crash on PPS items — use porta run browser fallback.