Email Triage

Categorize the user's inbox by priority and present a structured summary with actionable next steps.

Language

See METHODOLOGY.md language mirror rule. Reply in the user's language.

Prerequisites

This skill requires a connected email tool (Gmail, Outlook, etc.).

If no email connector is available:

AskUserQuestion: "I need access to your email to triage your inbox. Would you like to set up a connection?"
Options: ["Yes, connect my email (/connect)", "Skip for now"]

If the user selects connect, guide them to the /connect command.

Workflow

Step 1: Fetch Emails

Retrieve unread/recent emails from the connected inbox. Default: last 24 hours.

AskUserQuestion: "What time range should I check?"
Options: ["Last 24 hours", "Last 3 days", "This week", "Custom range"]

Step 2: Categorize

Sort every email into exactly one of four priority categories:

Category	Criteria	Action Expectation
Urgent	Requires response today. Time-sensitive, from key contacts, contains deadlines within 48h, escalations, client requests	Respond today
Important	Requires response this week. Significant but not time-critical, project updates needing input, scheduling requests	Respond this week
Actionable	Requires action but not a reply. Invoices, approvals, documents to review, sign-ups, confirmations	Take action
FYI	Informational only. Newsletters, CC'd threads, automated notifications, receipts	Read or archive

Categorization rules:

• Emails from contacts listed in MEMORY.md under "People & Contacts" with role "client" or "boss" default to Urgent unless clearly FYI
• Emails with words like "urgent", "ASAP", "deadline", "overdue", "action required" bump up one category
• Newsletters and automated notifications default to FYI
• When uncertain, categorize one level higher (safer to over-prioritize)

Step 3: Present Summary

Use the format from template.md. For each email include:

• Sender name
• Subject line
• One-line summary (max 15 words)
• Suggested action

Show category counts at the top for quick overview.

Step 4: Next Actions

After presenting the triage summary:

AskUserQuestion: "What would you like to do next?"
Options: [
  "Draft replies to Urgent emails",
  "Show full email for [specific sender]",
  "Mark all FYI as read",
  "Set follow-up reminders",
  "Skip — I'll handle it manually"
]

If user selects "Draft replies to Urgent emails":

• For each urgent email, invoke the email-draft skill
• Present drafts one at a time for approval

If user selects "Show full email":

• Display the full email content
• Then ask: AskUserQuestion: "What would you like to do with this email?" Options: ["Draft a reply", "Forward to someone", "Mark as read", "Set follow-up reminder", "Back to triage"]

If user selects "Set follow-up reminders":

• For each email the user selects, invoke email-followup to add tracking

Step 5: Wrap-up

After completing actions:

• Report what was done (e.g., "2 drafts created, 5 FYI marked as read, 1 follow-up set")
• Save triage timestamp to ~/Tandem/email/MEMORY.md under Session Log

Proactivity — Next Steps

After triage completion, suggest 1-2 of these based on context:

• If urgent emails exist: "Would you like me to draft replies to the urgent emails now?"
• If sent emails have no reply after 3+ days: "I noticed some emails you sent haven't gotten replies. Want me to track follow-ups?"
• If this is the first triage of the day: "Want me to include email triage in your daily morning routine?"
• If action items found: "Some emails contain tasks. Want me to add them to your task list?"

Memory

Memory is user-triggered only. Offer to remember:

• Email contacts and their priority level
• Recurring senders to always categorize a certain way
• Preferred triage time and frequency

AskUserQuestion: "Would you like me to remember any categorization preferences for next time?"
Options: ["Yes, let me specify", "No, we're done"]

Output Format

Follow template.md for the structured output format. See examples/sample-triage.md for a complete example.

Hebrew RTL Note

When outputting in Hebrew, structure the summary table with right-aligned text. Sender names in Hebrew should appear naturally without transliteration.

Error Handling

• No unread emails: "Your inbox is clear! No unread emails in the selected time range."
• Email connector error: Guide user to /connect to re-authenticate
• Too many emails (50+): "You have [N] unread emails. Want me to focus on the most recent 20, or process all of them?"

Activity Logging

After completing the workflow, append an entry to ~/Tandem/stats.json:

{
  "type": "email",
  "action": "triaged",
  "count": <number of emails processed in this triage session>,
  "timeSavedMinutes": <count * 5>,
  "description": "Triaged 12 emails - 4 urgent, 3 important, 2 actionable, 3 FYI",
  "timestamp": "<current ISO 8601>"
}

If ~/Tandem/stats.json does not exist, create it as [<entry>]. If it exists, read it, parse the JSON array, append the new entry, and write it back.

Dashboard Sync

After appending to stats.json, follow the /sync workflow from tandem-skills/core/sync/SKILL.md to rebuild ~/Tandem/dashboard.html with updated statistics. This keeps the dashboard current after every skill run. If /sync fails (e.g., dashboard.html does not exist yet), continue — the main skill workflow must complete successfully regardless of sync outcome.