Gmail Access

Gmail Access

Read and search Gmail programmatically via Claude Code.

Self-Evolving Skill: This skill improves through use. If instructions are wrong, parameters drifted, or a workaround was needed — fix this file immediately, don't defer. Only update for real, reproducible issues.

MANDATORY PREFLIGHT (Execute Before Any Gmail Operation)

CRITICAL: You MUST complete this preflight checklist before running any Gmail commands. Do NOT skip steps.

Step 1: Check CLI Binary Exists

ls -la "$HOME/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/cc-skills/plugins/gmail-commander/scripts/gmail-cli/gmail" 2>/dev/null || echo "BINARY_NOT_FOUND"

If BINARY_NOT_FOUND: Build it first:

cd ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/cc-skills/plugins/gmail-commander/scripts/gmail-cli && bun install && bun run build

Step 2: Check GMAIL_OP_UUID Environment Variable

echo "GMAIL_OP_UUID: ${GMAIL_OP_UUID:-NOT_SET}"

If NOT_SET: You MUST run the Setup Flow below. Do NOT proceed to Gmail commands.

Step 2.5: Verify Account Context (CRITICAL)

ALWAYS verify you're accessing the correct email account for the current project.

# Show current project context
echo "=== Gmail Account Context ==="
echo "Working directory: $(pwd)"
echo "GMAIL_OP_UUID: ${GMAIL_OP_UUID}"

# Check where GMAIL_OP_UUID is defined (mise hierarchy)
echo ""
echo "=== mise Config Source ==="
grep -l "GMAIL_OP_UUID" .mise.local.toml .mise.toml ~/.config/mise/config.toml 2>/dev/null || echo "Not found in standard locations"

# Quick connectivity test — shows the account email from a real email
echo ""
echo "=== Account Verification ==="
$GMAIL_CLI list -n 1 2>&1 | head -5

STOP and confirm with user before proceeding:

• The list -n 1 output shows the account's inbox — verify this matches the project's intended email
• If the wrong account is shown, check which .mise.local.toml sets GMAIL_OP_UUID in the mise hierarchy
• If mismatch, inform user and do NOT proceed

Step 3: Verify Token Health

# Check cached token exists and is not expired
TOKEN_FILE="$HOME/.claude/tools/gmail-tokens/${GMAIL_OP_UUID}.json"
APP_CREDS="$HOME/.claude/tools/gmail-tokens/${GMAIL_OP_UUID}.app-credentials.json"
echo "Token file: $([ -f "$TOKEN_FILE" ] && echo "EXISTS" || echo "MISSING")"
echo "App credentials: $([ -f "$APP_CREDS" ] && echo "CACHED" || echo "MISSING — will need 1Password on first run")"

If token file is MISSING: First run will open a browser for OAuth consent. This is expected. If app credentials are MISSING: 1Password will be called once to cache client_id/client_secret, then never again.

Setup Flow (When GMAIL_OP_UUID is NOT_SET)

Follow these steps IN ORDER. Use AskUserQuestion at decision points.

Setup Step 1: Check 1Password CLI

command -v op && echo "OP_CLI_INSTALLED" || echo "OP_CLI_MISSING"

If OP_CLI_MISSING: Stop and inform user:

1Password CLI is required. Install with: brew install 1password-cli

Setup Step 2: Discover Gmail OAuth Items in 1Password

# Try common vaults — "Claude Automation" for service accounts, "Employee" for interactive
for VAULT in "Claude Automation" "Employee" "Personal"; do
  ITEMS=$(op item list --vault "$VAULT" --format json 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.[] | select(.title | test("gmail|oauth|google"; "i")) | "\(.id)\t\(.title)"')
  [ -n "$ITEMS" ] && echo "=== Vault: $VAULT ===" && echo "$ITEMS"
done

Parse the output and proceed based on results:

Setup Step 3: User Selects OAuth Credentials

If items found, use AskUserQuestion with discovered items:

AskUserQuestion({
  questions: [{
    question: "Which 1Password item contains your Gmail OAuth credentials?",
    header: "Gmail OAuth",
    options: [
      // POPULATE FROM op item list RESULTS - example:
      { label: "Gmail API - dental-quizzes (56peh...)", description: "OAuth client in Employee vault" },
      { label: "Gmail API - personal (abc12...)", description: "Personal OAuth client" },
    ],
    multiSelect: false
  }]
})

If NO items found, use AskUserQuestion to guide setup:

AskUserQuestion({
  questions: [{
    question: "No Gmail OAuth credentials found in 1Password. How would you like to proceed?",
    header: "Setup",
    options: [
      { label: "Create new OAuth credentials (Recommended)", description: "I'll guide you through Google Cloud Console setup" },
      { label: "I have credentials elsewhere", description: "Help me add them to 1Password" },
      { label: "Skip for now", description: "I'll set this up later" }
    ],
    multiSelect: false
  }]
})

• If "Create new OAuth credentials": Read and present references/gmail-api-setup.md
• If "I have credentials elsewhere": Guide user to add to 1Password with required fields
• If "Skip for now": Inform user the skill won't work until configured

Setup Step 4: Confirm mise Configuration

After user selects an item (with UUID), use AskUserQuestion:

AskUserQuestion({
  questions: [{
    question: "Add GMAIL_OP_UUID to .mise.local.toml in current project?",
    header: "Configure",
    options: [
      { label: "Yes, add to .mise.local.toml (Recommended)", description: "Creates/updates gitignored config file" },
      { label: "Show me the config only", description: "I'll add it manually" }
    ],
    multiSelect: false
  }]
})

If "Yes, add to .mise.local.toml":

1. Check if .mise.local.toml exists
2. If exists, append GMAIL_OP_UUID to [env] section
3. If not exists, create with:

[env]
GMAIL_OP_UUID = "<selected-uuid>"

1. Verify .mise.local.toml is in .gitignore

If "Show me the config only": Output the TOML for user to add manually.

Setup Step 5: Reload and Verify

mise trust 2>/dev/null || true
cd . && echo "GMAIL_OP_UUID after reload: ${GMAIL_OP_UUID:-NOT_SET}"

If still NOT_SET: Inform user to restart their shell or run source ~/.zshrc.

Setup Step 6: Test Connection

GMAIL_OP_UUID="${GMAIL_OP_UUID}" $HOME/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/cc-skills/plugins/gmail-commander/scripts/gmail-cli/gmail list -n 1

If OAuth prompt appears: This is expected on first run. Browser will open for Google consent.

Gmail Commands (Only After Preflight Passes)

GMAIL_CLI="$HOME/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/cc-skills/plugins/gmail-commander/scripts/gmail-cli/gmail"

# List recent emails
$GMAIL_CLI list -n 10

# Search emails
$GMAIL_CLI search "from:someone@example.com" -n 20

# Search with date range
$GMAIL_CLI search "from:phoebe after:2026/01/27" -n 10

# Read specific email with full body
$GMAIL_CLI read <message_id>

# Read and download inline images (copy-pasted screenshots in compose)
$GMAIL_CLI read <message_id> --save-images

# Download inline images to a specific directory
$GMAIL_CLI read <message_id> --save-images --image-dir ./attachments/my-folder/

# Shorthand: --image-dir implies --save-images
$GMAIL_CLI read <message_id> --image-dir ./attachments/my-folder/

# JSON output with image metadata and saved paths
$GMAIL_CLI read <message_id> --save-images --json

# Export to JSON
$GMAIL_CLI export -q "label:inbox" -o emails.json -n 100

# JSON output (for parsing)
$GMAIL_CLI list -n 10 --json

# Create a draft email
$GMAIL_CLI draft --to "user@example.com" --subject "Hello" --body "Message body"

# Create a draft reply (threads into existing conversation)
$GMAIL_CLI draft --to "user@example.com" --subject "Re: Hello" --body "Reply text" --reply-to <message_id>

Inline Image Extraction

Emails often contain copy-pasted screenshots (inline images embedded in the HTML body, not file attachments). These appear as [image: image.png] placeholders in plain text but contain real image data accessible via the Gmail API.

Key Behavior

Output Sections (when images are present)

--- Inline Images (3) ---
  image.png   image/png   245.3 KB
  image.png   image/png   512.1 KB
  photo.jpg   image/jpeg  89.7 KB

--- Saved to Disk ---
  ./attachments/01_image.png  (251,234 B)
  ./attachments/02_image.png  (524,001 B)
  ./attachments/03_photo.jpg  (91,852 B)

--- Markdown References ---
![01_image.png](./attachments/01_image.png)
![02_image.png](./attachments/02_image.png)
![03_photo.jpg](./attachments/03_photo.jpg)

Important: Inline Images vs Attachments

has:attachment does NOT find inline images. Gmail search has no operator for inline images. To discover emails with inline images, you must read the email and check the MIME tree.

Strategy for finding emails with inline images:

# Search by sender/date, then read each to check for images
$GMAIL_CLI search "from:sender@example.com after:2026/02/01" -n 10 --json | \
  jq -r '.[].id' | while read id; do
    COUNT=$($GMAIL_CLI read "$id" --json | jq '.inlineImages | length')
    [ "$COUNT" -gt 0 ] && echo "$id has $COUNT inline image(s)"
  done

Gmail Threading and Image Deduplication

When downloading images from a thread (multiple reply emails), later replies include all prior inline images. The last email in a thread is typically the superset.

Recommendation: For threaded conversations, download images from the latest reply only to avoid duplicates. Compare by file size if unsure.

Filename Collision Handling

Copy-pasted screenshots often all share the generic filename image.png. The CLI prefixes a zero-padded index: 01_image.png, 02_image.png, etc. These machine-generated names should be renamed to descriptive names for correspondence archival.

Post-Download: Annotation Transcription Protocol

When inline images contain handwritten annotations (circles, arrows, written text overlaid on screenshots), perform a systematic two-level analysis:

1. Scene description: What does the screenshot show? (e.g., "Career portal main page showing position listings")
2. Annotation inventory: Exhaustively catalog every non-original markup element:
   • Hand-drawn shapes: circles, ovals, arrows, underlines, crosses — note what they encompass
   • Handwritten text: transcribe verbatim in quotes, note legibility and location on the image
   • Typed test inputs: text entered into form fields visible in the screenshot
   • Highlights or color markings: note color and what is highlighted

Format annotations as blockquote captions beneath each image in markdown:

![Scene description — annotation summary](path/to/image.png)

> **Annotation transcription**: [Detailed description of visual markup.]
> Handwritten text reads: _"exact transcription here"_
> [Interpretation of what the annotator is requesting.]

Do NOT defer annotation transcription to a second pass. Capture all annotations on the first image examination to avoid redundant re-reads.

Creating Draft Emails

The draft command creates emails in your Gmail Drafts folder for review before sending.

Required options:

• --to - Recipient email address
• --subject - Email subject line
• --body - Email body text

Optional:

• --from - Sender email alias (auto-detected when replying, see Sender Alignment below)
• --reply-to - Message ID to reply to (creates threaded reply with proper headers)
• --json - Output draft details as JSON

MANDATORY Sender Alignment (NON-NEGOTIABLE)

The user has multiple Send As aliases configured in Gmail. The From address MUST match correctly or the recipient sees a reply from the wrong identity.

Rule 1 - Replies (--reply-to is set): The CLI auto-detects the correct sender by reading the original email's To/Cc/Delivered-To headers and matching against the user's Send As aliases. No manual intervention needed. The CLI will print:

From: amonic@gmail.com (auto-detected from original email)

If auto-detection fails (e.g., the email was BCC'd), explicitly pass --from.

Rule 2 - New emails (no --reply-to): When drafting a brand new email (not a reply), you MUST use AskUserQuestion to confirm which sender alias to use BEFORE creating the draft. Never assume the default.

AskUserQuestion({
  questions: [{
    question: "Which email address should this be sent from?",
    header: "Send As",
    options: [
      // Populate from known aliases or let user specify
      { label: "amonic@gmail.com", description: "Personal Gmail" },
      { label: "terry@eonlabs.com", description: "Work email" },
    ],
    multiSelect: false
  }]
})

Then pass the selected address via --from:

$GMAIL_CLI draft --to "recipient@example.com" --from "amonic@gmail.com" --subject "Hello" --body "Message"

Rule 3 - Always verify in output: After draft creation, confirm the From address is shown in the output. If it's missing or wrong, delete the draft and recreate.

MANDATORY Post-Draft Step (NON-NEGOTIABLE)

After EVERY draft creation, you MUST present the user with a direct Gmail link to review the draft. This is critical because drafts should always be visually confirmed before sending.

Always output this after creating a draft:

Draft created! Review it here:
  https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#drafts
From: <sender_address>

Never skip this step. The user must be able to click through to Gmail and visually verify the draft content, sender, recipients, and threading before sending.

Example: Reply to an email (auto-detected sender)

# 1. Find the message to reply to
$GMAIL_CLI search "from:someone@example.com subject:meeting" -n 5 --json

# 2. Create draft reply - From is auto-detected from original email's To header
$GMAIL_CLI draft \
  --to "someone@example.com" \
  --subject "Re: Meeting tomorrow" \
  --body "Thanks for the update. I'll be there at 2pm." \
  --reply-to "19c1e6a97124aed8"

# 3. ALWAYS present the review link + From address to user

Example: New email (must ask user for sender)

# 1. Ask user which alias to send from (AskUserQuestion)
# 2. Create draft with explicit --from
$GMAIL_CLI draft \
  --to "someone@example.com" \
  --from "amonic@gmail.com" \
  --subject "Hello" \
  --body "Message body"

# 3. ALWAYS present the review link + From address to user

Note: After creating drafts, users need to re-authenticate if they previously only had read access. The CLI will prompt for OAuth consent to add the gmail.compose scope.

Gmail Search Syntax

Reference: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7190

Environment Variables

Token Architecture

Storage Layout

~/.claude/tools/gmail-tokens/
├── <uuid>.json                    # OAuth token (access + refresh), refreshed hourly
└── <uuid>.app-credentials.json    # client_id + client_secret (static, cached from 1Password)

• Central location (not in plugin, not in project)
• Organized by 1Password UUID (supports multi-account)
• Created with chmod 600

Auth Flow (1Password is one-time only)

1. First run: 1Password is called to fetch client_id/client_secret → cached to <uuid>.app-credentials.json
2. First run: Browser opens for Google OAuth consent → tokens saved to <uuid>.json
3. All subsequent runs: Reads cached files only — no 1Password call, no browser
4. Hourly refresher (launchd): Keeps access_token alive by calling Google's token endpoint with the cached refresh_token

To force a fresh 1Password lookup (e.g., after rotating OAuth app credentials):

rm ~/.claude/tools/gmail-tokens/<uuid>.app-credentials.json

Diagnosing invalid_grant

Google OAuth "Testing" mode refresh tokens expire after 7 days without a refresh. If the hourly refresher was not running during that window, the refresh_token becomes permanently revoked.

Fix: Delete the expired token file and re-authorize via browser:

# 1. Back up and remove the expired token
mv ~/.claude/tools/gmail-tokens/<uuid>.json ~/.claude/tools/gmail-tokens/<uuid>.json.expired

# 2. Run any gmail command — browser will open for OAuth consent
$GMAIL_CLI list -n 1

# 3. Verify the hourly refresher picks up the new token
~/.claude/automation/gmail-token-refresher/gmail-oauth-token-refresher 2>&1

# 4. Clean up backup
rm ~/.claude/tools/gmail-tokens/<uuid>.json.expired

Multi-Account Token Status

# Check all accounts at once
for f in ~/.claude/tools/gmail-tokens/*.json; do
  [ "$(basename "$f")" = "*.json" ] && continue
  case "$(basename "$f")" in *.app-credentials.json) continue ;; esac
  UUID=$(basename "$f" .json)
  python3 -c "
import json, datetime
t = json.load(open('$f'))
exp = datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp(t.get('expiry_date',0)/1000)
delta = (exp - datetime.datetime.now()).total_seconds()
status = 'VALID' if delta > 0 else 'EXPIRED'
print(f'  {\"$UUID\"}: {status} (expires in {int(delta/60)}m)' if delta > 0 else f'  {\"$UUID\"}: EXPIRED ({int(-delta/3600)}h ago)')
" 2>/dev/null
done

References

• mise-templates.md - Complete mise configuration templates
• mise-setup.md - Step-by-step mise setup guide
• gmail-api-setup.md - Google Cloud OAuth setup guide

Post-Change Checklist

• YAML frontmatter valid (no colons in description)
• Trigger keywords current
• Path patterns use $HOME not hardcoded paths
• References exist and are linked

Post-Execution Reflection

After this skill completes, reflect before closing the task:

0. Locate yourself. — Find this SKILL.md's canonical path before editing.
1. What failed? — Fix the instruction that caused it.
2. What worked better than expected? — Promote to recommended practice.
3. What drifted? — Fix any script, reference, or dependency that no longer matches reality.
4. Log it. — Evolution-log entry with trigger, fix, and evidence.

Do NOT defer. The next invocation inherits whatever you leave behind.