Apple Flow Mail

Apple Flow Mail

Use this skill when Mail work needs a reliable multi-step flow instead of one-off commands.

Scope

• Unread inbox triage
• Search and content retrieval by message_id
• Bulk or targeted mailbox/label moves
• Outbound email send flows
• Mail-specific troubleshooting

Standard Triage Flow

1. List unread messages:

apple-flow tools mail_list_unread --account "<account>" --mailbox "INBOX" --limit 20

2. Inspect specific message content:

apple-flow tools mail_get_content "<message_id>" --account "<account>" --mailbox "INBOX"

3. Move classified items:

apple-flow tools mail_move_to_label --label "<target-mailbox>" --message-id "<message_id>" --account "<account>" --mailbox "INBOX"

4. Send new email when needed:

apple-flow tools mail_send "user@example.com" "Subject" "Body text" --account "<account>"

Search Flow

1. Query by keyword/time window:

apple-flow tools mail_search "<query>" --account "<account>" --mailbox "INBOX" --days 30 --limit 20

2. Pull full body for decision-critical items with mail_get_content.

3. Apply move/send action only after content confirmation.

Message ID Handling Rules

• Treat message_id as authoritative for follow-up commands.
• Never infer message identity from subject alone.
• When batching, pass repeated --message-id flags or use --input-file JSON.

Batch example:

apple-flow tools mail_move_to_label \
  --label "Archive/Newsletters" \
  --message-id "id-1" \
  --message-id "id-2" \
  --account "<account>" \
  --mailbox "INBOX"

Mailbox/Account Targeting Rules

• Always specify --account in multi-account environments.
• Default source mailbox is INBOX; override --mailbox when triaging another source.
• Validate destination labels/mailboxes exist before large batch moves.

Common Failure Patterns

• Empty unread/search results:
  • wrong account or mailbox selected
  • time window too narrow (--days)
• mail_get_content fails:
  • stale or invalid message_id
  • message moved out of current source mailbox
• Move failures:
  • destination label/mailbox name mismatch
  • source mailbox mismatch

Guardrails

• Use read-first sequencing: list/search -> get_content -> move/send.
• For high-impact changes, perform small sample batches first.
• Keep mutating automations behind approval controls in relay workflows.

Done Criteria

• Intended messages were identified by message_id, not guesswork.
• Move/send operations succeeded with explicit account/mailbox context.
• Post-action spot check confirms expected mailbox state.