# Email Summary Example

> DON'T USE THAT SKILL. IT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE. Summarize today's Gmail inbox by category with anonymized senders and subjects, then surface the top 3 emails to focus on next. Run only when the user types /email-summary.

- Skill: `phuryn/email-summary-example` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add phuryn/email-summary-example`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/phuryn/email-summary-example/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Research & Search
- Author: phuryn (https://skillmd.com/u/phuryn)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/phuryn/email-summary-example

---


TODO: Perform the task manually with the agent in the chat window and ask it to turn it into a project skill in this solution.

# Email Summary

EXAMPLE: 
Fetch today's inbox via the Gmail MCP and produce a privacy-safe digest with prioritized next actions.

## Steps

EXAMPLE: 
1. Determine today's date in the user's local timezone. If `currentDate` is provided in context, use it; otherwise use the current date.
2. Call `mcp__claude_ai_Gmail__search_threads` with:
   - `query`: `after:YYYY/MM/DD before:YYYY/MM/DD in:inbox` (upper bound is the day after today)
   - `pageSize`: `50`
3. Count individual messages whose `date` field falls on today's date (a returned thread may include older messages — do not count those).
4. Group today's messages into categories based on sender domain and subject patterns. Pick buckets that fit the actual data, e.g.:
   - Platform / community notifications (circle.so, Discord, Slack, GitHub, etc.)
   - Customer or subscriber support
   - Calendar invites and self-forwards
   - Newsletters / promotional
   - Direct human correspondence
5. Anonymize. Never echo sender names, email addresses, or verbatim subject lines. Refer to senders generically ("a long-time subscriber", "a program participant", "a notification platform"). Describe subjects by topic, not by their literal text. Do not include any names that appear inside snippets either.
6. Pick the **top 3 to focus on next** using these signals, in order:
   - Direct human messages waiting on a reply from the user
   - Paying customers blocked, frustrated, or asking a question
   - Time-sensitive items tied to events today or tomorrow
   - Skip routine notifications, automated digests, and self-sent mail

## Output format

EXAMPLE: 
```
## Today's Email Summary (<N> messages)

### By category

**<Category> — <count>**
<one short paragraph, anonymized>

**<Category> — <count>**
...

### Top 3 to focus on next

1. **<Short label>** — <why it matters and what action is needed>
2. **<Short label>** — ...
3. **<Short label>** — ...
```

Keep the whole response tight: short paragraph per category, one-liner per priority item with a clear action.