Gmail Clean Inbox

Gmail: Clean & Organize Inbox

When to Activate

User wants inbox zero, wants to clean up, organize, or manage their Gmail inbox.

Step 1: Audit Current State

Use lightweight counting first to avoid large message payloads. GMAIL_LIST_LABELS and GMAIL_GET_UNREAD_COUNT are safe to call directly.

GMAIL_LIST_LABELS()

# Per-label unread + total counts
GMAIL_GET_UNREAD_COUNT(
  label_ids=["INBOX", "CATEGORY_PROMOTIONS", "CATEGORY_UPDATES", "CATEGORY_SOCIAL"]
)

# Inbox unread via query estimate
GMAIL_GET_UNREAD_COUNT(query="is:unread", label_ids=["INBOX"])

Step 2: Identify Cleanup Patterns

Use query-based counting to identify opportunities without fetching full email lists:

GMAIL_GET_UNREAD_COUNT(
  query="category:promotions is:unread",
  label_ids=["INBOX"]
)

GMAIL_GET_UNREAD_COUNT(
  query="from:notifications@github.com is:unread",
  label_ids=["INBOX"]
)

GMAIL_GET_UNREAD_COUNT(
  query="is:unread before:2025/01/01",
  label_ids=["INBOX"]
)

GMAIL_GET_UNREAD_COUNT(
  query="is:unread category:updates",
  label_ids=["INBOX"]
)

If query counting is unavailable in a specific environment, fallback to GMAIL_FETCH_MESSAGES(query="...", fields=["id","threadId"]) (ids only).

Step 3: Present Cleanup Plan

Before acting, present findings and get consent:

Inbox Audit:
  Total in inbox: 847
  Unread: 234

  Cleanup opportunities:
  1. 78 unread promotions → Archive all? (saves 78 emails)
  2. 45 GitHub notifications older than 7 days → Archive? (saves 45)
  3. 32 newsletter emails → Archive + create filter? (saves 32)
  4. 28 old calendar notifications → Trash? (saves 28)
  
  Estimated cleanup: 183 emails (78% of unread)
  
  Which actions should I proceed with? (all/specific numbers)

Step 4: Execute Cleanup

Only after user confirms, batch process:

• Audit labels first: Use GMAIL_LIST_LABELS to find the correct label IDs (especially for custom labels).
• Count first, fetch IDs only for approved actions: After user confirms, call GMAIL_FETCH_MESSAGES(query="...", fields=["id","threadId"]) for each selected cleanup query. It server-side paginates, so one call returns every matching message_id (no next_page_token loop, no silent cap).
• Prefer batch operations: Use GMAIL_BATCH_MODIFY_MESSAGES whenever you are modifying many emails at once (archive, mark read/unread, apply/remove labels). Chunk large operations (up to 1,000 message IDs per call).
• Single-message label changes: Use GMAIL_ADD_LABEL_TO_EMAIL when you only need to adjust one message.
• Thread-wide label changes: Use GMAIL_MODIFY_THREAD_LABELS to label/unlabel an entire thread.
• Delete carefully: Prefer GMAIL_MOVE_TO_TRASH for reversible cleanup; use GMAIL_BATCH_DELETE_MESSAGES only for permanent deletion and only with explicit user confirmation.

Step 5: Summary Report

Inbox Cleanup Complete:
  Before: 847 emails (234 unread)
  After:  664 emails (51 unread)
  
  Actions taken:
  - Archived 78 promotions
  - Archived 45 old GitHub notifications
  - Trashed 28 calendar notifications
  - Labeled 32 newsletters as "newsletters"
  
  Tip: I can help set up Gmail filters to auto-archive these in the future.

Safety Rules

• NEVER delete/trash without explicit user consent
• NEVER touch starred or important emails
• NEVER auto-process emails less than 24h old
• Always present plan first, act second
• Use archive (remove INBOX) over trash when possible
• Report exactly what was done after cleanup