tomevault-io Apple Mail Skill
This skill enables you to manage Apple Mail on macOS through natural language. Use it whenever the user mentions email, wants to send messages, or needs to read, search, or organize their inbox.
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when the user:
- Wants to check their email or inbox
- Asks to find or search for emails
- Wants to read a specific email message
- Needs to send an email or reply to one
- Wants to create a draft email for review
- Asks to forward an email to someone
- Wants to mark emails as read/unread or flag them
- Asks to delete or move emails
- Mentions Apple Mail, Mail app, inbox, or "my email"
Available Tools
Message Operations
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
list-messages |
List messages in a mailbox (default: INBOX) |
search-messages |
Find messages by sender, subject, or content |
get-message |
Read the full content of a message |
send-email |
Send a new email immediately |
create-draft |
Save an email to Drafts for review |
reply-to-message |
Reply to a message (supports reply-all) |
forward-message |
Forward a message to new recipients |
mark-as-read |
Mark a message as read |
mark-as-unread |
Mark a message as unread |
flag-message |
Flag a message for follow-up |
unflag-message |
Remove flag from a message |
delete-message |
Move a message to Trash |
move-message |
Move a message to a different mailbox |
Mailbox Operations
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
list-mailboxes |
List all mailboxes/folders in an account |
get-unread-count |
Get count of unread messages |
Account Operations
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
list-accounts |
List configured email accounts |
Diagnostics
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
health-check |
Verify Mail.app connectivity |
get-mail-stats |
Get message and unread statistics |
Usage Patterns
Checking Email
When the user wants to see their inbox:
User: "Check my email"
Action: Use list-messages with mailbox="INBOX"
User: "Do I have any unread emails?"
Action: Use get-unread-count, then list-messages if they want details
Finding Emails
When the user wants to find specific emails:
User: "Find emails from Sarah"
Action: Use search-messages with query="Sarah"
User: "Search for emails about the project deadline"
Action: Use search-messages with query="project deadline"
Reading Emails
When the user wants to see email content:
User: "Show me that email from John"
Action: First search-messages to find it, then get-message with the ID
Sending Emails
When the user wants to send an email:
User: "Send an email to bob@example.com about the meeting"
Action: Use send-email with to=["bob@example.com"], appropriate subject and body
User: "Draft an email to the team" (wants to review first)
Action: Use create-draft, then tell user to review in Mail.app
Replying and Forwarding
When the user wants to respond to emails:
User: "Reply to that email"
Action: Use reply-to-message with the message ID and body
User: "Reply all with my thoughts"
Action: Use reply-to-message with replyAll=true
User: "Forward this to my colleague"
Action: Use forward-message with the message ID and recipient
Organizing Email
When the user wants to organize:
User: "Mark that as read"
Action: Use mark-as-read with the message ID
User: "Move these newsletters to Archive"
Action: Use move-message with mailbox="Archive"
User: "Delete that spam"
Action: Use delete-message with the message ID
Important Guidelines
- Message IDs: All message operations require an ID. Get IDs from
list-messagesorsearch-messagesfirst. - Recipient Arrays: The
to,cc, andbccparameters must be arrays, even for single recipients:["email@example.com"] - Default Account: Operations default to the first configured account. Use
accountparameter for others. - Draft vs Send: Use
create-draftwhen the user wants to review before sending. Recommend this for important emails. - Backslash Escaping: When email content contains backslashes, escape them as
\\in the JSON. - macOS Only: This skill only works on macOS systems.
Error Handling
- "Message not found": The message ID may be invalid or the message was deleted. Use search-messages to find it again.
- "Permission denied": User needs to grant automation permission in System Preferences > Privacy & Security > Automation.
- "Account not found": Account names are case-sensitive. Use list-accounts to see exact names.
- "Failed to send": Check network connection and Mail.app configuration.
Examples
Quick inbox check
User: "Any important emails today?"
→ list-messages to see recent messages
→ Summarize senders and subjects for user
Email workflow
User: "Reply to Sarah's email about the budget"
→ 1. search-messages query="Sarah budget"
→ 2. get-message to read content
→ 3. reply-to-message with user's response
Safe sending pattern
User: "Send an email to the client about the delay"
→ 1. create-draft with the composed email
→ 2. Tell user: "I've created a draft. Please review it in Mail.app before sending."
Multi-account usage
User: "Check my work email"
→ 1. list-accounts to find work account name
→ 2. list-messages with account="Work Exchange"
Source: sweetrb/apple-mail-mcp — distributed by TomeVault.