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# Inbox-Setup — Email Triage Onboarding > **Paired with `inbox-triage`.** This skill writes the 7-file knowledge base at `${WORKSPACE}/Email/` that `inbox-triage` reads on every run. The file contracts (names, sections, fields) MUST match between the two skills exactly. See [`references/kb_file_contract.md`](references/kb_file_contract.md). Run once (or re-run when business/priorities change). Interview the user about their email patterns, business context, reply style, and priorities. Generate the structured knowledge base in `${WORKSPACE}/Email/` that captures everything `inbox-triage` needs to process the inbox effectively. ## Invocation Triggers - "set up my inbox" - "configure inbox triage" - "set up my email system" - "configure email triage" - "build my email knowledge base" - "initialize email management" - "set up inbox triage" - "onboard email triage" ## Conduct Discipline **Do NOT generate all files at once.** Walk through the 8 sections one at a time. Each section commits its file(s) before moving on. Partial completion (e.g., user drops off mid-interview) still produces a usable partial KB. Grill-me discipline applies throughout: - **One question per turn.** Never bundle. Even across section boundaries. - **"Why I'm asking" on every question** — so users can answer well. - **Forcing format where possible.** Multi-choice > open-ended. - **Dependency-ordered.** Q2 depends on Q1; downstream sections depend on upstream. See [`references/grill_me_section_walk.md`](references/grill_me_section_walk.md) for the 8-section discipline detail. ## Knowledge Base Contract — Files To Produce Exactly these files at `${WORKSPACE}/Email/`: | File | Purpose | Required? | |---|---|---| | `email-taxonomy.md` | Classification system + report preferences | **Yes** | | `email-patterns.md` | Reply voice, tone, templates, hard rules | **Yes** | | `evaluation-framework.md` | Decision tree for opportunity emails | Only if user receives pitches/opportunities | | `rate-card.md` | Pricing, terms, negotiation posture | Only if user has pricing | | `blocklist.md` | Auto-skip senders + learned decline patterns | **Yes** (seeded, grows over time) | | `tracker.md` | Active follow-ups, overdue items, deadlines | **Yes** (starts mostly empty) | | `triage-log/` | Directory for per-run logs | **Yes** (created empty) | The contract is identical to what `inbox-triage` expects — see [`references/kb_file_contract.md`](references/kb_file_contract.md) for the full spec. ## Stop Condition (Full Interview) ~25–31 questions total across the 8 sections (depending on skip-logic). Hard ceiling: 35 questions including all sub-clarifications. Section 4 (Evaluation Framework) is skipped entirely when Section 1 surfaced no opportunity-email category, dropping the total by 6 questions and the rate-card file. After Section 8's confirmation + handoff message, intake is closed — **never re-open it**. To change preferences later, the user re-runs the skill (which detects existing files and asks per-file: replace / merge / skip). The grill-me one-at-a-time rule applies across section boundaries: do NOT batch questions even when moving from S{n} to S{n+1}. ## Section 1: The Big Picture Six grill-me questions, one at a time: - **S1.Q1:** "What do you do? Give me your role and business in 1–2 sentences. *Why I'm asking:* Context shapes what email patterns to expect — a solo creator's inbox looks nothing like an enterprise PM's." - **S1.Q2:** "What dominates your inbox? Pick the top 1–2: sales pitches / client work / internal team / newsletters / customer support / financial / other. *Why I'm asking:* Dominant categories drive the taxonomy." - **S1.Q3:** "Rough volume split — e.g., '60% business inquiries, 20% ops, 20% noise'. *Why I'm asking:* The split tells me where to focus triage effort." - **S1.Q4:** "Which email address(es) should triage cover? *Why I'm asking:* If multiple, I'll set up per-address taxonomies." - **S1.Q5:** "Run frequency: once daily / 2x daily / 3x daily / on-demand only? *Why I'm asking:* Drives the default search window in triage (9h overlap for 2x/day)." - **S1.Q6:** "Anyone helping manage email — assistant, VA, team — or solo? *Why I'm asking:* Persona handling differs for delegated inboxes." **Action:** Build mental model. Do NOT write files yet. Note whether opportunity emails are a category (drives S4 skip-logic). ## Section 2: Email Categories Propose 5–7 categories based on Section 1 — pre-recommend a subset, not the whole template menu: - New Opportunities - Active Conversations - Action Required - Financial - Important/Personal - Informational - Ignore/Low Priority Then three forcing questions, one at a time: - **S2.Q1:** "Here's my proposed taxonomy: [list]. Does this match your inbox reality — yes / mostly / no? *Why I'm asking:* If 'no', I need to redo the taxonomy before any other section makes sense." - **S2.Q2:** "Missing categories? List them. (Skip if none.) *Why I'm asking:* Missing categories produce uncategorized emails downstream, which hurts triage quality." - **S2.Q3:** "Which category takes the MOST time per email? *Why I'm asking:* That's where draft-reply effort needs to focus most." **Action:** Generate `email-taxonomy.md` with categories, signals (for each: trigger phrases / sender patterns / subject markers), and default actions per category. ## Section 3: Reply Style & Voice Six grill-me questions plus the critical sample request: - **S3.Q1:** "Register: formal / casual / in-between? *Why I'm asking:* Calibrates default voice; we'll refine from samples next." - **S3.Q2:** "Three communication pet peeves — phrases you hate, openings you avoid. *Why I'm asking:* I treat these as forbidden tokens in drafts." - **S3.Q3:** "Phrases or sign-offs you always use — list as many as come to mind. *Why I'm asking:* These are your voice fingerprints." - **S3.Q4:** "Different persona for different contexts — e.g., assistant replies as you? *Why I'm asking:* Persona context changes pronoun + signature handling." - **S3.Q5:** "Typical reply length — one-liner / short paragraph / longer? *Why I'm asking:* Length is the easiest voice signal to get wrong." - **S3.Q6:** "Hard rules — never X / always Y? (E.g., never emojis, always reply within 24h, never take calls without context.) *Why I'm asking:* Hard rules are enforced as non-negotiable in every draft." ### S3.SAMPLES (the critical highest-quality input) > **Paste 3–5 real sent emails from your inbox.** > > *Why I'm asking:* Self-description of voice is unreliable. Real samples are the best signal — I'll analyze them for voice patterns that supplement everything above. Use `scripts/voice_sample_analyzer.py` to extract patterns deterministically. If user runs a business: also ask about media kits, rate sheets, standard pitches, repeated replies. **Action:** Generate `email-patterns.md` with tone description (with do/don't examples), persona rules, templates, signatures, hard rules. See [`references/voice_calibration.md`](references/voice_calibration.md) for the sample-extraction discipline. ## Section 4: Evaluation Framework (Conditional) **Skip-logic:** only run this section if Section 1 surfaced opportunity emails as a meaningful inbox category. Otherwise jump straight to Section 5. Six grill-me questions, one at a time: - **S4.Q1:** "First thing you check when pitched something — give me your gut filter. *Why I'm asking:* That's the top of the decision tree." - **S4.Q2:** "Three instant deal-breakers — things that make you decline immediately. *Why I'm asking:* These become PASS-auto signals." - **S4.Q3:** "Three things that make you immediately interested. *Why I'm asking:* These become TAKE-IT signals." - **S4.Q4:** "Standard pricing / terms — or 'no fixed pricing' if you negotiate every time. *Why I'm asking:* If you have a rate card, I'll generate one; if not, I'll skip." - **S4.Q5:** "Negotiation posture: firm / flexible / depends on context? *Why I'm asking:* Drives draft tone on counter-offers." - **S4.Q6:** "VIP senders or organizations that always get engagement — list names or domains. *Why I'm asking:* VIP list bypasses normal PASS filters." **Action:** Generate `evaluation-framework.md` (decision tree + recommendation categories + VIP list) AND `rate-card.md` if pricing exists. ## Section 5: Blocklist & Patterns Three grill-me questions, one at a time: - **S5.Q1:** "Senders or domains to always skip — list them. (Skip if none.) *Why I'm asking:* Auto-blocklist saves the most time per run." - **S5.Q2:** "Patterns in emails you always delete — e.g., 'unsubscribe' links from specific marketers, recruiter cold outreach, newsletters? *Why I'm asking:* Patterns let triage auto-skip variants without exact-match maintenance." - **S5.Q3:** "Specific companies / recruiters / newsletters wasting time — list any. *Why I'm asking:* These seed the blocklist; triage will add more as you override decisions." **Action:** Generate `blocklist.md` (auto-maintained by triage thereafter). ## Section 6: Current State Three grill-me questions, one at a time: - **S6.Q1:** "Active threads you're tracking — list with one-line context each. (Skip if none.) *Why I'm asking:* These become tracker entries so triage knows existing context." - **S6.Q2:** "Overdue replies — anything you should have responded to but haven't? *Why I'm asking:* Triage flags these as priority every run until resolved." - **S6.Q3:** "Time-sensitive items with deadlines — list with dates. *Why I'm asking:* Tracker enforces deadlines and surfaces them as overdue at the right time." **Action:** Generate `tracker.md` with active follow-ups table, overdue section, resolved section (empty), update log (empty). Also create empty `triage-log/` directory. ## Section 7: Report Preferences Three grill-me questions, one at a time: - **S7.Q1:** "Delivery format — pick one: email draft to self / file in workspace / chat summary only. *Why I'm asking:* The triage report goes here every run." - **S7.Q2:** "Detail level — pick one: 30-second scan / detailed breakdown / both (scan first, expand on request). *Why I'm asking:* Affects report length." - **S7.Q3:** "Anything always shown first — e.g., overdue payments, VIP messages? *Why I'm asking:* Custom 'top-of-report' rules surface what you care about above standard sections." **Action:** Save these preferences into `email-taxonomy.md` under a "Report Preferences" section. ## Section 8: Confirmation & Handoff List every file created with one-sentence summary. Then: > Your triage system is ready. Run the **inbox-triage** skill to process your inbox. First runs need oversight — system learns from your edits and overrides. Remind: re-run this setup anytime business/pricing/priorities change. Run `scripts/kb_validator.py --workspace ${WORKSPACE}` to confirm the 7-file contract is satisfied before final handoff. ## Privacy Boundary **Never persist passwords, full account numbers, SSNs, or other sensitive credentials in knowledge base files.** If the user volunteers such info during the interview, acknowledge it but don't store it; the relevant KB file gets `[stored separately by user]` in its place. ## Re-Run Behavior Re-running on an existing setup: 1. Detect `${WORKSPACE}/Email/` 2. For each existing file, ask per-file: **replace / merge / skip** 3. Walk only the sections whose files the user chose to update 4. Skip sections whose files the user kept ## Error Handling | Situation | Behavior | |---|---| | Workspace inaccessible | Stop. Tell user where files would go and ask for permission/path | | User refuses to share samples | Use self-description; flag in patterns file that calibration may need iteration | | User says "skip this" mid-interview | Honor it; flag the gap in the file as `[needs follow-up]` | | Sensitive info volunteered | Acknowledge but don't persist; note in file as `[stored separately by user]` | | Re-run on existing setup | Detect existing files; ask user per-file: replace, merge, skip | | User has no pricing / opportunities | Skip Section 4 entirely; don't create empty files | ## Portability - **Claude Code CLI:** Native — writes markdown files directly to filesystem. - **Claude.ai web:** Works with project files / artifacts. Document the alternate path: generate files as artifacts, instruct user to save to their workspace, or use connected file system if available. ## Tooling | Script | Role | |---|---| | `scripts/kb_validator.py` | Validates the 7-file KB output (required files present, conditional files only if their sections ran, headers + structure correct). | | `scripts/section_progress_tracker.py` | JSON-backed walk state at `~/.inbox_setup_sessions/<session>.json`. Tracks active section, answered questions, committed files. | | `scripts/voice_sample_analyzer.py` | Extracts voice patterns from pasted sent-email samples — opening phrases, sign-offs, length distribution, register markers. | ## References - [`references/kb_file_contract.md`](references/kb_file_contract.md) — the canonical 7-file contract (write perspective; mirror lives in `inbox-triage/references/`) - [`references/grill_me_section_walk.md`](references/grill_me_section_walk.md) — 8-section discipline, skip-logic, commit-per-section - [`references/voice_calibration.md`](references/voice_calibration.md) — sample-based voice extraction theory + anti-patterns ## Anti-Patterns To Reject - Generating all files at once instead of walking through sections - Asking all questions in one batch - Hardcoded provider references (Gmail-only thinking) - Persisting sensitive credentials in knowledge base - Skipping the "why this question matters" explanation - Skipping the sample-emails ask for voice (it's the highest-quality input) - Overwriting existing files without consent on re-run - Forcing creation of `rate-card.md` or `evaluation-framework.md` when they don't apply --- **Version:** 1.0.0 **Source spec:** [`megaprompts/06-inbox-setup-megaprompt.md`](../../../../megaprompts/06-inbox-setup-megaprompt.md) **Build pattern:** Path B (direct conversion). Paired with `inbox-triage`.