use-cases/manage-your-inbox.md +82 −0 added
1---
2name: Manage your inbox
3tagline: Have Codex find the emails that matter and write the replies in your voice.
4summary: Use Codex with Gmail to find emails that need attention, draft
5 responses in your voice, pull context from the tools where your work happens,
6 and keep watching for new replies on a schedule.
7skills:
8 - token: gmail
9 url: https://github.com/openai/plugins/tree/main/plugins/gmail
10 description: Search and triage Gmail threads, read the surrounding conversation,
11 create reply drafts, and organize messages when you explicitly ask.
12 - token: slack
13 url: https://github.com/openai/plugins/tree/main/plugins/slack
14 description: Check team-message context when an email needs the latest decision,
15 owner, asset, or blocker.
16 - token: google-drive
17 url: https://github.com/openai/plugins/tree/main/plugins/google-drive
18 description: Read source docs, FAQs, notes, or approved writing examples that
19 should shape the draft.
20bestFor:
21 - People who want Codex to find emails that need attention instead of manually
22 sorting them.
23 - Recurring inbox checks where Codex can create reviewable drafts in the
24 background.
25starterPrompt:
26 title: Check Gmail and Draft Replies
27 body: >-
28 Can you check my @gmail, figure out what I need to respond to, and write
29 drafts in my voice.
30
31
32 Use my recent sent replies or @google-drive [writing examples] for tone.
33
34
35 Use @slack, @google-drive, or other sources where my work happens when the
36 email is missing the latest decision, owner, file, or blocker.
37 suggestedEffort: low
38relatedLinks:
39 - label: Codex plugins
40 url: /codex/plugins
41 - label: Codex automations
42 url: /codex/app/automations
43---
44
45## Review your inbox
46
47Ask Codex to check Gmail, find the messages that deserve a reply, and write drafts in your voice. It can use recent sent mail or approved writing examples for style, then search Slack, docs, project notes, or other tools when the email lacks context on its own.
48
49Use Codex for the first pass over your inbox: find the emails that need your attention, draft the replies, and bring in the work context that explains the bigger picture.
50
51
52
531. Ask Codex to review Gmail for emails that need your attention.
542. Ask it to use Slack, docs, or project notes for context that explains the bigger picture.
553. Tell Codex which drafts were useful and which emails it should ignore next time.
564. Add an automation when the thread is useful, and pin it if you want fast access later.
57
58
59
60Use the Gmail plugin directly. You can give Codex a broad inbox request, a time window, or a label if you already know the scope. If tone matters, ask Codex to look at recent sent replies or a doc with examples before drafting.
61
62Use the starter prompt on this page for the first inbox pass. Codex should return a short queue: drafts for emails that need attention, messages that can wait, and the context it used when the answer depended on more than the email thread.
63
64## Let the thread learn your taste
65
66Treat the first pass like calibration. If Codex drafts too many replies, tell it which emails were noise. If it misses something important, tell it why that thread mattered. If the tone is off, correct the draft directly.
67
68Over time, the thread should get better at deciding what needs a draft and what can stay out of your way.
69
70## Automate email triage on a schedule
71
72You can create automations to run a scheduled check-in on the same thread. Codex wakes up, checks Gmail and the context sources you named, and posts only when there are emails that need your attention or drafts worth reviewing.
73
74Once the drafts look useful, ask Codex to keep an eye on Gmail. Email triage is a good job to automate: the drafts are reviewable, and you still decide what gets sent.
75
76Use this with Codex [automations](https://developers.openai.com/codex/app/automations) after the thread has a good sense of your reply patterns. If Codex finds an email that needs a decision it cannot make, it should flag the question instead of guessing.
77
78## Organize your inbox
79
80The Gmail plugin can also help organize your inbox. Keep that as a separate command after you trust the triage.
81
82For deletion, make the instruction explicit and narrow. Drafting replies is safe to automate for review; destructive cleanup should stay deliberate.