---
name: inbox-zero-operator
description: "Drive an email inbox to zero through a computer-use or tool-using agent — triage every message into act/delegate/defer/archive with drafts prepared, never a send. Use when asked to get my inbox to zero, triage my email hands-on, process my inbox for me, or run inbox zero. Produces the triage ledger, prepared reply drafts, and an approval-gated action plan the agent then executes read-mostly."
---

# Inbox Zero Operator Skill

The judgment layer for an agent that can actually touch a mailbox. The thinking half (what deserves you, what doesn't) and the acting half (archive, label, draft) are strictly separated: analysis is free, action is gated, and *sending* is never on the menu. (For triage-as-advice without tool access, `email-triage` covers you.)

## What This Skill Produces

- **The triage ledger** — every message classified: 🔴 act (needs you) · 🟡 delegate (draft prepared for someone else to own) · 🔵 defer (snooze with a date and reason) · ⚪ archive (with the one-line why)
- **Prepared drafts** — replies written and saved as drafts, never sent
- **The action plan** — the exact archive/label/snooze operations, shown before any are taken

## Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:
- **Scope** — whole inbox, unread only, or a date range (default: unread, newest 100)
- **The user's role and current priorities** — triage without priorities is sorting, not judgment
- **Standing rules** — senders who always matter, threads to never touch, newsletters policy
- **Delegation targets** — who drafts can be addressed to

## Framework: The Triage Pass

1. **Thread-level, not message-level** — classify conversations; the latest message decides.
2. **Two-minute drafts** — anything answerable in two minutes gets its draft written NOW (saved, unsent), not deferred.
3. **The defer honesty rule** — every defer carries a date and what will be different then; "later" without a trigger is denial.
4. **Archive is the default** — a message must earn the inbox; when in doubt, archive with a label (recoverable, searchable, gone).
5. **Escalation floor** — anything legal, HR-sensitive, or from a name on the standing-rules list is 🔴 regardless of content.

## Output Format

# Inbox Triage: [scope] — [count] threads
| Thread | From | Class | Why (one line) | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
**Drafts prepared:** [n] · **To archive:** [n] · **Deferred:** [n with dates]
**Needs you (the 🔴 list, ranked):** …

## Quality Checks
- [ ] Every thread has a class and a one-line why — no silent skips
- [ ] Every 🟡 has a draft; every 🔵 has a date and trigger
- [ ] The 🔴 list is ranked and short — if everything needs the user, the triage failed
- [ ] The action plan was shown and approved before any mailbox mutation

## Anti-Patterns
- [ ] Do not send anything, ever — drafts are the ceiling of this skill's authority
- [ ] Do not delete — archive with labels; deletion is a human's irreversible call
- [ ] Do not mark-as-read what you didn't triage — cosmetic zero is lying with a mailbox
- [ ] Do not defer without a date — that's the pile with extra steps

## Execution

For computer-use or tool-using agents with mailbox access (Gmail/Outlook APIs or UI). Runtimes without tools deliver the ledger as a document. Rules per [SKILLSPEC.md §5](../../SKILLSPEC.md).

### Preconditions
- The triage ledger above has been produced and **explicitly approved by a human** — line-item vetoes honored.
- Mailbox access is already authenticated; scope (folder/label/date range) is named by the user.
- The action plan (exact archive/label/snooze/draft operations) has been displayed and confirmed.

### Allowed actions
- Archive threads on the approved ⚪ list; apply labels named in the plan.
- Snooze/defer threads on the 🔵 list to their approved dates.
- Create drafts (never send) for the 🟡 and 🔴 lists as written in the ledger.
- Nothing else: **no sending, no deleting, no forwarding, no rule/filter creation, no marking-read of untriaged mail, no touching threads outside the approved scope.**

### Verification
- Re-count: inbox scope now contains only 🔴 threads; archived/snoozed counts match the plan exactly.
- List every draft created (recipient, subject) back to the user.

### Rollback
- Archives are reversible: move the labeled threads back to inbox on request.
- Stop and ask a human if: a thread changed (new message arrived) after approval, any operation fails, or the mailbox state disagrees with the ledger mid-run.

## Example Trigger Phrases

- "Get my inbox to zero."
- "Triage my email hands-on."
- "Process my inbox for me."
- "Run inbox zero."