---
name: pp-thunderbird
description: "Search, read and audit the mail Thunderbird already downloaded — offline, read-only, no credentials. Trigger phrases: `search my thunderbird mail`, `what emails need a reply`, `find the email from`, `who do I email most`, `use thunderbird-pp-cli`."
author: "Edoardo Manco"
license: "Apache-2.0"
argument-hint: "<command> [args] | install cli|mcp"
allowed-tools: "Read Bash"
metadata:
  openclaw:
    requires:
      bins:
        - thunderbird-pp-cli
    install:
      - kind: go
        bins: [thunderbird-pp-cli]
        module: github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/productivity/thunderbird/cmd/thunderbird-pp-cli
---
<!-- GENERATED FILE — DO NOT EDIT.
     This file is a verbatim mirror of library/productivity/thunderbird/SKILL.md,
     regenerated post-merge by tools/generate-skills/. Hand-edits here are
     silently overwritten on the next regen. Edit the library/ source instead.
     See the repository agent guide, section "Generated artifacts: registry.json, cli-skills/". -->

# Thunderbird — Printing Press CLI

## Prerequisites: Install the CLI

This skill drives the `thunderbird-pp-cli` binary. **You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill.** If it is missing, install it first:

1. Install via the Printing Press installer. It defaults binaries to `$HOME/.local/bin` on macOS/Linux and `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PrintingPress\bin` on Windows:
   ```bash
   npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install thunderbird --cli-only
   ```
2. Verify: `thunderbird-pp-cli --version`
3. Ensure the reported install directory is on `$PATH` for the agent/runtime that will invoke this skill.

If the `npx` install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.26.6 or newer). This installs into `$GOPATH/bin` (default `$HOME/go/bin`), so add that directory to `$PATH` instead:

```bash
go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/productivity/thunderbird/cmd/thunderbird-pp-cli@latest
```

If `--version` reports "command not found" after install, the runtime cannot see the binary directory on `$PATH`. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds.

Indexes your Thunderbird profile (mbox stores, address book, filters) into a local full-text store you can query while Thunderbird is running. Adds what no other Thunderbird tool has: awaiting-reply, correspondent ranking, filters audit and bulk-mail triage.

## When to Use This CLI

Use this CLI when an agent needs to find, read, summarize or triage the user's email that Thunderbird has stored locally, without IMAP credentials. It is safe to run while Thunderbird is open and never modifies the profile. Run `sync` first (and again to pick up new mail): search and the audit commands read the local store, which only holds folders Thunderbird keeps for offline use.

The default profile is auto-detected; select another with `--profile` or `THUNDERBIRD_PROFILE`, and point at a non-standard Thunderbird directory (the one holding profiles.ini) with `THUNDERBIRD_ROOT`. `THUNDERBIRD_HOME` is unrelated: it relocates the CLI's own config and data.

"Sent by me" (awaiting-reply, contacts top) means a message stored in a sent folder: the identities' Sent folder from prefs.js (`fcc_folder`) or a folder named Sent, Sent Items, Sent Messages, Posta inviata, Inviati, Gesendet, Envoyés or Enviados. Mail from your own address sitting in the Inbox (notifications, notes to self) counts as neither sent nor received.

## Anti-triggers

Do not use this CLI for:
- Sending, moving, flagging or deleting mail — drafts open prefilled in Thunderbird and you press Send yourself
- Mail in folders Thunderbird has not synced for offline use
- Webmail-only accounts not configured in Thunderbird

## Unique Capabilities

These capabilities aren't available in any other tool for this API.

### Inbox intelligence
- **`drafts new --attach`** — Open a Thunderbird compose window with local files already attached, from the terminal or from an MCP agent (agents are limited to files inside Documents).
  Add `--html` for an HTML body that keeps the identity's signature, and `--body-file <path>` to read the body from a file (via MCP, files inside Documents only).

  _Use it when the user wants a mail prepared with a document attached, ready to review and send themselves._

  ```bash
  thunderbird-pp-cli drafts new --to alice@example.com --attach ~/Documents/report.pdf --open
  ```
- **`awaiting-reply`** — See every thread where someone is waiting on your answer, across all accounts, oldest first.

  _Reach for this when asked what mail still needs a reply instead of scanning recent messages._

  ```bash
  thunderbird-pp-cli awaiting-reply --since 14d --agent
  ```
- **`contacts top`** — Rank the people you exchange mail with by volume and recency, and spot frequent ones missing from your address book.

  _Use it to answer who someone is to the user and when they last talked._

  ```bash
  thunderbird-pp-cli contacts top --since 180d --agent
  ```

### Mailbox hygiene
- **`filters audit`** — Check every message filter: how often it matches, whether it is disabled, and whether its target folder still exists.

  _Use it when mail lands in the wrong folder or to clean up dead filter rules._

  ```bash
  thunderbird-pp-cli filters audit --since 90d --agent
  ```
- **`largest`** — Find the biggest messages or attachments across all accounts and folders.

  _Use it to free disk or mailbox quota._

  ```bash
  thunderbird-pp-cli largest --attachments --limit 20 --agent
  ```
- **`newsletters`** — List mailing lists and bulk senders by volume and how much of their mail you never read.

  _Use it to pick unsubscribe candidates._

  ```bash
  thunderbird-pp-cli newsletters --since 90d --min 3 --agent
  ```

## Command Reference

**accounts** — Accounts and identities configured in Thunderbird

- `thunderbird-pp-cli accounts` — List accounts and identities from prefs.js

**attachments** — Attachments of a message

- `thunderbird-pp-cli attachments list` — List the attachments of a message (index, filename, type, decoded size); inline signature logos and `cid:` images are hidden unless `--include-inline`
- `thunderbird-pp-cli attachments save` — Decode and save a message's attachments into a directory (`--output <dir>`); without `--index` inline parts are skipped unless `--include-inline`, `--index N` saves any part by its original index

**calendar** — Local Thunderbird calendar

- `thunderbird-pp-cli calendar events` — List calendar events in a time window, earliest first

**contacts** — Address book contacts

- `thunderbird-pp-cli contacts search` — Find contacts whose name or email contains the query (case-insensitive)
- `thunderbird-pp-cli contacts show` — Show one contact by card id or email address
- `thunderbird-pp-cli contacts top` — Rank correspondents by volume and recency

**drafts** — Prepare messages in a Thunderbird compose window (never sends)

- `thunderbird-pp-cli drafts new` — Print the compose fields for a new message; `--open` opens the compose window
- `thunderbird-pp-cli drafts reply` — Prepare a reply (or `--all` reply-all) with the original quoted; `--open` opens the compose window

**filters** — Message filter rules

- `thunderbird-pp-cli filters list` — List filter rules with action, target folder and condition summary
- `thunderbird-pp-cli filters audit` — Hits, disabled rules and missing target folders per filter

**folders** — Mail folders across all accounts

- `thunderbird-pp-cli folders` — List folders with total, unread, size and offline status

**messages** — Messages indexed from the Thunderbird profile's mbox stores

- `thunderbird-pp-cli messages show` — Show one message with headers, flags, text body and attachments (`get` is an alias); `--no-quotes` keeps only the new text of the body, `--include-inline` also lists inline parts
- `thunderbird-pp-cli messages list` — List indexed messages, newest first
- `thunderbird-pp-cli messages auth` — Show SPF, DKIM and DMARC verdicts of a message
- `thunderbird-pp-cli messages export` — Export messages as the original .eml or as JSON

**threads** — Conversations across folders

- `thunderbird-pp-cli threads show` — Show every message of a thread in chronological order with direction in/out; `--last N` keeps the N most recent, every row carries `total_messages`

**Store and profile**

- `thunderbird-pp-cli sync` — Index the local Thunderbird profile into the offline SQLite store
- `thunderbird-pp-cli search` — Full-text search of the synced store
- `thunderbird-pp-cli stats` — Show per-account totals: messages, unread, flagged, folders, last message date
- `thunderbird-pp-cli profiles` — List Thunderbird profiles from profiles.ini and which one is selected
- `thunderbird-pp-cli doctor` — Check the Thunderbird profile, its accounts and folders, and the local store


### Finding the right command

When you know what you want to do but not which command does it, ask the CLI directly:

```bash
thunderbird-pp-cli which "<capability in your own words>"
```

`which` resolves a natural-language capability query to the best matching command from this CLI's curated feature index. Exit code `0` means at least one match; exit code `2` means no confident match — fall back to `--help` or use a narrower query. `--json` (and other machine formats) keep that exit-2 contract and write `{"matches":[]}` on stdout so agents can inspect the envelope without treating a miss as success.

## Recipes

### Find and read a mail

```bash
thunderbird-pp-cli search "contratto" --agent --select id,subject,from_addr,date
```

Narrow search results to the fields an agent needs, then open one with messages show.

### Read a long conversation cheaply

```bash
thunderbird-pp-cli threads show 3f9a1c2b7d4e --last 5 --agent --select id,date,direction,from_addr,total_messages
thunderbird-pp-cli messages show 3f9a1c2b7d4e --no-quotes --agent
```

Take only the latest messages of the thread, then read each without the quoted history. Inline signature images are already left out of attachment lists; on a store built by an older version, the next `sync` re-parses every folder once to compute the inline flag and mark quoted HTML history with `>`.

### Who owes whom

```bash
thunderbird-pp-cli awaiting-reply --since 7d --agent
```

Threads where the last message is inbound and you have not replied.

### Unsubscribe candidates

```bash
thunderbird-pp-cli newsletters --since 90d --agent
```

Bulk senders ranked by volume and unread share.

### Draft a reply without sending

```bash
thunderbird-pp-cli drafts reply "3f9a1c2e7b40" --body "Thanks, confirmed." --agent
```

Prints the prefilled reply fields and the thunderbird -compose command line; add --open to open the compose window. Nothing is ever sent.

### Draft a new mail with an attachment

```bash
thunderbird-pp-cli drafts new --to alice@example.com --subject "Report" --attach ~/Documents/report.pdf --open
```

Opens the compose window with the file attached; nothing is sent. Through MCP the `attach` parameter takes a comma-separated list and only accepts files inside the user's Documents folder (symlinks and junctions are resolved first); from the terminal any readable file works.

### Draft a formatted mail (HTML body, signature)

```bash
thunderbird-pp-cli drafts new --to alice@example.com --subject "Offer" --body-file ~/Documents/offer.html --html --open
```

`--html` treats the body as HTML (bold text and the like) and keeps the sending identity's HTML signature, including its image. `--body-file` reads the body from a file instead of `--body`. Through MCP both are the `body-file` and `html` parameters, and `body-file` only accepts files inside the user's Documents folder; from the terminal any readable file works.

## Auth Setup

No authentication. The CLI reads your local Thunderbird profile read-only and never touches passwords, key4.db or logins.json. It auto-detects the default profile; override with --profile or THUNDERBIRD_PROFILE.

Run `thunderbird-pp-cli doctor` to verify setup.

## Agent Mode

Add `--agent` to any command. Expands to: `--json --compact --no-input --no-color`.

Global format flags share one contract on promoted, novel, sync, and `--deliver` paths:

- `--json` — one JSON document on stdout (sync progress events go to stderr)
- `--compact` — keep identity/status/timestamp fields; does not change the document vs stream shape
- `--csv` / `--plain` — tabular rows (collection envelopes unwrap to the row array)
- `--quiet` — one identity value per row, no envelope

- **Pipeable** — JSON on stdout, errors on stderr
- **Filterable** — `--select` keeps a subset of fields. Dotted paths descend into nested structures; arrays traverse element-wise. Critical for keeping context small on verbose APIs:

  ```bash
  thunderbird-pp-cli accounts --agent --select id,name,identity_emails
  ```
- **Previewable** — `--dry-run` reports what a command would do without running it
- **Offline** — reads only the local Thunderbird profile and the CLI's SQLite store; no network or mail server access
- **Non-interactive** — never prompts, every input is a flag
- **Read-only** — do not use this CLI for create, update, delete, publish, comment, upvote, invite, order, send, or other mutating requests

### Response envelope

Commands that read from the local store or the API wrap output in a provenance envelope:

```json
{
  "meta": {"source": "live" | "local", "synced_at": "...", "reason": "..."},
  "results": <data>
}
```

Parse `.results` for data and `.meta.source` to know whether it's live or local. A human-readable `N results (live)` summary is printed to stderr only when stdout is a terminal AND no machine-format flag (`--json`, `--csv`, `--compact`, `--quiet`, `--plain`, `--select`) is set — piped/agent consumers and explicit-format runs get pure JSON on stdout.

## Paths and state

Agents should treat the CLI's path resolver as part of the runtime contract:

- Use `--home <dir>` for one invocation, or set `THUNDERBIRD_HOME=<dir>` to relocate all four path kinds under one root.
- Use per-kind env vars only when a specific kind must diverge: `THUNDERBIRD_CONFIG_DIR`, `THUNDERBIRD_DATA_DIR`, `THUNDERBIRD_STATE_DIR`, `THUNDERBIRD_CACHE_DIR`.
- Resolution order is per-kind env var, `--home`, `THUNDERBIRD_HOME`, XDG (`XDG_CONFIG_HOME`, `XDG_DATA_HOME`, `XDG_STATE_HOME`, `XDG_CACHE_HOME`), then platform defaults.
- `config` contains settings like `config.toml` and saved run profiles. `data` contains one mail index per Thunderbird profile at `profiles/<profile hash>/data.db` (`doctor` prints `store_path`; syncing another profile never touches it), `feedback.jsonl` and `.eml` files written by `drafts --open`. `state` contains persisted queries, jobs, and `teach.log`. `cache` contains regenerable cache files. No credentials are stored.
- Run `thunderbird-pp-cli doctor --fail-on warn` to surface path warnings. `agent-context` exposes a schema v4 `paths` block for agents that need the resolved dirs.
- For MCP, pass relocation through the MCP host config. The MCP binary does not inherit CLI flags:

  ```json
  {
    "mcpServers": {
      "thunderbird": {
        "command": "thunderbird-pp-mcp",
        "env": {
          "THUNDERBIRD_HOME": "/srv/thunderbird"
        }
      }
    }
  }
  ```

Fleet precedence: an inherited per-kind env var overrides an explicit `--home` for that kind. Use `THUNDERBIRD_HOME` or per-kind vars as durable fleet levers, and use `--home` only for a single invocation. Relocation is not reversible by unsetting env vars; move files manually before clearing `THUNDERBIRD_HOME`, or `doctor` will not find the store left under the former root.

## Automatic learning

This CLI ships a self-capturing learning loop. The CLI does its own bookkeeping: every invocation is journaled locally, a failed flag followed by a corrected retry auto-derives a `flag_alias` candidate, and a `teach` on a query family without a playbook auto-synthesizes a `playbook_candidate` from the session's journal. Your job is judgment only: `recall` first, act on surfaced candidates, `teach` the final answer, `playbook amend` when you observe a correction. You never record failures by hand.

### Step 1: `recall` before any discovery

Before list/search/drill commands on a new user question, pass the question as an argv or MCP tool argument to `recall --agent`. Do not interpolate user-controlled text into a shell command line.

Quoted `recall "<question>"` breaks on an apostrophe, which is ordinary English. A quoted heredoc breaks when a body line equals the delimiter, and that delimiter is published in these docs. Write the question with a non-shell file-writing tool, then read it back as data:

```bash
# Write the question verbatim with your file-writing tool (no shell involved).
# Command substitution on a file only ever yields data — the shell never
# parses the file's bytes as syntax.
QUERY=$(cat /path/to/question.txt)
thunderbird-pp-cli recall "$QUERY" --agent
```

Prefer MCP: pass the question as the tool's query argument. `"$QUERY"` after a file read is argv-safe; putting the question itself in the command text is not.

The response envelope:

```json
{
  "query": "...",
  "normalized": "<normalized form>",
  "query_entities": ["..."],
  "found": true | false,
  "match_score": 0.0,
  "results": [
    { "resource_id": "...", "resource_type": "...", "venue": "...",
      "confidence": 2, "entity_match": "exact|partial|unknown",
      "source": "taught|preseed|pattern", "warnings": ["..."] }
  ],
  "mismatches": [ /* only when --debug-mismatches */ ],
  "warnings": [ /* top-level */ ],
  "candidates": [
    { "id": 12, "class": "flag_alias | playbook_candidate",
      "summary": "...", "sightings": 3, "last_seen": "...",
      "rationale": "...",
      "next_action": ["<trial command>", "thunderbird-pp-cli learnings confirm 12"] }
  ],
  "playbook": {
    "query_family": "...",
    "playbook": {
      "steps": [ { "cmd": "<command with {slot} substitution>", "purpose": "..." } ],
      "entity_slots": ["$ENTITY"],
      "expected_tool_calls": 3
    },
    "slots_resolved": { "$ENTITY": { "token": "<live token>", "canonical": "<canonical>" } },
    "notes": "<workarounds + gotchas for this query family>"
  },
  "notes": "<duplicate surface for non-playbook callers>"
}
```

Empty-store short-circuit: if the store has no learnings, playbooks, or candidates yet (recall finds nothing and `learnings list` and `learnings candidates` are both empty), skip recall for the rest of this session instead of taxing every query; resume recall-first once something has been taught.

### Step 2: decision tree

Read `candidates`, `playbook`, `notes`, `results[0]`, and warnings in that order:

```
if Candidates present (warnings include "candidates_present"):
    -> candidates are try-then-confirm, never facts. Follow each candidate's
       two-step next_action verbatim: run the trial command first, then run
       `learnings confirm <id>` only after the trial verified the behavior.
       Reject a wrong candidate with `learnings reject <id>`.
    -> NEVER re-teach something recall surfaced as a candidate; confirm or
       reject that candidate instead of teaching a duplicate.
    -> candidates ride alongside playbooks and resource hits, not instead of
       them; continue with the branches below after acting on them.

if Playbook present:
    -> READ Playbook.notes verbatim FIRST (workarounds + gotchas the CLI surface doesn't expose)
    -> replay Playbook.steps in order, substituting Playbook.slots_resolved entries
       for the entity slot tokens. If a step's slot is unresolved, fall back to
       discovery for that step only.
    -> the Playbook's expected_tool_calls is a budget; if you find yourself running
       materially more, record the divergence via `thunderbird-pp-cli playbook amend`
       at end-of-session.

elif Notes present (no Playbook):
    -> read Notes verbatim before any discovery step; they carry known gotchas
       for this query family even when no structured choreography exists yet.

elif Found AND Results[0].EntityMatch == "exact" AND Results[0].Confidence >= 2:
    -> skip discovery; fetch live data for Results[*].ResourceID in parallel

elif Found AND Results[0].EntityMatch == "partial":
    -> candidate hint, NOT a hit; read the resource title to validate before trusting

elif (any row in Mismatches[] when --debug-mismatches was passed):
    -> treat as cold start; the stored learning is for a different entity
       (different canonical resolved from query_entities)

else:  // Found == false, no playbook, no notes
    -> cold start; run discovery normally; teach the answer afterward (Step 4).
       If the family has no playbook yet, that teach auto-synthesizes a
       playbook candidate from this session's journal - you do not need to
       record one by hand.
```

Playbook and Notes are orthogonal to the per-resource path. A recall response can carry both a Playbook AND a `Results[]` hit - use both: the Playbook tells you which choreography to run; the resource hits short-circuit specific steps. Default to skipping `mismatches`; pass `--debug-mismatches` only when investigating cold-start surprises.

Candidate judgment details: `learnings confirm <id>` prints the candidate's full payload before materializing it - check that the printed payload matches the behavior you verified. `learnings reject <id>` tombstones the derivation signature so the same candidate does not resurface. The envelope carries only the few candidates worth acting on now; `thunderbird-pp-cli learnings candidates` lists the full open set.

Graceful degradation: if `learnings confirm` is an unknown command, you are driving an older binary - ignore the candidates guidance and follow the rest of the protocol.

### Step 3: always read `warnings`

- `low_confidence`: row exists at `confidence<2`. Treat as a hint, not a skip-discovery hit.
- `resource_not_in_store`: the local store doesn't have the resource the learning points at. The match validator couldn't classify entities — direct-fetch and re-evaluate.
- `cross_alias_match` (per-result): the row was taught under a different alias and matched the live query's canonical via `entity_lookups` (e.g., a "USA" teach satisfying a "United States" recall). Trust the resource_id.
- `similar_shape_different_entity:<canonical>` (top-level): a structurally matching row exists but its canonical entity differs from the live query's. Treated as cold start; the warning carries the conflicting canonical as a hint, but the row is NOT promoted into Results.
- `ambiguous_alias` (top-level): a single query entity resolved to multiple canonicals (e.g., "Cards" → Arizona Cardinals + St. Louis Cardinals). Surface the ambiguity from context before committing to a resource.
- `candidates_present` (top-level): the envelope carries a `candidates` section. Handle it via the candidates branch in Step 2 before anything else.
- `lookup_refresh_available` (top-level): an entity in the query has no lookup row yet, but synced data could provide one. Run `thunderbird-pp-cli sync` to refresh entity lookups.
- Top-level `no_learnings_for_query_family`: the table had no rows above the Jaccard floor. Pure cold start.

### Step 4: `teach &` after finalizing your response - always

Teaching is unconditional. After resolving a query the store could not answer, background-teach the final resource mapping - no call-count threshold, no judging whether it was "worth" learning. The teach is the anchor of the loop: it triggers playbook synthesis for a family without a playbook, and same-referent phrasings fold into one family so near-duplicate teaches do not fragment the store. Fire it after assembling your user-facing response but BEFORE emitting it, with a shell `&` so the call returns immediately. Pass the query the same way as recall — argv/MCP, or file-then-`$QUERY`. Do not splice the question into the command text:

```bash
QUERY=$(cat /path/to/question.txt)
thunderbird-pp-cli teach --query "$QUERY" --resource-type <type> --resource <id1> --resource <id2>
# (append shell `&` to background it)
```

Silent on success. Errors only land in `teach.log` under the resolved state dir. Teach the **most specific** resource - if the user asked a broad question and you walked through parent records to find the specific answer, teach the leaf id, not the parent. The CLI uses seeded `entity_lookups` for cross-alias resolution at recall time, so a teach under one alias (e.g., "Niners") satisfies future queries under another alias (e.g., "49ers", "San Francisco") automatically.

PII rule: teach the structural question with identifiers stripped - never include names, emails, phone numbers, account ids, or other personal identifiers in taught queries or notes. The CLI scans teach queries for obvious email/phone shapes and warns, but does not block; strip before teaching rather than relying on the warning.

### Step 5: playbooks - optional flags, automatic synthesis

You do not need to decide whether a session "deserves" a playbook: a teach on a family without one auto-synthesizes a `playbook_candidate` from the session's journal, and the next session judges it via confirm/reject. Attach explicit playbook flags only when you already hold choreography worth recording verbatim - workarounds the CLI didn't surface (silently-dropped flags, undocumented params, pagination tricks, payload gotchas). Prefer the **integrated one-call form** - record the resource learning and the playbook in the same `teach` invocation:

```bash
# Common case: record both the resource learning AND the playbook in one call.
QUERY=$(cat /path/to/question.txt)
thunderbird-pp-cli teach \
  --query "$QUERY" \
  --resource-type <type> \
  --resource <id> \
  --playbook-file ~/playbooks/<shape>.json \
  --playbook-notes-file ~/playbooks/<shape>-notes.md
# (append shell `&` to background it)

# Alternate: playbook-only (no resource to record alongside).
QUERY=$(cat /path/to/question.txt)
thunderbird-pp-cli teach-playbook \
  --query "$QUERY" \
  --playbook-file ~/playbooks/<shape>.json \
  --notes-file ~/playbooks/<shape>-notes.md
```

Playbook files are JSON with `steps`, `entity_slots`, `expected_tool_calls`. Notes files are markdown carrying the gotchas verbatim. File-free callers (MCP-only agents) pass the same content inline: `--playbook-json` and `--playbook-notes` on the integrated `teach` form, `--playbook-json` and `--notes` on `teach-playbook`. On the integrated `teach` form, the playbook flags are optional - omit them entirely for a resource-only teach. On the standalone `teach-playbook` form, at least one of the playbook and notes flags must be set; both empty is rejected. Playbooks are keyed on the structural query family (entities stripped) so a recipe taught from one entity-shaped query applies to every other query of the same shape, with `slots_resolved` binding the live query's canonical at recall time.

When you DO find a playbook on a future recall, treat it as ground truth: replay the steps with `slots_resolved` substitutions, skip the discovery that the choreography already documents, and read `notes` before any step.

### Step 6: `playbook amend &` when your debug response identifies a correction

If your debug-protocol response identifies a concrete correction the notes or playbook should know — a workaround, an undocumented endpoint shape, a stale field name, observed schema drift, an empty-payload fallback — fire `playbook amend` BEFORE emitting your user-facing response. Same fire-and-forget posture as `teach`. Pass the query and note as argv/MCP arguments, or write each with a non-shell file tool and read them back (`QUERY=$(cat ...)`, `NOTE=$(cat ...)`). Do not interpolate either string into the command text:

```bash
QUERY=$(cat /path/to/question.txt)
NOTE=$(cat /path/to/note.txt)
thunderbird-pp-cli playbook amend \
  --query "$QUERY" \
  --add-note "$NOTE"
# (append shell `&` to background it)
```

What counts as worth amending: a behavior you OBSERVED this session that future-you would benefit from knowing. Examples worth amending:

- A workaround for a CLI surface that silently drops or misorders a flag.
- An undocumented endpoint shape (response wrapped in `{meta, results}`, payload nested two levels deeper than the docs claim).
- Observed schema drift (a field renamed, an index that shifted between seasons, a category label that the API now returns lower-cased).

What does NOT belong in notes:

- The year-specific or entity-specific answer to the user's question. That's the response, not a learning.
- Per-team / per-athlete / per-row data the playbook already retrieves at runtime.
- Statements that paraphrase what the existing notes already say.

The amend command appends to the family's existing notes with a timestamped marker (`[amend YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MMZ]: <text>`). Multiple amends accumulate; the audit trail is visible. If no playbook exists yet for the family, amend creates a notes-only one (so cold-start corrections still land).

#### PII discipline for amend notes

`playbook amend` notes are designed to potentially flow upstream as shared knowledge in future versions of the Printing Press. Keep them clean of user-identifying content so the upstream-contribution path stays open without retroactive scrubbing:

- **Do NOT embed** paths to user filesystems, personal API keys or tokens, user email addresses, user GitHub handles, or specific query histories tied to a single user.
- **Acceptable**: endpoint shapes, undocumented field names, API gotchas, observed schema drift, workarounds for CLI surfaces, generalizable pagination or retry tactics.

If a correction is only meaningful with user-specific context, it belongs in a personal note, not in the playbook amend.

### Measuring the loop

`thunderbird-pp-cli learnings stats` reports recall hit rate, teach-to-reuse, playbook resolution rate, and candidate confirm/reject counts from the local `learn_events` table. Rates are null until they have a denominator; everything stays on this machine. Use it to check whether the loop is earning its keep for this CLI.

### Disabling learning

- `--no-learn` on a single command short-circuits both `recall` and the `teach` write path. Use for deterministic agent flows or tests that must not be affected by accumulated learnings.
- `THUNDERBIRD_NO_LEARN=true` in the environment globally disables the pipeline.

## Agent Feedback

When you (or the agent) notice something off about this CLI, record it:

```
thunderbird-pp-cli feedback "the --since flag is inclusive but docs say exclusive"
thunderbird-pp-cli feedback --stdin < notes.txt
thunderbird-pp-cli feedback list --json --limit 10
```

Entries are stored locally as `feedback.jsonl` under the resolved data dir. They are never POSTed unless `THUNDERBIRD_FEEDBACK_ENDPOINT` is set AND either `--send` is passed or `THUNDERBIRD_FEEDBACK_AUTO_SEND=true`. Default behavior is local-only.

Write what *surprised* you, not a bug report. Short, specific, one line: that is the part that compounds.

## Output Delivery

Every command accepts `--deliver <sink>`. The output goes to the named sink in addition to (or instead of) stdout, so agents can route command results without hand-piping. Three sinks are supported:

| Sink | Effect |
|------|--------|
| `stdout` | Default; write to stdout only |
| `file:<path>` | Atomically write output to `<path>` (tmp + rename). Binary-response commands write decoded payload bytes (not the base64 JSON envelope) and print a small JSON receipt on stdout; `--json`/`--csv` do not refuse when this sink is set. |
| `webhook:<url>` | POST the output body to the URL (`application/json`) |

Unknown schemes are refused with a structured error naming the supported set. Webhook failures return non-zero and log the URL + HTTP status on stderr.

## Named Profiles

A profile is a saved set of flag values, reused across invocations. Use it when a scheduled or recurring agent reuses the same saved flags while providing different input each run.

```
thunderbird-pp-cli profile save briefing --json
thunderbird-pp-cli --profile briefing accounts
thunderbird-pp-cli profile list --json
thunderbird-pp-cli profile show briefing
thunderbird-pp-cli profile delete briefing --yes
```

Explicit flags always win over profile values; profile values win over defaults. `agent-context` lists all available profiles under `available_profiles` so introspecting agents discover them at runtime.

## Exit Codes

| Code | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| 0 | Success |
| 1 | Other error (e.g. profile or store unreadable) |
| 2 | Usage error (wrong arguments) |
| 3 | Not found (message, contact, identity or attachment) |
| 10 | Config error |

## Argument Parsing

Parse `$ARGUMENTS`:

1. **Empty, `help`, or `--help`** → show `thunderbird-pp-cli --help` output
2. **Starts with `install`** → ends with `mcp` → MCP installation; otherwise → see Prerequisites above
3. **Anything else** → Direct Use (execute as CLI command with `--agent`)

## MCP Server Installation

1. Install the MCP server:
   ```bash
   go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/productivity/thunderbird/cmd/thunderbird-pp-mcp@latest
   ```
2. Register with Claude Code:
   ```bash
   claude mcp add thunderbird-pp-mcp -- thunderbird-pp-mcp
   ```
3. Verify: `claude mcp list`

## Direct Use

1. Check if installed: `which thunderbird-pp-cli`
   If not found, offer to install (see Prerequisites at the top of this skill).
2. Match the user query to the best command from the Unique Capabilities and Command Reference above.
3. Execute with the `--agent` flag:
   ```bash
   thunderbird-pp-cli <command> [subcommand] [args] --agent
   ```
4. If ambiguous, drill into subcommand help: `thunderbird-pp-cli <command> --help`.