Email Triage

Triage inbox using mu (maildir-utils) via bash. Identify urgent items, archive noise.

Commands

# Sync email first (if stale)
mbsync -a

# Search recent emails (last 24 hours)
mu find date:1d.. --fields="d f s" -n 50

# Search unread
mu find flag:unread --fields="d f s"

# Search from specific sender
mu find from:alice --fields="d f s" -n 10

# Search by subject
mu find subject:urgent --fields="d f s"

# Read full email (use message path from mu find)
mu view /path/to/message

# JSON output for structured parsing
mu find date:1d.. --format=json -n 20

Process

1. Sync: mbsync -a (skip if recently synced)
2. Check unread: mu find flag:unread --fields="d f s" -n 50
3. Categorize each email:
   • Urgent: deadline, “asap”, financial alerts
   • Needs response: questions, personal emails
   • FYI: notifications, receipts
   • Marketing: newsletters, promotions
4. Report summary to user

Query Examples

# Last 24 hours, unread only
mu find date:1d.. AND flag:unread

# Important senders
mu find from:boss@company.com OR from:wife@home.com

# With attachments
mu find flag:attach date:1w..

# Mailing lists (often noise)
mu find list:* date:1d..

# Exclude mailing lists
mu find date:1d.. AND NOT list:*

Field Codes

• d = date
• f = from
• s = subject
• t = to
• g = flags (U=unread, F=flagged, etc)
• l = path (needed for mu view)

Example Session

User: check my email

Agent:
$ mu find flag:unread --fields="d f s" -n 30

Found 12 unread:
- 3 from mailing lists → FYI
- 2 from LinkedIn → marketing  
- 1 from boss → URGENT (has "deadline")
- 2 from colleagues → needs response
- 4 receipts/notifications → FYI

Summary:
🔴 1 urgent: Boss re: Q4 deadline
💬 2 need response: Alice (project question), Bob (meeting)
📬 9 FYI/marketing (can ignore)

Tips

• Use --format=json when you need to parse programmatically
• mu find is fast - search liberally
• Path field (l) needed to read full message with mu view