Email Extractor Skill

You are an expert in extracting and analyzing email content from .eml files, converting them to AI-friendly markdown format with proper thread handling and attachment extraction.

⚠️ CRITICAL REQUIREMENT: ALWAYS USE FULL FILE PATHS

YOU MUST ALWAYS use absolute/full paths when working with .eml files.

✅ CORRECT:

~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract /Users/sebastien.morand/Downloads/message.eml
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/email.eml -o ~/Documents/extracted

❌ INCORRECT:

~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract message.eml
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ./message.eml

Why: Always use full absolute paths or paths starting with ~/ for the input .eml file to ensure reliable file access.

Core Capabilities

• Email content extraction from .eml files
• Thread-aware parsing (preserves email conversation flow)
• Attachment extraction (all file types)
• Markdown conversion with proper formatting
• Header parsing (From, To, Cc, Subject, Date)
• HTML email rendering to readable text
• Multi-part email handling
• Smart default output paths based on email subject
• Optional cleanup for temporary extractions

Quick Start

Basic Usage

Binary Location: ~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor

# Basic extraction (creates folder in .eml's directory)
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract /path/to/message.eml

# Extract to specific output directory
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/email.eml -o ~/Documents/extracted

# Get help on available commands
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor --help
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract --help

Default Output Paths

When no output directory specified:

• Email: /path/to/message.eml
• Output: /path/to/message_email/ (same directory as .eml)

When custom output directory specified:

• Email: /path/to/message.eml
• Custom output: /target/
• Final output: /target/message_email/ (sanitized subject or filename appended)

Examples:

# Extract ~/Downloads/original_msg.eml → Output: ~/Downloads/original_msg_email/
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/original_msg.eml

# Extract to custom location → Output: ~/Documents/extracted/
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/original_msg.eml -o ~/Documents/extracted

Output Structure

Every extraction creates:

email_name/
├── email.md              # Email content with thread structure
└── attachments/          # Folder containing all attachments (if any)
    ├── document.pdf
    ├── image.png
    └── ...

Common Workflows

1. Extract and Analyze Email

# Extract email
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/message.eml

# Read content
cat ~/Downloads/message_email/email.md
ls ~/Downloads/message_email/attachments/

Process: Extract → Read email.md → Review attachments → Analyze content and thread structure

2. Extract Email from Downloads

When user says "We have an email" with a subject/title, emails are in ~/Downloads/ as .eml files:

# Search for .eml files
find ~/Downloads -name "*.eml" -type f

# Extract the matching email
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/found_email.eml

3. Batch Process Multiple Emails

# Process all .eml files in directory
for eml in ~/Downloads/*.eml; do
    ~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract "$eml"
done

4. Extract to Custom Location

# Extract to specific output directory
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/temp.eml -o /tmp/email-analysis

Email Markdown Format

The generated email.md file includes:

Header Section

• From: Sender name and email
• To: Recipients
• Cc: Carbon copy recipients (if any)
• Date: Sent date/time
• Subject: Email subject line

Thread Structure

Emails are organized respecting the conversation thread:

# Email: [Subject]

## Metadata
- **From:** John Doe <john@example.com>
- **To:** Jane Smith <jane@example.com>
- **Date:** 2024-11-11 10:30:00
- **Subject:** Project Update

## Attachments
- document.pdf (attachments/document.pdf)
- image.png (attachments/image.png)

---

## Message Thread

### Latest Message (2024-11-11 10:30)
**From:** John Doe

[Message content]

---

### Previous Message (2024-11-10 15:20)
**From:** Jane Smith

[Message content]

Binary Details

How It Works

The email-extractor is a compiled Go binary that:

• Parses .eml files using Go's native email libraries
• Extracts email content, headers, and attachments
• Generates structured markdown output
• Handles multi-part emails and complex MIME structures
• No runtime dependencies required (static binary)

Available Commands

~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract <input_eml> [flags]

Command: extract

• <input_eml> (required): Full path to .eml file
• -o, --output (optional): Output directory path
• -h, --help: Show help for extract command

Global Commands:

• --help: Show all available commands and global options
• version: Show binary version information

Prerequisites & Setup

Required

• None - The binary is statically compiled and has no runtime dependencies

Installation

The binary is already compiled and located in:

~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor

To rebuild from source (if needed), see the CLAUDE.md file in this skill directory.

Response Approach

When helping with email extraction:

1. Understand task: What information needed? Are attachments important? Need thread structure?
2. Locate email: Check mentioned locations, search ~/Downloads for .eml files
3. Extract content: Use appropriate method (cleanup vs. permanent)
4. Process: Read email.md, identify attachments, understand thread flow
5. Provide results: Summarize email content, list attachments, highlight key information
6. Clean up: Note extraction location, provide commands for further analysis

Performance & Best Practices

Performance:

• Near-instant extraction (compiled binary)
• No setup time required
• No runtime dependencies
• No API calls or external services
• Minimal memory footprint

When to use default path: Single emails, permanent archives, files organized alongside .eml files

When to use -o flag: Multiple extractions, analysis projects, separating source and processed files, organizing output in specific directories

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Email file not found":

ls -lh /path/to/file.eml
find ~/Downloads -name "*.eml" -type f

"Cannot decode email":

• Email might be corrupted
• Try opening in email client first
• Check file size: ls -lh file.eml

Binary permission issues:

# Make binary executable if needed
chmod +x ~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor

# Verify binary works
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor --help

Integration with Topic Management

This skill integrates with the topic-manager skill:

Trigger Keywords:

• User says "Extract email information"
• User says "Using the email information"
• User says "Update topic [name] with email" or "Update topic [name] using the email"
• User mentions .eml files in context of topic updates

Workflow when updating topics with email information:

1. Invoke email-extractor skill to extract email content and attachments
2. Upload email.md to topic's Emails folder using google-drive-manager
3. Upload attachments to appropriate topic folders:
   • Presentations (PPT, PDF) → Prez folder
   • Audio/video → Records folder
   • Other documents → Misc or appropriate location
4. Extract content from attachments if needed:
   • Use pdf-extractor for PDFs and presentations
   • Use speech-to-text for audio/video files
5. Analyze email content to identify:
   • Meeting attendees (From, To, Cc fields)
   • Date and subject
   • Key decisions and action items
   • Risks mentioned
6. Reference email in topic's minutes with link to uploaded email.md
7. Update topic Google Doc with extracted information

Example Flow:

User: "Update topic 'Q2 Planning' using the email information"

Assistant Process:
1. Search ~/Downloads for .eml file matching "Q2 Planning"
2. Run: email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/q2_planning.eml
3. Review email.md and attachments
4. Upload email.md to topic's Emails folder
5. Process any attachments (extract PDFs, etc.)
6. Update topic with extracted information

Use Cases

• Extract meeting invitations with attachments
• Parse email threads for topic updates
• Analyze email conversations for action items
• Extract presentation files from emails
• Process email archives for documentation
• Prepare email content for AI analysis
• Convert email threads to readable markdown