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
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
# Extract to specific output directory
~/.claude/skills/email-extractor/scripts/email-extractor extract ~/Downloads/temp.eml -o /tmp/email-analysis
The generated email.md file includes:
- 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 <[email protected]>
- **To:** Jane Smith <[email protected]>
- **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 optionsversion: 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:
- Understand task: What information needed? Are attachments important? Need thread structure?
- Locate email: Check mentioned locations, search ~/Downloads for .eml files
- Extract content: Use appropriate method (cleanup vs. permanent)
- Process: Read email.md, identify attachments, understand thread flow
- Provide results: Summarize email content, list attachments, highlight key information
- Clean up: Note extraction location, provide commands for further analysis
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:
- Invoke email-extractor skill to extract email content and attachments
- Upload email.md to topic's Emails folder using
google-drive-manager
- Upload attachments to appropriate topic folders:
- Presentations (PPT, PDF) → Prez folder
- Audio/video → Records folder
- Other documents → Misc or appropriate location
- Extract content from attachments if needed:
- Use
pdf-extractor for PDFs and presentations
- Use
speech-to-text for audio/video files
- Analyze email content to identify:
- Meeting attendees (From, To, Cc fields)
- Date and subject
- Key decisions and action items
- Risks mentioned
- Reference email in topic's minutes with link to uploaded email.md
- 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