Boil down your Gmail newsletters to one takeaway each

SKILL.md---
name: gmail-newsletter-digest
description: "Weekdays at lunch: one line per newsletter that arrived since yesterday, with the single takeaway worth keeping and which issue to read in full. Use when the user asks for this, or when it runs on a schedule."
---

# Gmail newsletter digest

Weekdays at lunch: one line per newsletter that arrived since yesterday, with the single takeaway worth keeping and which issue to read in full.

Subscribing is easy and reading is not. Most founders follow a dozen newsletters on pricing, fundraising, growth and their own market, and most issues sit unread under a growing count until a weekend purge.

The agent reads every issue that came in since yesterday and writes one line for each: what it says that you would want to remember. Three newsletters on the same story become one line. It also names the issue worth opening in full, which on most days is none.

## Two ways to get the data

Use the API or MCP route when you have an MCP server, a CLI or an API token for the app. Otherwise, if you can drive a browser the user is signed in to (Claude in Chrome, a Playwright or Chrome DevTools MCP server), use the browser route. Say which one you used.

## Route A: API or MCP server

### What you need

- Read access to Gmail through a connector or MCP server, or the Gmail API with the `gmail.readonly` scope.

If something is missing, say what and stop; do not invent numbers.

### Steps

1. **Find the newsletters** (Gmail): Search `users.messages.list` with `q: "newer_than:1d -from:me"` (or your own `label:newsletters`) and keep messages that carry a `List-Id` or `List-Unsubscribe` header, read with `format: metadata`.
2. **Leave out what isn't editorial**: Drop receipts, shipping updates, password resets and pure sales promotions (a discount code and a product grid). Keep issues with an author and an argument.
3. **Read each issue** (Gmail): Fetch with `format: full`, decode the `text/plain` part from base64url (or strip the `text/html` part), and cut the footer, sponsor blocks and "forwarded by a friend" boilerplate.
4. **Write one line each**: For every issue, the sender and the single takeaway in under 25 words, specific enough to act on. Merge issues covering the same story into one line that names each source.
5. **Pick the one to read**: If one issue deserves a full read, say which and why in a sentence. Mark issues as read only if asked.

## Route B: the browser

### What you need

- Signed in to Gmail in the browser, with the inbox in its usual tabbed layout or with your newsletter label set up.

If something is missing, say what and stop; do not invent numbers.

### Steps

Start at https://mail.google.com/. The user is signed in already; never type passwords or codes, and ask if a sign-in page appears.

1. **Find the issues**: Search `newer_than:1d -from:me` (or `label:newsletters newer_than:1d` if you keep a label) and keep the messages that show an **Unsubscribe** link next to the sender name; that link is Gmail's sign of a `List-Unsubscribe` header. The **Promotions** and **Updates** tabs hold most of them.
2. **Leave out the non-editorial mail**: Skip receipts, shipping notices, password resets and sales mail that is a product grid with a discount code. Keep issues with an author and an argument.
3. **Read each issue**: Open the message, click **Show trimmed content** if the issue is cut off, and read it ignoring the sponsor blocks and the footer. Do not click links in the mail.
4. **Write one line each and pick one**: For every issue, the sender and the single takeaway in under 25 words. Merge issues that cover the same story into one line naming each source. Say which issue, if any, is worth reading in full and why. Opening an issue marks it read; use **Mark as unread** on it afterwards if you want the inbox untouched.

Note: Opening a message in the browser marks it read, unlike the API route, which reads without changing state. Gmail's **Manage subscriptions** page (in the left menu) lists senders by frequency and is a quicker place to see what you never open.

## The report

- One line per newsletter since yesterday: the sender and the takeaway.
- Stories covered by several newsletters, merged into one line.
- The one issue worth reading in full, if there is one.

## Post it to Briefkin

When `BRIEFKIN_TOKEN` is set, or `~/.config/briefkin/env` exists (the installer from https://briefkin.dev/docs writes it), also send the result to the user's Briefkin board as one card. Keep the `item_key` the same on every run so the card updates in place, use a new `event_id` per run, and put today's real numbers in place of the example ones. If the request fails, say so once and carry on.

```bash
[ -n "${BRIEFKIN_TOKEN:-}" ] || . ~/.config/briefkin/env
curl -sS -X POST "${BRIEFKIN_URL:-https://briefkin.dev}/v1/events" \
  -H "authorization: Bearer $BRIEFKIN_TOKEN" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d @- <<'JSON'
{
  "v": 1,
  "event_id": "gmail-newsletter-digest/<date of this run, e.g. 2026-10-16>",
  "item_key": "gmail-newsletter-digest",
  "project": "Inbox",
  "source": "Gmail newsletter digest skill",
  "kind": "update",
  "title": "7 newsletters since yesterday, one line each",
  "summary": "**7** newsletters since yesterday at 12:30. The Pricing Letter is the one worth reading in full today.",
  "widget": {
    "type": "KeyValue",
    "props": {
      "items": [
        {
          "key": "The Pricing Letter",
          "value": "Usage plans with a minimum commit renewed 9 points better than pure pay-as-you-go across 300 SaaS companies."
        },
        {
          "key": "SaaS Weekly",
          "value": "Median seed rounds closed in 11 weeks this quarter, down from 14; most included a SAFE extension."
        },
        {
          "key": "Growth Notes",
          "value": "Moving the signup form above the fold on pricing pages lifted trial starts 12% in two A/B tests."
        },
        {
          "key": "Infra Digest",
          "value": "A teardown of halving a $9k monthly database bill with read replicas and connection pooling."
        },
        {
          "key": "Design Signals",
          "value": "Empty states that show sample data cut first-week drop-off in three onboarding teardowns."
        },
        {
          "key": "Founder Field Notes",
          "value": "Write the board update before the metrics review: it forces you to name the one decision you need."
        },
        {
          "key": "Market Map",
          "value": "Two scheduling startups raised Series A rounds this month, both pitching an AI assistant as the main feature."
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}
JSON
```

Widgets come from the Briefkin catalog (https://briefkin.dev/v1/catalog). Without a token, just give the user the report.

## Run it on a schedule

Suggested: Weekdays at 12:30 (`30 12 * * 1-5`). From cron, with the agent signed in on that machine:

```bash
30 12 * * 1-5 claude -p "Run the gmail-newsletter-digest skill"
# Codex: codex exec, Gemini CLI: gemini -p, Copilot CLI: copilot -p, OpenCode: opencode run
```

Or use the agent's own scheduler (Claude Code routines, Codex automations, Claude or ChatGPT scheduled tasks): https://briefkin.dev/skills/gmail-newsletter-digest#schedule

Source: https://briefkin.dev/skills/gmail-newsletter-digest