Create, edit, and manage email drafts. Each draft is stored as an application state entry keyed compose-{id}. The UI refreshes through the framework polling/query invalidation path and updates the compose panel automatically.
Storage
Drafts are stored in the application_state SQL table via writeAppState("compose-{id}", draft) from @agent-native/core/application-state. Each entry is one draft. Multiple drafts can exist simultaneously — they appear as tabs in the compose panel.
Schema
{
"id": "abc123",
"to": "recipient@example.com",
"cc": "",
"bcc": "",
"subject": "Meeting follow-up",
"body": "Hi team,\n\nThanks for the great discussion today...",
"mode": "compose",
"replyToId": "",
"replyToThreadId": ""
}
Fields
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
id |
string | yes | Unique draft ID (must match key suffix) |
to |
string | yes | Comma-separated recipient email addresses |
cc |
string | no | Comma-separated CC addresses |
bcc |
string | no | Comma-separated BCC addresses |
subject |
string | yes | Email subject line |
body |
string | yes | Email body in markdown (see formatting below) |
mode |
string | yes | One of: "compose", "reply", "forward" |
replyToId |
string | no | Message ID being replied to (for reply/forward) |
replyToThreadId |
string | no | Thread ID for grouping (for reply/forward) |
Body Formatting
The body field uses markdown. The compose editor (TipTap) renders it as rich text, and the send flow converts markdown to HTML before sending via Gmail. Use standard markdown syntax:
- Links:
[click here](https://example.com)— renders as a clickable hyperlink in the sent email - Bold:
**bold text** - Italic:
*italic text* - Lists:
- item(unordered) or1. item(ordered) - Headings:
# Heading(h1–h3) - Code:
`inline code`or fenced code blocks - Blockquotes:
> quoted text - Bare URLs:
https://example.comauto-links
Do NOT use raw HTML tags — use markdown only.
Signature and Style Settings
Before creating or rewriting a draft, read the user's drafting settings with pnpm action get-mail-settings.
- Use
signatureexactly when it is configured; do not rewrite or duplicate it. - If no signature is configured, omit the signature. Never derive one from the user's name, email address, or connected profile.
- Follow
writingStylewhen present. - Keep generated copy natural and specific. Avoid generic AI email tropes, headings, and over-formal filler unless the user asks for that style.
How It Works
- Write
writeAppState("compose-{id}", draft)— the shared application state row changes - UI polling sees the change — invalidates the
compose-draftsReact Query cache - Compose panel re-renders — shows the updated draft as a tab, switches to it if new
The compose panel opens automatically when any compose draft exists. When the last draft is deleted, the panel closes.
Use the manage-draft action, not raw writeAppState
manage-draft is the real action surface for compose drafts (action:
create | update | delete | delete-all). Prefer it over hand-writing
compose-{id} state directly — it does things a raw write will not:
- Sanitizes the id. IDs must match
/^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{1,64}$/(sanitizeDraftId); an invalid id on create silently falls back to a timestamp-based id instead of failing. - Appends the signature automatically on create via
appendSignatureToBody(body, signature), reading the configured signature frommail-settings. This is idempotent (no-ops if the signature text is already in the body) and signature-aware of quoted content — it inserts the signature before any— On ... wrote:or— Forwarded message —block, not after it.updatedoes NOT re-append the signature — onlycreatedoes, so edit calls should not need to touch the signature themselves. - Returns a
deepLink(vialink()) that opens the exact draft in the real Mail compose UI (embedApp/mcpAppresource with contact autocomplete, attachments, and send controls) — surface this link when running outside the first-party UI (e.g. from an MCP host).
pnpm action manage-draft --action=create --to=jane@example.com --subject="Quick question" --body="Hi Jane,\n\nJust wanted to follow up on..."
pnpm action manage-draft --action=update --id=draft1 --body="Hi Jane,\n\nI refined the draft as requested..."
pnpm action manage-draft --action=delete --id=draft1
pnpm action manage-draft --action=delete-all
Listing All Drafts
pnpm action view-composer
Or from code:
import { listAppState } from "@agent-native/core/application-state";
const drafts = await listAppState("compose-");
Attaching Files
The send-email action accepts an optional attachments array. Each entry must reference a file that was previously uploaded via the media-upload endpoint (/api/media/upload). Pass the server-side filename (the key returned by the upload endpoint, e.g. abc123.pdf), and optionally originalName (display name for the recipient) and mimeType. The attachment plumbing resolves the file from data/uploads/ or from the configured file-storage URL recorded by the upload endpoint, then includes it as a MIME multipart attachment in the outgoing Gmail message. Do not store or paste attachment bytes, base64, or data: URLs in draft state/settings; files are never sent speculatively — only attach what the user has explicitly provided and confirmed.
Example:
{
"to": "recipient@example.com",
"subject": "Q2 Report",
"body": "Please find the report attached.",
"attachments": [
{ "filename": "abc123.pdf", "originalName": "Q2-Report.pdf", "mimeType": "application/pdf" }
]
}
Attachments are resolved eagerly, before Gmail is touched: if any referenced
upload can't be read, send-email throws immediately (nothing is sent) rather
than sending a partial message. If you see that error, the fix is re-uploading
via the media endpoint, not retrying the same filename.
What Actually Happens on Send
send-email requires explicit user intent to send — it is needsApproval: true and pauses for human approval before the real Gmail call happens. It
branches on whether the user has a connected Google account:
- Connected: resolves an access token (refreshing if the account's
expiry_dateis within 60s), resolves reply threading (inReplyTo/Referencesheaders) by fetching the original message metadata whenreplyToIdis set, resolves the sender display name viaresolveGoogleSenderIdentity(caching the result), builds the raw MIME message, and calls the real Gmail send API. - Not connected (no Google account): synthesizes a fake sent message and
appends it to the user's
local-emailssetting so the UI still shows a "Sent" item — this is a demo/fallback path, not a queued real send. Do not tell the user the email left their real inbox in this mode. - Open/click tracking: if
mail-settings.tracking.opensor.clicksis enabled,send-emailrewrites the outgoing body with a tracking pixel and per-link click tokens before building the MIME message, and persists the token map keyed by the real Gmail message id.get-tracking --id=<messageId>reads back open count and per-link click stats for a previously sent message; it returnstracked: false(not an error) for messages that were sent before tracking was enabled or when tracking is off. - Multiple connected Google accounts:
send-email's optionalaccountparam picks the sender; when replying, it also tries each connected account until one can fetch the original message, and uses that account as the sender ifaccountwasn't explicit.
Important Notes
-
The
idfield in the JSON MUST match the{id}in the key name (compose-{id}) -
The UI debounces writes by 300ms — if the user is actively typing, your write will be visible after a brief moment
-
Always use valid JSON with proper escaping (especially newlines in body: use
\n) -
Multiple drafts can exist simultaneously — each appears as a tab in the compose panel
-
When the user asks you to "draft" or "compose" an email, write a compose entry — don't use the send API directly
-
When the user asks you to "edit" or "improve" a draft, list drafts first, then read and update the relevant one
-
When called from the compose Generate button: the context tells you which draft to update (e.g.
compose-abc123). Always update THAT entry — do NOT create a new one with a different ID. Read, modify, and write back to the same key. -
When drafting from scratch (no compose window open): create a new entry with any unique ID
-
The
idfield in the JSON MUST match the{id}in the key name (compose-{id}) -
The UI debounces writes by 300ms — if the user is actively typing, your write will be visible after a brief moment
-
Always use valid JSON with proper escaping (especially newlines in body: use
\n) -
Multiple drafts can exist simultaneously — each appears as a tab in the compose panel
-
When the user asks you to "draft" or "compose" an email, write a compose entry — don't use the send API directly
-
When the user asks you to "edit" or "improve" a draft, list drafts first, then read and update the relevant one
-
When called from the compose Generate button: the context tells you which draft to update (e.g.
compose-abc123). Always update THAT entry — do NOT create a new one with a different ID. Read, modify, and write back to the same key. -
When drafting from scratch (no compose window open): create a new entry with any unique ID