Helps with Gmelius — a Gmail-native platform where Meli AI and your team collaborate in real time to manage, prioritize, and reply to emails. Swiss-based, privacy-by-design.
Step 1 — Gather context
If references/learnings.md exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge.
Ask the user:
- What are you trying to do with Gmelius?
- A) Set up shared inboxes for team email (support@, billing@)
- B) Configure Meli AI assistant for email drafting/sorting
- C) Build automation rules for routing and assignment
- D) Use Kanban boards for email project management
- E) Connect Gmelius to CRM or other tools via API/Zapier
- F) Fix performance or sync issues
- G) Compare Gmelius to Hiver or Front
- H) Something else — describe it
-
Which plan are you on (or considering)?
- A) Meli ($19/user/mo) — AI assistant, 5K conversations/mo, max 5 users
- B) Growth ($25/user/mo) — shared inboxes, automations, API, max 50 users
- C) Pro ($40/user/mo) — CRM integrations, webhooks, 100K conversations/mo
- D) Enterprise (custom) — unlimited, bespoke AI
- E) Free trial / not sure
-
Team size?
- A) Solo / 1-3 people
- B) 4-15 people
- C) 16-50 people
- D) 50+
If the user's request already provides most of this context, skip directly to the relevant step.
Step 2 — Route or answer directly
| If the question is about... | Route to... |
|---|---|
| Comparing help desk platforms broadly | /sales-helpdesk-selection {question} |
| Non-Gmail shared inbox (Outlook, standalone) | /sales-helpdesk-selection {question} |
| Connecting tools via Zapier/Make/API pipelines | /sales-integration {question} |
| Outbound email sequences strategy | /sales-cadence {question} |
| Customer feedback / CSAT strategy | /sales-customer-feedback {question} |
For Gmelius-specific questions, continue to Step 3.
Step 3 — Gmelius platform reference
Read references/platform-guide.md for the full platform reference — capabilities, pricing, data model, API endpoints, integration recipes, and code examples.
Answer the user's question using only the relevant section. Don't dump the full reference.
Step 4 — Actionable guidance
You no longer need the platform guide — focus on the user's specific situation.
- For slow performance: Reduce Chrome extensions, use a dedicated Chrome profile, refresh browser every 1-2 hours during peak. High-volume inboxes (500+ emails/day) are a known pain point.
- For plan selection: Meli ($19) for solo AI assistant. Growth ($25) for team shared inboxes and automations. Pro ($40) only if you need CRM integrations, webhooks, or 100K+ conversations.
- For automation setup: Start with simple rules (one condition → one action), then layer complexity. Test with broad conditions first, then narrow. All conditions must match for a rule to fire.
- For API integration: Growth plan minimum. OAuth 2.0 + PKCE auth. Start with board/conversation endpoints — lowest complexity.
If you discover a gotcha, workaround, or tip not covered in references/learnings.md, append it there.
Gotchas
Best-effort from research — review these, especially items about plan-gated features and pricing that may be outdated.
- Gmail-only. No Outlook support (waitlisted). If any team member uses Outlook, Gmelius won't work — look at Front, Help Scout, or Freshdesk.
- API requires Growth+ ($25/user/mo). Meli plan has no API access. Webhooks require Pro ($40/user/mo).
- Conversation bundling. Emails with the same sender and subject bundle into one conversation — comments in the Gmelius pane won't be assigned to individual emails within the bundle.
- Mobile app limitations. Mobile experience is significantly more limited than desktop — no full automation management, limited Kanban functionality.
- Meli plan caps at 5 users. Growth caps at 50. If your team is larger, you need Pro or Enterprise.
- Performance degrades at high volume. G2 reviews report 10+ second email load times during peak periods. Browser-extension architecture means performance depends on Chrome resources.
Related skills
/sales-hiver— Hiver platform help (Gmail-native help desk, AI copilot, SLAs). Install:npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-hiver -a claude-code/sales-front— Front platform help (AI-powered shared inbox, omnichannel, Autopilot/Copilot, REST API). Install:npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-front -a claude-code/sales-missive— Missive platform help (collaborative team inbox, internal threads, co-drafting, multi-channel). Install:npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-missive -a claude-code/sales-helpdesk-selection— Compare help desk platforms (Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom, Help Scout, and more). Install:npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-helpdesk-selection -a claude-code/sales-integration— Connect tools via Zapier/Make/API pipelines/sales-cadence— Outbound email sequences strategy/sales-do— Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install:npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do -a claude-code
Examples
Example 1: Setting up shared inbox with automations
User says: "We're a 12-person team on Google Workspace. We want to set up support@company.com as a shared inbox with auto-assignment and SLA tracking." Skill does:
- Reads platform guide for setup steps and plan requirements
- Recommends Growth plan ($25/user/mo) — shared inboxes, automations, and SLAs included
- Walks through: create shared inbox → invite agents → set up round-robin assignment → configure SLA rules with breach alerts
- Notes collision detection prevents duplicate replies
- Suggests starting with simple routing rules before building complex multi-step automations Result: Step-by-step shared inbox setup with plan recommendation
Example 2: Syncing Gmelius conversations to HubSpot via API
User says: "How do I automatically create HubSpot contacts when new conversations arrive in our Gmelius shared inbox?" Skill does:
- Reads platform guide for API endpoints and webhook events
- Explains two paths: Zapier (Growth plan) or direct API + webhooks (Pro plan)
- Provides Zapier recipe: Gmelius "New Conversation" trigger → HubSpot "Create Contact" action
- For API path: set up webhook for conversation events → POST to HubSpot API
- Notes that native HubSpot integration requires Pro plan ($40/user/mo) Result: Working integration recipe with both Zapier and API approaches
Example 3: Gmelius extremely slow loading emails
User says: "Gmelius takes 10+ seconds to load emails and our sidebar freezes during the morning rush." Skill does:
- Acknowledges this is a known issue — Gmelius runs as a Chrome extension, so performance depends on browser resources
- Recommends: dedicated Chrome profile for email work, disable other extensions, clear browser cache
- Suggests auto-assignment to distribute load so agents aren't all viewing the same queue
- Notes periodic browser refreshes every 1-2 hours during peak help
- If problem persists, recommends evaluating Hiver (also Gmail-native) or Front (standalone) for comparison Result: Practical performance fixes with escalation path
Troubleshooting
Gmelius is extremely slow or laggy in Gmail
Symptom: Sidebar takes 10+ seconds to load, email interactions lag, browser becomes unresponsive with Gmelius active Cause: Gmelius runs as a Gmail Chrome extension — performance depends on browser resources. High email volume (500+ emails/day) strains the extension. Solution: 1) Use a dedicated Chrome profile with minimal extensions. 2) Clear browser cache weekly. 3) Refresh the Gmail tab every 1-2 hours during peak. 4) Check if other Chrome extensions conflict. 5) If persistent, contact Gmelius support — they may have server-side optimizations for your account.
Automation rules not triggering on new conversations
Symptom: Rules for auto-assignment, tagging, or routing don't fire when new emails arrive Cause: Automations require Growth plan minimum. All conditions in a rule must match (AND logic). Round-robin requires agents to be set as "available." Solution: 1) Verify you're on Growth or Pro plan. 2) Test with a single broad condition first, then layer more conditions. 3) Check agent availability status for round-robin. 4) Rules don't apply retroactively — only new conversations after rule creation.
Emails bundling incorrectly into one conversation
Symptom: Separate emails from the same sender with similar subjects merge into a single conversation, mixing up team comments and assignments Cause: Gmelius inherits Gmail's conversation threading — same sender + same subject = same thread. Solution: 1) Ask senders to use unique subject lines (not always feasible). 2) Use tags instead of notes to track per-email context within a bundle. 3) For critical workflows, consider using email status changes to mark individual messages within a conversation. 4) This is a Gmail architecture limitation, not a Gmelius bug.