Auto-read email and AI summary with OpenClaw

Spending too much time on email? openclaw automation email can save you hours. This guide shows how to use openclaw with the email-reader skill to auto-read mail from selected senders and get AI summaries.

Why auto-summarize email

Newsletters and work mail pile up; important items get missed. OpenClaw’s email-reader skill: no code, just IMAP config; one command to read from chosen senders; AI extracts key content and outputs structured summaries; local cache to avoid repeated fetches.

Core features

1. IMAP config

Set email address, password or app password, IMAP server and port (e.g. 993). Optional sender filter so only certain senders are read (e.g. newsletters, work).

2. Commands

Tell OpenClaw: “read The Rundown mail,” “show unread mail,” “summarize today’s AI news,” etc.

3. AI summary

Output includes word count, key links, preview, subject + from + date.

4. Local cache

Mail can be cached locally to avoid repeated fetches.

Setup

Prerequisites: OpenClaw installed and running; IMAP enabled for your mailbox. Common IMAP: QQ imap.qq.com:993, 163 imap.163.com:993, Gmail imap.gmail.com:993, Outlook outlook.office365.com:993. For QQ/163 enable IMAP in webmail and get an app password. Edit email-reader config.env with EMAIL_READER_* variables and optional EMAIL_READER_FILTER_SENDERS. Don’t commit config.env; use app passwords; grant minimal permissions.

Usage examples

You say	Result
Read mail from [sender]	Read and summarize latest from that sender
Show unread mail	List unread messages
Summarize today’s AI news	Fetch and generate daily digest

Troubleshooting

Connection fails: check IMAP server/port, password/app password, network, IMAP enabled. No mail: check sender filter and that mailbox has matching messages. Duplicate reads: use “mark as read” or “unread only,” or rely on cache.

To try openclaw automation email with zero config, use a hosted OpenClaw-based service in the browser or desktop.