inbox

User drops notes; agent picks them up on the next run.

When to use

Call inbox_list at the start of an agent session to pick up any context the user left since the last run — ideas, bug reports, screenshots, links. The user drops notes via the pail web UI; the agent reads them over MCP.

Example user prompts

• Check my pail inbox before you start.
• Read any notes I left since yesterday and archive the ones you use.
• Use my inbox notes as context for this session.

MCP tool signature

inbox_list(
    since: str | None = None,   # ISO-8601 datetime
    limit: int = 50,
) -> list[Note]

inbox_read(note_id: str) -> Note
inbox_archive(note_id: str) -> None

Example call

# At the start of a session, pick up unread notes
notes = inbox_list(since=last_run_at)
for note in notes:
    print(f'[{note["created_at"]}] {note["text"][:80]}')
    inbox_archive(note['note_id'])  # mark as processed

Return value

Returns a list of Note objects, each with note_id, text, mime_type, created_at, and archived flag. inbox_read returns the full note including any attachments.

Credit cost

0.5 actions per note archived. Reads are free.

Notes

The user's inbox URL is at pail.thalos.ai/inbox/<tenant-slug>. Notes can include text, images, and links. Voice note transcription is planned for a future release.

Recipes

See all recipes for copy-paste patterns that use inbox and other tools together.