Pp Thunderbird

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Thunderbird — Printing Press CLI

Prerequisites: Install the CLI

This skill drives the thunderbird-pp-cli binary. You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill. If it is missing, install it first:

1. Install via the Printing Press installer. It defaults binaries to $HOME/.local/bin on macOS/Linux and %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PrintingPress\bin on Windows:

   npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install thunderbird --cli-only

2. Verify: thunderbird-pp-cli --version
3. Ensure the reported install directory is on $PATH for the agent/runtime that will invoke this skill.

If the npx install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.26.6 or newer). This installs into $GOPATH/bin (default $HOME/go/bin), so add that directory to $PATH instead:

go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/productivity/thunderbird/cmd/thunderbird-pp-cli@latest

If --version reports "command not found" after install, the runtime cannot see the binary directory on $PATH. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds.

Indexes your Thunderbird profile (mbox stores, address book, filters) into a local full-text store you can query while Thunderbird is running. Adds what no other Thunderbird tool has: awaiting-reply, correspondent ranking, filters audit and bulk-mail triage.

When to Use This CLI

Use this CLI when an agent needs to find, read, summarize or triage the user's email that Thunderbird has stored locally, without IMAP credentials. It is safe to run while Thunderbird is open and never modifies the profile. Run sync first (and again to pick up new mail): search and the audit commands read the local store, which only holds folders Thunderbird keeps for offline use.

The default profile is auto-detected; select another with --profile or THUNDERBIRD_PROFILE, and point at a non-standard Thunderbird directory (the one holding profiles.ini) with THUNDERBIRD_ROOT. THUNDERBIRD_HOME is unrelated: it relocates the CLI's own config and data.

"Sent by me" (awaiting-reply, contacts top) means a message stored in a sent folder: the identities' Sent folder from prefs.js (fcc_folder) or a folder named Sent, Sent Items, Sent Messages, Posta inviata, Inviati, Gesendet, Envoyés or Enviados. Mail from your own address sitting in the Inbox (notifications, notes to self) counts as neither sent nor received.

Anti-triggers

Do not use this CLI for:

• Sending, moving, flagging or deleting mail — drafts open prefilled in Thunderbird and you press Send yourself
• Mail in folders Thunderbird has not synced for offline use
• Webmail-only accounts not configured in Thunderbird

Unique Capabilities

These capabilities aren't available in any other tool for this API.

Inbox intelligence

• drafts new --attach — Open a Thunderbird compose window with local files already attached, from the terminal or from an MCP agent (agents are limited to files inside Documents). Add --html for an HTML body that keeps the identity's signature, and --body-file <path> to read the body from a file (via MCP, files inside Documents only).

  Use it when the user wants a mail prepared with a document attached, ready to review and send themselves.

  thunderbird-pp-cli drafts new --to alice@example.com --attach ~/Documents/report.pdf --open

• awaiting-reply — See every thread where someone is waiting on your answer, across all accounts, oldest first.

  Reach for this when asked what mail still needs a reply instead of scanning recent messages.

  thunderbird-pp-cli awaiting-reply --since 14d --agent

• contacts top — Rank the people you exchange mail with by volume and recency, and spot frequent ones missing from your address book.

  Use it to answer who someone is to the user and when they last talked.

  thunderbird-pp-cli contacts top --since 180d --agent

Mailbox hygiene

• filters audit — Check every message filter: how often it matches, whether it is disabled, and whether its target folder still exists.

  Use it when mail lands in the wrong folder or to clean up dead filter rules.

  thunderbird-pp-cli filters audit --since 90d --agent

• largest — Find the biggest messages or attachments across all accounts and folders.

  Use it to free disk or mailbox quota.

  thunderbird-pp-cli largest --attachments --limit 20 --agent

• newsletters — List mailing lists and bulk senders by volume and how much of their mail you never read.

  Use it to pick unsubscribe candidates.

  thunderbird-pp-cli newsletters --since 90d --min 3 --agent

Command Reference

accounts — Accounts and identities configured in Thunderbird

• thunderbird-pp-cli accounts — List accounts and identities from prefs.js

attachments — Attachments of a message

• thunderbird-pp-cli attachments list — List the attachments of a message (index, filename, type, decoded size); inline signature logos and cid: images are hidden unless --include-inline
• thunderbird-pp-cli attachments save — Decode and save a message's attachments into a directory (--output <dir>); without --index inline parts are skipped unless --include-inline, --index N saves any part by its original index

calendar — Local Thunderbird calendar

• thunderbird-pp-cli calendar events — List calendar events in a time window, earliest first

contacts — Address book contacts

• thunderbird-pp-cli contacts search — Find contacts whose name or email contains the query (case-insensitive)
• thunderbird-pp-cli contacts show — Show one contact by card id or email address
• thunderbird-pp-cli contacts top — Rank correspondents by volume and recency

drafts — Prepare messages in a Thunderbird compose window (never sends)

• thunderbird-pp-cli drafts new — Print the compose fields for a new message; --open opens the compose window
• thunderbird-pp-cli drafts reply — Prepare a reply (or --all reply-all) with the original quoted; --open opens the compose window

filters — Message filter rules

• thunderbird-pp-cli filters list — List filter rules with action, target folder and condition summary
• thunderbird-pp-cli filters audit — Hits, disabled rules and missing target folders per filter

folders — Mail folders across all accounts

• thunderbird-pp-cli folders — List folders with total, unread, size and offline status

messages — Messages indexed from the Thunderbird profile's mbox stores

• thunderbird-pp-cli messages show — Show one message with headers, flags, text body and attachments (get is an alias); --no-quotes keeps only the new text of the body, --include-inline also lists inline parts
• thunderbird-pp-cli messages list — List indexed messages, newest first
• thunderbird-pp-cli messages auth — Show SPF, DKIM and DMARC verdicts of a message
• thunderbird-pp-cli messages export — Export messages as the original .eml or as JSON

threads — Conversations across folders

• thunderbird-pp-cli threads show — Show every message of a thread in chronological order with direction in/out; --last N keeps the N most recent, every row carries total_messages

Store and profile

• thunderbird-pp-cli sync — Index the local Thunderbird profile into the offline SQLite store
• thunderbird-pp-cli search — Full-text search of the synced store
• thunderbird-pp-cli stats — Show per-account totals: messages, unread, flagged, folders, last message date
• thunderbird-pp-cli profiles — List Thunderbird profiles from profiles.ini and which one is selected
• thunderbird-pp-cli doctor — Check the Thunderbird profile, its accounts and folders, and the local store

Finding the right command

When you know what you want to do but not which command does it, ask the CLI directly:

thunderbird-pp-cli which "<capability in your own words>"

which resolves a natural-language capability query to the best matching command from this CLI's curated feature index. Exit code 0 means at least one match; exit code 2 means no confident match — fall back to --help or use a narrower query. --json (and other machine formats) keep that exit-2 contract and write {"matches":[]} on stdout so agents can inspect the envelope without treating a miss as success.

Recipes

Find and read a mail

thunderbird-pp-cli search "contratto" --agent --select id,subject,from_addr,date

Narrow search results to the fields an agent needs, then open one with messages show.

Read a long conversation cheaply

thunderbird-pp-cli threads show 3f9a1c2b7d4e --last 5 --agent --select id,date,direction,from_addr,total_messages
thunderbird-pp-cli messages show 3f9a1c2b7d4e --no-quotes --agent

Take only the latest messages of the thread, then read each without the quoted history. Inline signature images are already left out of attachment lists; on a store built by an older version, the next sync re-parses every folder once to compute the inline flag and mark quoted HTML history with >.

Who owes whom

thunderbird-pp-cli awaiting-reply --since 7d --agent

Threads where the last message is inbound and you have not replied.

Unsubscribe candidates

thunderbird-pp-cli newsletters --since 90d --agent

Bulk senders ranked by volume and unread share.

Draft a reply without sending

thunderbird-pp-cli drafts reply "3f9a1c2e7b40" --body "Thanks, confirmed." --agent

Prints the prefilled reply fields and the thunderbird -compose command line; add --open to open the compose window. Nothing is ever sent.

Draft a new mail with an attachment

thunderbird-pp-cli drafts new --to alice@example.com --subject "Report" --attach ~/Documents/report.pdf --open

Opens the compose window with the file attached; nothing is sent. Through MCP the attach parameter takes a comma-separated list and only accepts files inside the user's Documents folder (symlinks and junctions are resolved first); from the terminal any readable file works.

Draft a formatted mail (HTML body, signature)

thunderbird-pp-cli drafts new --to alice@example.com --subject "Offer" --body-file ~/Documents/offer.html --html --open

--html treats the body as HTML (bold text and the like) and keeps the sending identity's HTML signature, including its image. --body-file reads the body from a file instead of --body. Through MCP both are the body-file and html parameters, and body-file only accepts files inside the user's Documents folder; from the terminal any readable file works.

Auth Setup

No authentication. The CLI reads your local Thunderbird profile read-only and never touches passwords, key4.db or logins.json. It auto-detects the default profile; override with --profile or THUNDERBIRD_PROFILE.

Run thunderbird-pp-cli doctor to verify setup.

Agent Mode

Add --agent to any command. Expands to: --json --compact --no-input --no-color.

Global format flags share one contract on promoted, novel, sync, and --deliver paths:

• --json — one JSON document on stdout (sync progress events go to stderr)

• --compact — keep identity/status/timestamp fields; does not change the document vs stream shape

• --csv / --plain — tabular rows (collection envelopes unwrap to the row array)

• --quiet — one identity value per row, no envelope

• Pipeable — JSON on stdout, errors on stderr

• Filterable — --select keeps a subset of fields. Dotted paths descend into nested structures; arrays traverse element-wise. Critical for keeping context small on verbose APIs:

  thunderbird-pp-cli accounts --agent --select id,name,identity_emails

• Previewable — --dry-run reports what a command would do without running it

• Offline — reads only the local Thunderbird profile and the CLI's SQLite store; no network or mail server access

• Non-interactive — never prompts, every input is a flag

• Read-only — do not use this CLI for create, update, delete, publish, comment, upvote, invite, order, send, or other mutating requests

Response envelope

Commands that read from the local store or the API wrap output in a provenance envelope:

{
  "meta": {"source": "live" | "local", "synced_at": "...", "reason": "..."},
  "results": <data>
}

Parse .results for data and .meta.source to know whether it's live or local. A human-readable N results (live) summary is printed to stderr only when stdout is a terminal AND no machine-format flag (--json, --csv, --compact, --quiet, --plain, --select) is set — piped/agent consumers and explicit-format runs get pure JSON on stdout.

Paths and state

Agents should treat the CLI's path resolver as part of the runtime contract:

• Use --home <dir> for one invocation, or set THUNDERBIRD_HOME=<dir> to relocate all four path kinds under one root.

• Use per-kind env vars only when a specific kind must diverge: THUNDERBIRD_CONFIG_DIR, THUNDERBIRD_DATA_DIR, THUNDERBIRD_STATE_DIR, THUNDERBIRD_CACHE_DIR.

• Resolution order is per-kind env var, --home, THUNDERBIRD_HOME, XDG (XDG_CONFIG_HOME, XDG_DATA_HOME, XDG_STATE_HOME, XDG_CACHE_HOME), then platform defaults.

• config contains settings like config.toml and saved run profiles. data contains one mail index per Thunderbird profile at profiles/<profile hash>/data.db (doctor prints store_path; syncing another profile never touches it), feedback.jsonl and .eml files written by drafts --open. state contains persisted queries, jobs, and teach.log. cache contains regenerable cache files. No credentials are stored.

• Run thunderbird-pp-cli doctor --fail-on warn to surface path warnings. agent-context exposes a schema v4 paths block for agents that need the resolved dirs.

• For MCP, pass relocation through the MCP host config. The MCP binary does not inherit CLI flags:

  {
    "mcpServers": {
      "thunderbird": {
        "command": "thunderbird-pp-mcp",
        "env": {
          "THUNDERBIRD_HOME": "/srv/thunderbird"
        }
      }
    }
  }

Fleet precedence: an inherited per-kind env var overrides an explicit --home for that kind. Use THUNDERBIRD_HOME or per-kind vars as durable fleet levers, and use --home only for a single invocation. Relocation is not reversible by unsetting env vars; move files manually before clearing THUNDERBIRD_HOME, or doctor will not find the store left under the former root.

Automatic learning

This CLI ships a self-capturing learning loop. The CLI does its own bookkeeping: every invocation is journaled locally, a failed flag followed by a corrected retry auto-derives a flag_alias candidate, and a teach on a query family without a playbook auto-synthesizes a playbook_candidate from the session's journal. Your job is judgment only: recall first, act on surfaced candidates, teach the final answer, playbook amend when you observe a correction. You never record failures by hand.

Step 1: recall before any discovery

Before list/search/drill commands on a new user question, pass the question as an argv or MCP tool argument to recall --agent. Do not interpolate user-controlled text into a shell command line.

Quoted recall "<question>" breaks on an apostrophe, which is ordinary English. A quoted heredoc breaks when a body line equals the delimiter, and that delimiter is published in these docs. Write the question with a non-shell file-writing tool, then read it back as data:

# Write the question verbatim with your file-writing tool (no shell involved).
# Command substitution on a file only ever yields data — the shell never
# parses the file's bytes as syntax.
QUERY=$(cat /path/to/question.txt)
thunderbird-pp-cli recall "$QUERY" --agent

Prefer MCP: pass the question as the tool's query argument. "$QUERY" after a file read is argv-safe; putting the question itself in the command text is not.

The response envelope:

{
  "query": "...",
  "normalized": "<normalized form>",
  "query_entities": ["..."],
  "found": true | false,
  "match_score": 0.0,
  "results": [
    { "resource_id": "...", "resource_type": "...", "venue": "...",
      "confidence": 2, "entity_match": "exact|partial|unknown",
      "source": "taught|preseed|pattern", "warnings": ["..."] }
  ],
  "mismatches": [ /* only when --debug-mismatches */ ],
  "warnings": [ /* top-level */ ],
  "candidates": [
    { "id": 12, "class": "flag_alias | playbook_candidate",
      "summary": "...", "sightings": 3, "last_seen": "...",
      "rationale": "...",
      "next_action": ["<trial command>", "thunderbird-pp-cli learnings confirm 12"] }
  ],
  "playbook": {
    "query_family": "...",
    "playbook": {
      "steps": [ { "cmd": "<command with {slot} substitution>", "purpose": "..." } ],
      "entity_slots": ["$ENTITY"],
      "expected_tool_calls": 3
    },
    "slots_resolved": { "$ENTITY": { "token": "<live token>", "canonical": "<canonical>" } },
    "notes": "<workarounds + gotchas for this query family>"
  },
  "notes": "<duplicate surface for non-playbook callers>"
}

Empty-store short-circuit: if the store has no learnings, playbooks, or candidates yet (recall finds nothing and learnings list and learnings candidates are both empty), skip recall for the rest of this session instead of taxing every query; resume recall-first once something has been taught.

Step 2: decision tree

Read candidates, playbook, notes, results[0], and warnings in that order:

if Candidates present (warnings include "candidates_present"):
    -> candidates are try-then-confirm, never facts. Follow each candidate's
       two-step next_action verbatim: run the trial command first, then run
       `learnings confirm <id>` only after the trial verified the behavior.
       Reject a wrong candidate with `learnings reject <id>`.
    -> NEVER re-teach something recall surfaced as a candidate; confirm or
       reject that candidate instead of teaching a duplicate.
    -> candidates ride alongside playbooks and resource hits, not instead of
       them; continue with the branches below after acting on them.

if Playbook present:
    -> READ Playbook.notes verbatim FIRST (workarounds + gotchas the CLI surface doesn't expose)
    -> replay Playbook.steps in order, substituting Playbook.slots_resolved entries
       for the entity slot tokens. If a step's slot is unresolved, fall back to
       discovery for that step only.
    -> the Playbook's expected_tool_calls is a budget; if you find yourself running
       materially more, record the divergence via `thunderbird-pp-cli playbook amend`
       at end-of-session.

elif Notes present (no Playbook):
    -> read Notes verbatim before any discovery step; they carry known gotchas
       for this query family even when no structured choreography exists yet.

elif Found AND Results[0].EntityMatch == "exact" AND Results[0].Confidence >= 2:
    -> skip discovery; fetch live data for Results[*].ResourceID in parallel

elif Found AND Results[0].EntityMatch == "partial":
    -> candidate hint, NOT a hit; read the resource title to validate before trusting

elif (any row in Mismatches[] when --debug-mismatches was passed):
    -> treat as cold start; the stored learning is for a different entity
       (different canonical resolved from query_entities)

else:  // Found == false, no playbook, no notes
    -> cold start; run discovery normally; teach the answer afterward (Step 4).
       If the family has no playbook yet, that teach auto-synthesizes a
       playbook candidate from this session's journal - you do not need to
       record one by hand.

Playbook and Notes are orthogonal to the per-resource path. A recall response can carry both a Playbook AND a Results[] hit - use both: the Playbook tells you which choreography to run; the resource hits short-circuit specific steps. Default to skipping mismatches; pass --debug-mismatches only when investigating cold-start surprises.

Candidate judgment details: learnings confirm <id> prints the candidate's full payload before materializing it - check that the printed payload matches the behavior you verified. learnings reject <id> tombstones the derivation signature so the same candidate does not resurface. The envelope carries only the few candidates worth acting on now; thunderbird-pp-cli learnings candidates lists the full open set.

Graceful degradation: if learnings confirm is an unknown command, you are driving an older binary - ignore the candidates guidance and follow the rest of the protocol.