Email and phone¶
Open Inbox in the desktop sidebar (also reachable from Settings → App connections →
Email & phone), or visit /communications in its web interface. The badge on Inbox counts
what is waiting on you: messages to decide on, drafts to review on a connection that does not
send them automatically, and deliveries whose outcome needs checking. An account is optional:
local tasks and the Daily Brief work without one.
The desktop starts as Collie; an optional display name lives in Settings and
does not determine your email address or phone number.
Connect an account¶
| Connection | Required setup | Available workflow |
|---|---|---|
| Email account | IMAP and SMTP server details, your mailbox credentials, and your owner reply address | Receive messages, prepare replies, send reviewed results |
| Collie Mail | A verified handle and a mailbox on a configured Collie relay | Receive sealed mail and submit replies to the verified owner |
| Phone | Twilio account credentials, a messaging-capable number, and your owner number | Receive SMS, prepare or send SMS results, and read a reviewed result in an outbound voice call |
Credentials are saved locally and are not filled back into the settings form. Provider account rules still apply. An IMAP/SMTP account may require an app password; this setup screen does not implement provider-specific OAuth login.
New connections import messages from now on by default. Choose existing history when connecting if you want it imported. A paused connection keeps its messages, tasks and drafts. Disconnecting removes transport credentials; a Collie Mail identity stays on the device so reconnecting does not lose its keys.
Receive, prepare, review¶
Messages first appear in the inbox. You can prepare a reply, dismiss a message, or choose Run as project task for work that needs project tools. An email's sender header and instructions in its body do not grant those tools access.
The inbox and reply list show a bounded page. Use the older/newer controls to reach earlier messages, including drafts and unconfirmed sends still needing review. Refresh keeps the page you are browsing; switching accounts or tabs returns to the newest page.
Optional automatic drafting uses a restricted workflow with no tools, project memory or earlier private task history. It has an hourly limit; deferred messages remain visible. Automatic reply submission is a separate setting and is off by default. Neither setting is enabled by connecting an account.
Text and supported image attachments can accompany a task. Unsupported or incomplete attachments stay available for review; Collie does not claim to have read them.
Review the outbox¶
Edit a pending or refused draft before sending it, or discard it. An edit produces a new draft and preserves the earlier record. A known failed attempt can be prepared for another try; its new request ID avoids replaying a relay's earlier refusal.
Provider accepted means the provider acknowledged the request. It does not prove delivery or that somebody answered a call. An unknown outcome is kept for checking and is never automatically resent. Collie Mail supports a receipt lookup; phone connections can query the provider's recorded status.
Incoming task acceptance, queued input and outgoing results survive restarts. Reopening the page does not authorize a second send.
Changing the result recipient does not retarget a task that was already accepted. Its answer remains in the original conversation. Use Open task to review it, then Write reviewed reply on the received message to prepare a reply for the address shown. Saving that draft clears the message's outstanding-reply reminder; it waits for Send now even when automatic replies are enabled.
Morning email¶
Open Daily Brief, expand Email settings, choose an existing email connection and turn it on. This sends to the owner address already bound to that connection. It does not change automatic replies or create another account. The computer must be running during the configured morning window; missed days are skipped. Replying to a retained brief can restore the exact snapshot that was sent, while ordinary inbox rules still govern what the reply may do.
Service availability¶
The IMAP/SMTP, Collie Mail and Twilio integrations have protocol and recovery tests using isolated fake providers. Live delivery needs your configured provider account. The Collie Mail relay's broader sending-domain entitlement remains unverified; Email Routing alone sends only to Cloudflare-account-verified destinations. See relay setup. A phone account and number are not provisioned by Collie.
Voice currently reads a prepared result in an outbound call. It is not an interactive, real-time phone conversation service.