Setup & Installation
Or with the ClawHub CLI, for registry-managed skill folders outside a full OpenClaw workspace:
Version History
v1.4.0: Removed personalized code, fixed ClawHub security scan issues. Generalized GitHub notification handling. No behavior changes for users.
What This Skill Does
IMAP IDLE replaces scheduled email polling with a persistent server connection that pushes notifications when new mail arrives. Latency drops from up to an hour to under a second, and no tokens are consumed while waiting.
Unlike cron-based email checks that burn tokens on every empty poll, IMAP IDLE consumes zero tokens while idle and delivers sub-second notifications.
When to use it
- Replacing hourly cron email checks with instant notifications
- Processing customer support emails as they arrive
- Monitoring multiple email accounts from one listener
- Triggering workflows the moment a specific email lands
- Cutting token costs from empty polling runs
Example Workflow
Here's how your AI assistant might use this skill in practice.
User asks: notify me when a new email arrives
- 1Opens persistent IMAP connection to the configured account
- 2Enters IDLE mode so the server can push notifications
- 3Receives server push when new mail arrives
- 4Fetches email headers and body preview
- 5Sends batched event via webhook to wake OpenClaw
OpenClaw receives the webhook and processes the incoming email immediately
Requirements
Accounts, API keys, or tools you or your AI assistant may need to set up while using this skill.