# Sho'Nuff Inbox Monitoring — Collection + LLM Summary Pattern

## Architecture

Two-tier hybrid: **no_agent collection script** + **agentic cron** for summarization.

### Layer 1: Data collection (no_agent script)

Script at `/root/.hermes/scripts/shonuff-inbox-collect.py` — runs every 15m:

1. Connects to IMAP (shonuff@germainebrown.com)
2. Fetches UNSEEN messages
3. For each message NOT from trusted senders (g@germainebrown.com):
   - Extracts: sender, subject, date, body preview (first 500 chars)
   - Generates hash from Message-ID for dedup
   - Outputs JSON with messages array
4. Marks processed messages as `\\Seen` (prevents re-processing)
5. Silent (no output) when nothing new

**Trusted senders filter:** Trusted senders (user's own address) are skipped silently — no alert, no output.

**Dedup:** Uses hashed Message-ID in `~/.hermes/scripts/.shonuff-processed.json`. This file persists across reboots. Each message reports exactly once.

### Layer 2: Agentic cron job

Connected to the collection script via `cronjob()`:

```bash
cronjob(action='create', name='shonuff-inbox-agent',
  schedule='every 15m',
  script='shonuff-inbox-collect.py',
  prompt='Check the collected inbox data above. If there are new messages in ShoNuff's inbox (shonuff@germainebrown.com), summarize each one for Germaine... respond with SILENT.',
  deliver='origin')
```

### When collection script is empty

When the collection script exits with no output (no new messages), the agent receives an **empty context**. The prompt must include an explicit instruction: "If no new messages or only messages from trusted senders, respond with SILENT."

## Key design choices

- **Trusted sender list**: Only the user's own email
- **Body truncation**: First 500 chars only
- **Hash dedup**: Prevents re-alerting on the same message
- **Message-ID fallback**: Falls back to IMAP sequence number when missing

## Comparison to bounce-check

| Aspect | shonuff-inbox-agent | bounce-check |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | All non-trusted senders | Only delivery-failure emails |
| Accounts | shonuff only | Both g@ and shonuff@ |
| Output | JSON → LLM summarizes | Plain text count |
| Cadence | Every 15m | Every 60m |
| Cron type | Agentic (LLM) | no_agent |

## Pitfalls

- **Message-ID is optional in the SMTP spec** — duplicate alert risk
- **IMAP UNSEEN state is sticky** — if LLM call fails between collection and delivery, the message is silently lost. Consider pending-file for reliability.