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productivity-toolstools

imap-idle-watcher

Real-time email monitoring using IMAP IDLE — no OAuth, no token expiration. Sets up a persistent connection to any IMAP server (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.) and triggers a user-defined command instantly when new email arrives. Runs as a systemd service with auto-reconnect. Use when: (1) setting up email-triggered automation, (2) watching an inbox for new messages in real-time, (3) replacing OAuth-based email polling that keeps breaking due to token expiry, (4) building email-to-webhook or email-to-script pipelines. NOT for: sending email, reading/parsing email bodies, or non-Linux systems without systemd.

openclaw
maintainer
openclaw
Updated 3/18/2026
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quick start

Installation and usage

Real-time email monitoring using IMAP IDLE — no OAuth, no token expiration. Sets up a persistent connection to any IMAP server (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.) and triggers a user-defined command instantly when new email arrives. Runs as a systemd service with auto-reconnect. Use when: (1) setting up email-triggered automation, (2) watching an inbox for new messages in real-time, (3) replacing OAuth-based email polling that keeps breaking due to token expiry, (4) building email-to-webhook or email-to-script pipelines. NOT for: sending email, reading/parsing email bodies, or non-Linux systems without systemd.

Installation
$ install --globalskills.sh
Usage

Once installed, you can use this skill by running the following command in your terminal:

skills use imap-idle-watcher