Guide

Manus AI Email Research Agent

Your inbox contains decisions, context, and history that no external tool has access to. Manus AI can search, read, and analyze your email threads to answer questions, extract decisions, and compile research — using the Nylas CLI as its execution layer.

Email as a research source

Most research tools look outward — web searches, document stores, databases. But some of the most valuable information lives in your inbox: pricing decisions buried in a thread from six months ago, a technical spec attached to an email you forgot about, or the exact wording of an agreement made over email.

Manus can treat your inbox as a searchable knowledge base. When you ask a research question, Manus uses the Nylas CLI to search for relevant emails, read their contents, and synthesize the information into a structured answer. It can cross-reference multiple threads, extract specific data points, and combine inbox findings with web research.

Prerequisites

  1. A Manus account. Sign up at manus.im. Free and paid plans are available.
  2. Nylas CLI Skill installed. Follow the Create a Manus Skill for Email and Calendar guide to set up the Nylas CLI Skill in your Manus workspace. That guide covers the SKILL.md file, setup script, and authentication.
  3. At least one connected mailbox. You need a Nylas API key and a connected grant from dashboard-v3.nylas.com.

Search by keyword

The simplest research task is finding emails about a specific topic. Tell Manus what you're looking for in natural language:

Prompt: "Find all emails about the Q4 contract"

Manus runs:

nylas email search "Q4 contract" --limit 20 --json

The --json flag gives Manus structured output it can parse. Manus reads the results, identifies the most relevant messages, and presents a summary with sender, date, and subject for each match.

Read and summarize a thread

Once Manus finds relevant emails, it can read individual messages to extract details.

Prompt: "Read the latest email from Sarah and summarize it"

Manus searches for Sarah's messages, picks the most recent one, and reads it:

nylas email search "from:sarah" --limit 5 --json
nylas email read MESSAGE_ID --json

Manus then summarizes the content — key points, action items, deadlines, and any questions that need a response.

Extract decisions from a thread

This is where Manus shines as a research agent. Instead of reading through dozens of emails yourself, ask Manus to do the analysis.

Prompt: "Find all emails about the product launch and list every decision that was made"

Manus runs a search, reads each relevant message, and compiles a structured list of decisions with who made them and when. Behind the scenes, it executes multiple commands:

# Step 1: Search for relevant emails
nylas email search "product launch" --limit 30 --json

# Step 2: Read each relevant message
nylas email read MSG_ID_1 --json
nylas email read MSG_ID_2 --json
nylas email read MSG_ID_3 --json
# ... continues for each relevant result

The output is a research deliverable: a list of decisions, organized chronologically, with references to the original emails.

Combine inbox and web research

Manus is not limited to email. It can browse the web, write code, and analyze data. When you combine inbox search with web research, you get answers that draw on both internal context and external information.

Prompt: "Find what we agreed on pricing for Project X, then research current market rates"

Manus first searches your inbox for pricing discussions about Project X, extracts the agreed numbers, then browses the web for comparable market data. The result is a briefing that compares your internal pricing against current benchmarks.

Other examples of combined research:

  • "Find the vendor proposal from Acme Corp in my inbox, then research their company background"
  • "Pull all emails about the security audit and compare our findings with OWASP best practices"
  • "Find what features our customers requested via email this quarter, then research which competitors offer those features"

SKILL.md for research workflows

If you primarily use Manus for email research, you can create a lightweight SKILL.md optimized for search-and-summarize workflows:

---
name: nylas-research
description: >
  Search and analyze email threads. Find messages by keyword, sender,
  or date range. Read and summarize threads. Extract decisions, action
  items, and key data points. Activate when the user asks about
  email research, inbox search, thread summary, or decision extraction.
compatibility: Requires internet access and a Nylas API key.
metadata:
  author: nylas
  version: "1.0"
---

# Nylas Email Research

Search and analyze email using the Nylas CLI.

## Setup

If `nylas` is not available, run:

```bash
curl -fsSL https://cli.nylas.com/install.sh | bash
nylas auth config
```

## Commands

### Search emails
```bash
nylas email search "QUERY" --limit 20 --json
```

### Read a message
```bash
nylas email read MESSAGE_ID --json
```

### List recent messages
```bash
nylas email list --limit 20 --json
```

## Research workflow

1. Search for relevant emails using keywords from the user's question.
2. Read the top results to extract details.
3. Compile findings into a structured summary.
4. If the user wants combined research, use web browsing after inbox search.

## Rules

- Always use `--json` for parseable output.
- Never send or modify emails during research tasks.
- Cite which email (sender, date, subject) each finding came from.

Tips for better email research

  • Use specific search terms. "Q4 contract renewal pricing" returns better results than "contract". Manus passes your keywords directly to the Nylas search API.
  • Mention senders by name. "Find emails from Sarah about the budget" lets Manus filter by sender and keyword simultaneously.
  • Set date ranges when possible. "Emails about the product launch from January 2026" helps Manus narrow the search and reduces credit usage.
  • Ask for structured output. "List the decisions as a table with columns for date, decision, and who decided" gives Manus a clear format to follow.
  • Combine with web browsing. Manus can research external context after searching your inbox. This is useful for competitive analysis, market research, and fact-checking.
  • Batch related questions. Instead of asking five separate questions about a project, ask Manus to "compile a research brief on Project X covering timeline, budget, decisions, and open questions from my email."

FAQ

Can Manus search my email without me giving it my password?

Yes. The Nylas CLI authenticates via OAuth or API key. Your email password is never shared with Manus. Credentials are stored locally in the Manus sandbox session and do not persist after the session ends.

How many emails can Manus search at once?

The --limit flag controls how many results are returned per search. You can set it up to 50. For broader research, Manus can run multiple searches with different keywords and combine the results into a single summary.

Does this work with Outlook and Gmail?

Yes. The Nylas CLI supports Gmail, Outlook (Microsoft 365 and Exchange), Yahoo, and any IMAP-compatible provider. Manus uses the same commands regardless of which email provider you use.

Next steps