Immediate result: A summary of the thread: current status, decisions, open questions, who owes what, and a reply draft.
Problem it solvesLong email threads hide the decision, the open questions and who's waiting on whom.
34-email thread between us, a vendor and finance about a delayed shipment
Status: shipment held at customs; vendor waiting on our corrected invoice.
Who owes what: finance — corrected invoice (asked 3 times, last 21 Oct).
Reply: 'Finance, could you send the corrected invoice to the vendor today? It's the only thing holding the shipment.'
Long email threads hide the decision, the open questions and who is waiting on whom. This skill reads the whole thread and tells you where things stand in two lines, which decisions were made and by whom, what's still open, who owes what, and drafts the reply that moves things forward. It's especially useful when you're added to a thread late, back from leave, or managing someone else's inbox. To use it, paste the skill into your assistant and send the full email thread (pasted); the reply is laid out as “Status”, “Decisions” and “Open questions”.
# Skill: Email thread summarizer
You are running the "Email thread summarizer" skill for me. I work as: Manager / executive assistant. What I need from you: a summary of the thread: current status, decisions, open questions, who owes what, and a reply draft.
## When I send you the full email thread (pasted)
1. Summarise where things stand in two lines.
2. List decisions made and by whom.
3. List open questions and who owes what.
4. Draft the reply that moves things forward.
## Reply in this format
- Status
- Decisions
- Open questions
- Who owes what
- Suggested reply
## Rules
- Use only the facts I give you; mark anything you had to assume with [ASSUMPTION].
- If something essential is missing, ask me one short question, then continue.
- No preamble or filler: start with the result.
Confirm you're ready in one line, then wait for me to send the full email thread (pasted).Then sendThe full email thread (pasted). For example: 34-email thread between us, a vendor and finance about a delayed shipment
Upload it to Claude, add it to ChatGPT's Codex app, clone it into Claude Code, or download the SKILL.md for any agent. Full guide with screenshots →
Download the ZIP and upload it in Claude. Claude then uses the skill on its own whenever a request matches.
Download ZIP
OpenAI's Codex app reads the same SKILL.md format. Copy the skill into your Codex skills folder:
$ git -c http.version=HTTP/1.1 clone https://scienceofapps.com/skills/ai-skills.git
$ cp -r ai-skills/email-thread-summarizer ~/.codex/skills/
Clone the library and copy this skill into your Claude Code skills folder.
$ git -c http.version=HTTP/1.1 clone https://scienceofapps.com/skills/ai-skills.git
$ cp -r ai-skills/email-thread-summarizer ~/.claude/skills/~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or .claude/skills/ inside one project.Download the skill file and put it in a folder named after the skill.
Download SKILL.md~/.claude/skills/email-thread-summarizer/SKILL.md.Repositoryscienceofapps.com/skills/ai-skills.git · all 200 skills, one folder each, plain git over HTTPS
Long email threads hide the decision, the open questions and who's waiting on whom. The skill fixes that: a summary of the thread: current status, decisions, open questions, who owes what, and a reply draft.
Copy the skill and paste it as the first message of a new chat, then send your input. To keep it, paste it into a ChatGPT Project or custom GPT, a Claude Project or a Gemini Gem, or upload the SKILL.md file as a Claude Skill.
Send the full email thread (pasted). If something essential is missing, the skill asks you one short question and then continues.
Yes. It's free to copy, use and adapt, with no sign-up, and works in the free versions of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot.
ProblemDrafts are wordy and unclear, but heavy-handed AI rewrites erase the writer's voice.
1,200-word blog draft on remote work
Word count: 1,200 → 880
Change: moved the main argument from paragraph 6 to the opening.
Needs a source: '70% of workers prefer remote' — add the survey or remove.
Immediate resultA tightened draft that keeps your voice, with every edit explained and a readability check.
ProblemLong reports go unread because the key point is buried on page nine.
A 22-page market entry report for Southeast Asia
Bottom line: enter Vietnam first — the largest addressable market of the three studied with the lowest setup cost.
Decision needed: approve a ₹1.2 crore pilot budget by 15 December.
Risk: local payment partner not yet signed.
Immediate resultA one-page executive summary: the bottom line first, three supporting points and the decision needed.
ProblemPress releases read like ads, so journalists ignore them.
Our app crossed 1 million downloads; launching in Marathi and Bengali; Pune, 3 Nov
Headline: [App] passes 1 million downloads, adds Marathi and Bengali
PUNE, 3 November 2026 — [App], a [category] app, today said it has crossed one million downloads…
Quote (draft): 'Most of our new users open the app in a language other than English…'
Immediate resultA press release in inverted-pyramid style with a news headline, dateline, quotes and boilerplate.
All 8 writing & communications skillsAll 200 skillsRead it in the articleProve it: Written Business Communication Certification (free test)
60 research-backed principles in 6 categories — what each one means, why it works on the human brain and how to use it on your own screens. Written by Sushant Singh, founder of Science of Apps, who has scaled consumer apps to lacs of users and spent 10+ years leading product across startups and digital businesses in the US, EU & India.
110 real paywalls from top apps, taken apart, rated out of 5 and decoded with the Laws of UX — plus the frameworks, copy and checklists to ship your own. By Sushant Singh, founder of Science of Apps.