14 KiB
Declawed: your kuddly assisty-kitty
Inbox brimming with stank, algorithmically-generated logs? Wanna cut the crap and get the stuff that matters into your calendars, Atlassian, Jira, Asana, G sheets (etc., etc.) ... in two clicks?
(Cat) nip it in the bud!!
The "why":
Declawed is a configurable, prompt purrr-fectable LLM mail and task automation assisty-kitty.
More private than other options (not purrfect yet - but privacy is our number one goal with every release).
More accurate actions/results (read on).
Eliminates the frustrating feeling you'll never get the dangling, catnip-stuffed mouse you've been chasing all week
Privacy: more than the blue-plate crustacean
Your own local Model Context Protocol (MCP) server integrates with your preferred LLM API. Each step offers greater control, configurability and transparency over permissions.
Avoid the flakey (molty?) black-box installs that are loaded with more Trojans than an Olympic Village. Silent/dark processes, data harvesting phone-homes, behavioral analytics, telemetry backdoors - the nasties lurking in the dark detritus.
💩 You know lobsters eat poop, right? 💩
Simplicity
NLP prompts are actually easy and demonstrably more effective
Stop drilling down byzantine menus in mail, scheduling and workflow platforms to configure filters and actions that 1. only ever work 20% of the time 2. change in functionality and scope every two months.
Write short, declarative prompts instead. It's like wrapping busywork's paws in tinfoil and tossing it in a bathtub.
Prompts
- Use semantic grouping, organizing by message intent, purpose, and context.
- The prompt templates in our "built in" library are evaluated using, for example, cosine similarity, ROUGE scoring and real human feedback.
- For example: you'll consistently keep the treasure and trash the junk when you task deClawed with reviewing forums/feeds where actionable insights are gold, but only 10% of the signal.
Prompting: easily configured to cron: cleaning the litter(in)box before the stank wafts into the whole house.
Imagine your morning inbox or summaries brimming with a fresh, spring-meadow aroma of opportunity and insight -- not last night's litter.
-- You just might feel like it' s freakin' 1998 again.
Wiring up your kitty
Assisty-kitty easily interfaces with mail and calendar and other app APIs (about any other service you want to plug in) ... it keeps things moving so you can go chase laser pointers or enjoy a 19-hour nap in a sunbeam.
Scope and Architecture
Current implementation requires building/using:
-- Claude Desktop (as UI - proprietary UI coming soonish) -- Building/Connecting a Local Model Context Protocol Server -- A DNS-config’d domain, with MX records pointing to: -- A commercial or self-hosted SMTP Server
Coming soonish:
-- Proprietary custom UI. -- Support for Hugging Face models galore.
- Support for wiring to local LLMs.
Setup
1. Install Node.js (v16+ required).
node --version
npm --version
If not installed, grab it from nodejs.org.
2. Clone and Install
git clone https://github.com/kjannette/deClawed-Assisty-Kitty.git
cd deClawed-Assity-Kitty
npm install
3. Set Up Google Cloud Credentials
3a. Create a Google Cloud Project
- Go to Google Cloud Console
- Sign in with the Google account that owns the target Gmail
- Click the project dropdown (top-left) > New Project
- Name it (e.g.,
assistant-mcp) and click Create - Select the new project from the dropdown
3b. Enable APIs
In APIs & Services > Library, enable:
- Gmail API
- Google Sheets API (if mapping mail to sheets)
- Google Calendar API (if using calendar event creation, etc.s)
3c. Configure the OAuth Consent Screen
- Go to Google Auth Platform > Branding (or APIs & Services > OAuth consent screen)
- Set user type to External, click Create
- Fill in app name, support email, and developer contact email
- Save and continue
3d. Add OAuth Scopes
In Google Auth Platform > Data Access, add:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.modifyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheets(for Sheets integration)https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.events(for Calendar integration)
3e. Add Yourself as a Test User
Go to Google Auth Platform > Audience and add each Gmail address you'll use.
3f. Create OAuth Client Credentials
- Go to Google Auth Platform > Clients (or APIs & Services > Credentials)
- Click Create Client > Application type: Desktop app
- Download the JSON, rename it to
credentials.json - Place it in the project root
4. Configure Accounts
Create file accounts.json in the project root. Each key is an account alias with its own token file and optional Sheets/Calendar config:
{
"work": {
"label": "you@yourdomain.com",
"tokenFile": "token.json",
"spreadsheetId": "YOUR_GOOGLE_SHEET_ID",
"calendarId": "primary"
},
"secondary": {
"label": "you@gmail.com",
"tokenFile": "token-secondary.json"
}
}
label-- display name (typically the email address)tokenFile-- per-account OAuth token (auto-generated during auth)spreadsheetId-- Google Sheets ID for recruiter contact logging (optional)calendarId-- Google Calendar ID for event creation (optional,"primary"uses the default calendar)
5. Authorize Gmail Accounts
Build and run the auth script for each account:
npm run auth # authorizes the "work" account
npm run auth -- secondary # authorizes the "secondary" account
Each run will:
- Print a URL -- open it in your browser
- Sign in and click Allow
- You'll land on a "localhost refused to connect" page (normal)
- Copy the entire URL from the address bar and paste it back into the terminal
- The script saves the token file (e.g.,
token.jsonortoken-secondary.json)
You only need to do this once per account. Tokens auto-refresh.
6. Write the Prompts
Two plain-text prompt files in src/prompts/ control the workflow:
| File | Phase | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
src/prompts/classify-emails.txt |
1 -- Classification | Defines categories A/B/C/D and how to sort emails |
src/prompts/take-action-on-emails.txt |
2 -- Action | Tells the LLM what to do with each category (delete, log, schedule, etc.) |
Tips:
- Use clear, explicit category definitions with example language
- Handle ambiguous cases (e.g., "If an email both acknowledges receipt AND requests action, classify as B")
- Prompt files are loaded at runtime -- edit them anytime, no rebuild required
7. Build
npm run build
Compiles src/**/*.ts into build/.
8. Configure Claude Desktop
Edit your Claude Desktop config:
code ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Add the server:
{
"mcpServers": {
"assistant": {
"command": "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/node",
"args": [
"/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/deClawed-Assity-Kitty/build/index.js"
]
}
}
}
Replace paths with the output of which node and your actual project location.
9. Add/Configure API Keys, Credentials, and Other Secrets
Secret files are gitignored -- they never leave your machine. Example templates are provided so you know what shape each file needs to be in.
9a. credentials.json
This file holds your Google OAuth client credentials. You do not write this by hand -- it is downloaded from the Google Cloud Console (see Step 3f above). Copy the example and then replace it with the real download:
cp credentials.example.json credentials.json
# Now replace credentials.json with the file downloaded from Google Cloud Console.
The structure looks like this (the example file ships with empty values):
{
"installed": {
"client_id": "",
"project_id": "",
"auth_uri": "https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/auth",
"token_uri": "https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token",
"auth_provider_x509_cert_url": "https://www.googleapis.com/oauth2/v1/certs",
"client_secret": "",
"redirect_uris": ["http://localhost"]
}
}
9b. accounts.json
Defines each Gmail account the server manages. Copy the example and fill in your values:
cp accounts.example.json accounts.json
| Field | What to put here |
|---|---|
label |
The email address for this account (display only) |
tokenFile |
Filename for this account's OAuth token (e.g., token.json) |
spreadsheetId |
The ID from your Google Sheet URL: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/<THIS_PART>/edit (optional) |
calendarId |
"primary" for your default calendar, or a specific calendar ID (optional) |
Add as many accounts as you need. Each key (e.g., "work", "secondary") becomes the account name used in tool calls and auth commands.
9c. token*.json (auto-generated)
Token files are created automatically when you run npm run auth (Step 5). You do not need to create or edit them manually. A token.example.json is provided for reference only -- it shows the structure but the values are populated by the OAuth flow.
Summary of secret files
| Example template | Actual file (gitignored) | How to create |
|---|---|---|
credentials.example.json |
credentials.json |
Download from Google Cloud Console |
accounts.example.json |
accounts.json |
Copy example, fill in your email/sheet/calendar IDs |
token.example.json |
token.json, token-secondary.json, etc. |
Auto-generated by npm run auth |
10. Restart Claude Desktop
Fully quit (Cmd+Q, not just close the window) and reopen. The assistant server should appear under Connectors.
MCP Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
fetch_new_emails |
Fetches unread emails for a given account. Classification and action prompts are automatically appended to the response. |
delete_emails |
Moves emails to trash by Gmail message ID. Used for categories A (acknowledgements/junk/”THANKS!”/offers) and C (rejections). |
append_to_summary |
Logs classified emails to per-account summary files in mailSummaries/. Entries older than 30 days are auto-purged. |
log_contact |
Logs or updates contact info in a Google Sheet. Merges rows by email + role. |
create_calendar_event |
Creates a Google Calendar event for scheduled calls/meetings. Includes meeting links, attendees and their contact info. |
MCP Prompts (built in as of now-ish - add your own)
BETTER YET - DO A PR OR FORK
| Prompt | Account | Description |
|---|---|---|
review_emails |
work | Loads the classification + action prompts for the work inbox |
review_secondary_emails |
secondary | Same workflow, but for a second email account inbox |
Invoke these from Claude Desktop's Connectors menu, or just type "Review my inbox" / "Review my secondary inbox."
Two-Phase Workflow
Phase 1 -- Classify
The LLM calls fetch_new_emails, which returns email data with the classification instructions from classify-emails.txt appended. Each email is sorted into:
| Category | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| A | Acknowledgement / auto-reply | Delete |
| B | Advancement to next step | Summarize + log |
| C | Rejection | Delete |
| D | Other / uncategorized | Summarize + log |
Phase 2 -- Act
Using take-action-on-emails.txt, the LLM:
- Calls
delete_emailsfor A + C - Calls
append_to_summaryfor B + D - Calls
log_recruiter_contactto track contacts in Sheets (if configured) - Calls
create_calendar_eventfor any scheduled interviews/calls (if configured)
Key Commands
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
npm run build |
Recompile after editing source files |
npm run auth |
Authorize the default (work) account |
npm run auth -- secondary |
Authorize the secondary account |
npm test |
Run the test suite |
npm run test:watch |
Run tests in watch mode |
Project Structure
deClawed-Assity-Kitty/
├── src/
│ ├── index.ts # Entry point -- imports modules, starts server
│ ├── McpServer.ts # MCP server instance
│ ├── auth.ts # Multi-account OAuth setup script
│ ├── loaders/
│ │ └── prompt-config-loaders.ts # Account, prompt, and OAuth client loaders
│ ├── prompt-controller-service/
│ │ └── prompt-controller-service.ts # MCP prompt registration
│ ├── prompts/
│ │ ├── classify-emails.txt # Phase 1: classification instructions
│ │ └── take-action-on-emails.txt # Phase 2: action instructions
│ └── tools/
│ ├── tools-email.ts # fetch, delete, append_to_summary
│ ├── tools-calendar.ts # create_calendar_event
│ └── tools-spreadsheet.ts # log_recruiter_contact
├── accountsAndCredentials/
│ ├── accounts.json # Multi-account configuration (gitignored)
│ ├── accounts.example.json # Template for accounts.json
│ ├── credentials.json # Google OAuth client credentials (gitignored)
│ ├── credentials.example.json # Template for credentials.json
│ ├── token.json # OAuth token -- work account (gitignored, auto-generated)
│ ├── token-secondary.json # OAuth token -- secondary account (gitignored, auto-generated)
│ └── token.example.json # Template showing token structure
├── test/
│ ├── fixtures/
│ │ └── mock-emails.ts # Mock Gmail API responses
│ ├── integration/
│ │ └── email-workflow.test.ts # Integration tests
│ └── unit/
│ └── email-parsing.test.ts # Unit tests for parsing helpers
├── mailSummaries/ # Per-account summary output (gitignored, auto-generated)
├── build/ # Compiled JS (auto-generated)
├── assets/
│ └── logo.png # Project logo
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── vitest.config.ts
├── .gitignore
└── README.md
