---

name: gmail-cleaner description: Clean and organize Gmail accounts in bulk. Use when asked to clean Gmail, remove spam, trash newsletters/promotional emails, bulk-delete emails by sender, create labels, set up auto-filters, or restore emails from trash. Handles single or multiple Gmail accounts via OAuth token files. Works with any Gmail account using the Gmail API.

Gmail Cleaner

Bulk Gmail cleanup using the Gmail API. Processes 1000 messages per API call.

Prerequisites

• google-api-python-client, google-auth-oauthlib Python packages (scripts auto-install if missing)
• OAuth credentials JSON from Google Cloud Console (Desktop app type)
• Token files stored as .pkl files per account

Workflow

1. Auth (first time or new account)

python scripts/auth.py --credentials /path/to/credentials.json --token /path/to/token.pkl --scopes settings

• basic scopes: read/modify/delete messages + labels
• settings scopes: adds gmail.settings.basic (required for creating filters)
• Default token path: ~/.openclaw/workspace/gmail_token.pkl
• Default creds path: ~/.openclaw/workspace/gmail_credentials.json

For a second account, specify a different --token path (e.g., gmail_token_work.pkl).

2. Scan (identify what to clean)

python scripts/scan.py --token /path/to/token.pkl --sample 500

Shows inbox counts by category + top 40 senders. Run this first.

3. Clean (bulk trash/delete)

# Trash specific senders:
python scripts/clean.py --from "spam@example.com,news@example.org"

# Trash by Gmail search query:
python scripts/clean.py --query "category:promotions older_than:30d"

# From a JSON config file (list of {query, label}):
python scripts/clean.py --config senders.json

# Permanently delete instead of trash:
python scripts/clean.py --from "spam@example.com" --delete

# Dry run first:
python scripts/clean.py --from "spam@example.com" --dry-run

4. Deep Clean (comprehensive)

# Full deep clean (4 steps: trash promos → archive old → mark read → purge trash):
python scripts/deep_clean.py

# Custom age thresholds:
python scripts/deep_clean.py --promo-days 7 --archive-days 30 --unread-days 14

# Skip trash purge (keep trash for 30-day auto-delete):
python scripts/deep_clean.py --skip-trash-purge

5. Organize (labels + filters)

# Apply built-in label set (Business, Banking, Tech, Personal, Trading, Social):
python scripts/organize.py

# Custom labels/rules/filters from JSON:
python scripts/organize.py --config labels.json

# Labels only (no filters):
python scripts/organize.py --skip-filters

6. Restore (rescue emails from trash)

# Restore all emails from a sender + apply a label:
python scripts/restore.py --from healthbeat@mail.health.harvard.edu --label "Harvard Health"

# Restore by query:
python scripts/restore.py --query "from:apple.com in:trash" --label "Tech/Apple"

Multiple Accounts

Run each script with a different --token path per account:

python scripts/scan.py    --token ~/.openclaw/workspace/gmail_token_personal.pkl
python scripts/scan.py    --token ~/.openclaw/workspace/gmail_token_work.pkl
python scripts/deep_clean.py --token ~/.openclaw/workspace/gmail_token_work.pkl

Common Patterns

Full cleanup for one account:

python scripts/auth.py --scopes settings
python scripts/scan.py                         # identify top senders
python scripts/clean.py --from "..."          # trash specific senders
python scripts/deep_clean.py                   # clean categories
python scripts/organize.py                     # create labels + filters

Rescue important emails caught in bulk delete:

python scripts/restore.py --from important@example.com --label "Important"

Senders config file format for clean.py --config:

[
  {"query": "from:temu@eu.temuemail.com", "label": "Temu"},
  {"query": "category:promotions older_than:7d", "label": "Old Promos"}
]

Notes

• batchModify moves to TRASH — Gmail auto-purges after 30 days
• batchDelete is permanent and irreversible — always dry-run first
• Gmail filter creation requires gmail.settings.basic scope — re-auth with --scopes settings if filters fail with 403
• scan.py samples N messages; large inboxes may need --sample 2000 for accuracy
• Credentials JSON comes from Google Cloud Console → APIs & Services → Credentials → OAuth 2.0 → Desktop → Download JSON