Ghostwriter — Setup Guide¶
Source: okokelly/skill-ghostwriter Category: Email Automation
An autonomous email auto-reply pipeline for Hermes Agent. Two-job architecture: a zero-token Python watchdog checks Gmail, a processor agent drafts and sends replies in your voice. ~10x cheaper than single-job polling because the watchdog exits silently when there's nothing to process.
Installation¶
# Clone the repo (preserves references)
git clone #repo-unavailable.git
mkdir -p ~/.hermes/skills/email
cp -a skill-ghostwriter/ghostwriter ~/.hermes/skills/email/
Then start a Hermes session and load:
hermes -s ghostwriter
Or inside Hermes:
/skill ghostwriter
Prerequisites¶
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Google Workspace Auth | Gmail API access must be configured. Verify with: GAPI="$HOME/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv/bin/python3 $HOME/.hermes/skills/productivity/google-workspace/scripts/gmail.py" |
| Hermes Agent | v0.14.0+ for cron-based watchdog support |
| Target Contact | Email address of the VIP contact to auto-reply to |
Key Capabilities¶
Architecture¶
Watchdog (no_agent, script only)
every 5min → checks Gmail for target emails
├─ Nothing found → exits silently (no stdout → no delivery → $0 cost)
└─ Found → outputs email content → fed to Processor
Processor (agent, context_from=Watchdog)
every 6min, offset by 1min → receives watchdog output as context
├─ No watchdog output → responds with "." (minimal tokens)
└─ Email data present → reads, drafts reply, sends, archives
Core Features¶
| Capability | How to Trigger | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| VIP Inbox Monitoring | "Set up auto-reply for [person]" | Watchdog polls Gmail every 5 minutes |
| Voice-Guided Replies | "Ghostwriter for [new contact]" | Processor drafts in your voice/style |
| Silent Mode | Automatic — no emails = zero tokens | Watchdog exits without output when nothing found |
| Auto-Archive | Built into processor | Sent replies are automatically archived |
CorpusIQ Use Cases¶
| Use Case | How |
|---|---|
| VIP Client Auto-Reply | "Ghostwriter for client@example.com" — handles their emails autonomously |
| Partner Communication | Set up for integration partners who need quick responses |
| Investor Updates | Auto-respond to investor emails with status updates in your voice |
| Support Triage | Watchdog captures, processor drafts, human reviews before send |
| After-Hours Coverage | Run 24/7 — watchdog costs nothing when inbox is quiet |
Troubleshooting¶
| Issue | Fix |
|---|---|
| Watchdog not detecting emails | Verify Google Workspace auth: GAPI=... gmail.py |
| Processor sends no replies | Check cron offset — processor must run 1min after watchdog |
| High token usage | Verify watchdog exits silently on no-match (check cron output) |
| Wrong voice/style | Edit the voice prompt in ghostwriter/SKILL.md |
Verification¶
# Verify skill loaded
hermes skills list | grep ghostwriter
# Test watchdog manually
cd ~/.hermes/skills/email/ghostwriter
python3 scripts/watchdog.py --dry-run
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