Email an idea. Your coding agent gets to work.

You email yourself a task. Codex or Claude Code runs it on your own computer and replies in the same Gmail thread.

$ uv tool install atgent Set it up

Free
Your own Gmail
Codex
Claude Code
macOS
Linux

While you’re out

Ideas show up when you’re away from your desk.

You remember a bug on a walk. You think of a change while you wait for coffee. You can send it to your agent right then, from your phone.

1Send the task from your own Gmail to your own address with +agents added.
2The subject line names the agent. The body describes the task.
3Queued and Started arrive as replies in the same thread.

1 2

CancelNew message

Fromyouremail@gmail.com

Toyouremail+agents@gmail.com

SubjectCodex: improve the signup form

Find the confusing parts of the signup form, improve them, and run the relevant checks. Leave the changes ready to review.

3

Re: Codex: improve the signup form9:52

Queued: codex / main / agent default

Re: Codex: improve the signup form9:52

Started. Your agent is working on this task.

On your computer

One email starts a task. Replies keep it going.

You set up a small runner on your computer once. You need no phone app, SSH, tunnel, hosted mail service or agent plugin.

Your Gmail Sent

To: +agents9:52 AMCodex: improve the signup form

To: Jess WongYesterdayCoffee Friday?

Your computer runner.log

09:41:02 INFO Intake armed for new messages; historical Sent mail skipped
09:52:17 INFO Accepted task 3f9c2a7e
09:52:18 INFO Running task 3f9c2a7e turn 1

The same thread 10:07 AM

Completed

I relabelled the signup fields and added inline error messages.

Task 3f9c2a7e. Reply in this thread to continue, or reply status / stop. Continue in Terminal: atgent open 3f9c2a7e

In the thread

Reply in the thread to continue the task.

Queued, Started and the result stay in the same email thread. Reply to continue, or open the same session at your desk.

Codex: improve the signup form4 messages

meRunner10:07 AM

Completed

I relabelled the signup fields and added inline error messages.

Task 3f9c2a7e. Reply in this thread to continue, or reply status / stop. Continue in Terminal: atgent open 3f9c2a7e

1

me10:14 AM

Also add a test for the empty email case.

meRunnerSame session10:14 AM

Started. Your agent is working on this task.

2

statusreply with one word

Turn 1: completed
Turn 2: running

The reply lists each turn of the task and its state.

3

stopreply with one word

Stop requested. Queued turns cancelled; any running process is being stopped. Existing file changes are retained.

The running agent stops. Files it already changed stay changed.

The subject line

The subject line picks the agent, the project and the model.

You send every task to your +agents address. Write the task in the email body. Plain text, HTML email and attachments are supported.

Subject

ClaudeAgentCodex or Claude

/websiteProjectA name from your config

[opus, terminal]Model and modeOptional

:

review the auth flowTaskThe rest is in the body

Codex: improve the signup form

Codex runs the task in your default project.

Codex/website: fix the footer links

Codex runs the task in the project named website in your config.

Claude [opus]: review the auth flow

Claude Code runs the task with the opus model. Replies in the thread keep that model.

Claude [opus, terminal]: review the auth flow

Claude Code opens the task in a new Terminal window and uses the opus model.

Agent names ignore case. Project names are case sensitive. Without a model in brackets, the agent’s default model from your config is used.

At your desk

Pick up the same session in your terminal.

atgent list shows your email tasks. Enter resumes the selected session in your terminal.

The same session, now answering in this terminal

Terminal · ~

atgent list
 atgent sessions   up/down move  Enter open  / filter  q quit
  AGENT   MODEL       STATUS        UPDATED   SUBJECT
  Claude  opus        running       2m ago    review the auth flow
> Codex   default     completed     14m ago   improve the signup form 
  Claude  default     needs_review  1h ago    fix the build
 3f9c2a7e last reply 
Completed. I relabelled the signup fields and added inline error messages.

>_ OpenAI Codex
Resuming session…

A print of a door with a mail slot. One hand turns the only key while a letter passes through, and other letters lie stopped on the mat.

Your Sent folder

Only you can send it tasks.

Mail from other people lands in your Inbox. The runner does not read your Inbox, so their mail cannot start a task.

Where the code runs

It runs on your computer, in the project folders you list in the config. Your repositories and agent sign-ins stay on your computer. Task text and results travel through Gmail and your agent provider.

What to protect

Anyone who can add mail to your Sent folder can also send tasks. Protect your Gmail account and its credentials.

Setup

You set it up once on the computer that runs the agent.

Install uv first. Then install Codex or Claude Code and sign in.

1
Installuv installs the atgent command.uv tool install atgent
2
Create the configGuided setup asks for your Gmail address, your project folders and which installed agents to use. It writes no secret to the config.atgent init
3
Give it Gmail accessTurn on IMAP and create a Google app password. Keep it in your OS keychain or password manager.
4
CheckDoctor checks Gmail over IMAP and SMTP without sending mail, plus the installed agents.atgent doctor
5
Enable automatic startupThe login service starts the runner after you sign in.atgent install-service

Terminal · one-time setup

uv tool install atgent
atgent init
Gmail or Google Workspace address: youremail@gmail.com
  Project alias (e.g. main): website
  Folder for website [/Users/you]: ~/code/website
  Use Claude Code (/opt/homebrew/bin/claude)? [Y/n]: y
Wrote ~/.config/agent-mailbox/config.json.
atgent doctor
Gmail authenticated; trusted Sent folder available
atgent install-service

This release

What it needs and what this release supports.

The macOS login service, attachments and approval replies were tested live. Linux and Gmail OAuth are unit-tested only.

You need

A Gmail account with IMAP access and an app password or your own OAuth client ID.
macOS or Linux, Python 3.11 or later, and uv.
Codex or Claude Code, installed and signed in.
A computer that stays awake and online.

In this release

Up to 32 workers can run tasks at once. Turns in one thread run one at a time.
Replies are formatted email with a plain text copy.
atgent list resumes an email task’s session in your terminal.
Approval emails are optional for Codex and Claude Code.

Send your first task.

Install the runner, run doctor, then email a task to your +agents address.

$ uv tool install atgent Get it on PyPI