> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.minimo.it/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Inbox

> One thread per contact, with email, WhatsApp, SMS and Telegram together. Read it, answer it and hand it between people and the AI, from the app, the API or your AI agent.

The Minimo inbox is where your contacts' conversations land. Each contact has **one thread**, and every channel they
use (email, WhatsApp, SMS, Telegram) sits in that same thread, in order. Your team and your
[AI assistant](https://docs.minimo.it/product/messaging/whatsapp-assistant.md) work in the same threads.

The inbox is useful for:

* Customer support on WhatsApp and email, with an AI that answers first and hands over to a person when needed.
* Replies to your transactional and campaign emails (set up [inbound email](#prerequisites) and replies land here).
* An AI agent (Claude, ChatGPT, your own) that triages and answers conversations for you.

## How the inbox works

A **thread** is the conversation with one contact. It has:

| Field | Meaning |
| - | - |
| `status` | `open`, `closed`, or `snoozed` (comes back to the inbox at `snoozedUntil`). |
| `unreadMessages` | Messages nobody has read yet. |
| `channels` | The channels this contact has used, e.g. `["whatsapp", "email"]`. |
| `assignedTo` | The teammate in charge, or `null`. |
| `needsHuman` | The AI handed the conversation over to a person. |
| `ai.state` | `active` (the AI answers), `paused` (a person replied, the AI comes back after the assistant's pause time) or `disabled` (off until someone turns it back on). |

A **message** has a `direction`: `inbound` is written by the contact, `outbound` is sent by you, your team or your AI.

## What you can do

* **List and filter** threads like the inbox tabs: open, unread, needs attention, assigned to me, unassigned.
* **Search** inside messages ("who asked about the invoice?").
* **Read** a thread across every channel.
* **Mark read or unread, close, snooze, assign, pin.**
* **Turn the AI off or on** for one conversation.
* **Reply** by WhatsApp or email, as a member of your team.

All of this works in three places, with the same rules:

> [card] The app
>
> **Inbox** in Minimo, for your team.

> [card] [Your AI agent](https://docs.minimo.it/product/inbox/ai-agent.md)
>
> Claude, ChatGPT or any MCP client, with the `minimo_inbox_*` tools.

> [card] [The API](https://docs.minimo.it/api-reference/inbox/list-threads.md)
>
> `/public/v1/inbox/threads`, with an API key that has the **Inbox** permission.

## Prerequisites

* **WhatsApp:** a [connected number](https://docs.minimo.it/product/messaging/whatsapp-numbers.md). Incoming WhatsApp messages land in the inbox.
* **Email:** inbound email turned on for your workspace (**Settings › Connections › Email senders**, *Activate inbound receiving*). Replies to your
  emails then arrive in the contact's thread.

## Quickstart

**1. Connect your AI agent**

Follow [Connect your agent](https://docs.minimo.it/guides/connect-your-agent.md) (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor).

**2. Ask about your inbox**

```text theme={null}
Using Minimo: which conversations are waiting for an answer from us? Summarise each one in one line.
```

The agent lists the threads that need attention and reads them. Nothing is changed or sent.

**3. Answer one**

```text theme={null}
Reply to Mario on WhatsApp: "Yes, we ship to Sicily in 2 working days." Show me the message before sending.
```

The agent shows you a preview (recipient, channel, text). It sends only after you say yes.

Prefer code? The same in two calls with the [Inbox API](https://docs.minimo.it/api-reference/inbox/list-threads.md):

```bash theme={null}
curl "https://api.minimo.it/public/v1/inbox/threads?needsAttention=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_MINIMO_KEY"
```

## Related

> [card] [Manage threads](https://docs.minimo.it/product/inbox/threads.md)
>
> Filter, search, read, assign, close and snooze.

> [card] [Reply to a thread](https://docs.minimo.it/product/inbox/reply.md)
>
> WhatsApp's 24-hour window, email threading, preview first.

> [card] [AI and handover](https://docs.minimo.it/product/inbox/ai-handover.md)
>
> When the AI answers, when it stops, how to give a conversation back.

> [card] [Triage your inbox with an AI agent](https://docs.minimo.it/product/inbox/ai-agent.md)
>
> A complete example with Claude.


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