Every 15 minutes

Turn emails that need action into Todoist tasks

Emails that ask you to do something become Todoist tasks with a clear title, due date and next step.

Runs: Every 15 minutes
Apps: Gmail, Todoist
AI: Yes, uses the built-in AI allowance
Access: gmail.modify; Todoist write

Send this to your assistant

Create a ClickRuntime automation: every 15 minutes, read my new inbox emails. If one needs me to do something, create a Todoist task with a short title, the due date if mentioned, and a link to the email, then label the email Tasked.

Paste it into your assistant. It tells you what it will send or change before it runs live.

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First time? Adding ClickRuntime to your assistant takes about two minutes.

Why use it

Why teams use this automation

For most people, the inbox is a to-do list in disguise. Requests sit among newsletters and notifications, and the one that needed an answer by Friday gets buried under Thursday's mail.

Pulling the actionable emails out into Todoist, with a clear title and due date, puts them in the list you actually work from. The inbox can then be treated as a place to read, not a place to remember.

What you get out of it

Nothing slips through
Requests hidden in long emails become tasks you will see, so deadlines are not missed.
Clear, short tasks
AI writes a task title that says what to do, not the email's subject line.
Due dates picked up
Dates mentioned in the email become the task's due date, so Todoist reminds you on time.
One click back to context
Each task links to the original email, so you have the details when you start.

How it works

What happens, step by step

Every 15 minutes ClickRuntime looks at new emails in your inbox that have not been checked yet.
AI decides whether each email asks you to do something, and if so writes a short task title, due date and next step.
A Todoist task is created with a link back to the email.
The email gets a Tasked label, so it is never turned into a task twice.

Before it runs live

Connect Google through your own Google app (a one-time, 10-minute setup), so it works with your own Gmail
Connect Todoist

What you get

RunsEvery 15 minutes

Turn emails that need action into Todoist taskstoday, 9:00Succeeded

Todoist · InboxSend Northwind the signed SOW · due Fri 24 Oct Next step: sign page 4 and reply to Dana's email

Build your own

Need it to work differently?

This template is a starting point. Copy the prompt and change it, or describe a different automation from scratch, with your own conditions, more apps or an AI step. Your assistant writes it, tests it and runs it on ClickRuntime.

Your own rules
Conditions, thresholds, filters and exceptions, written the way you'd explain them to a colleague.
Any number of apps
One automation can read from one app and update several others. Over 248 apps are ready, and anything with an API works too.
AI where it helps
Summaries, classification, extraction and drafts use ClickRuntime's built-in AI, with no extra key.
On a schedule or on each event
Runs as often as every 5 minutes, or the moment an app sends an event, and keeps track of what it already handled.

Changes you can ask for

Act only on the items that match your own rules, and skip the rest
Change what the AI looks for, or how it writes the result
Add another app, for example also send it to Slack
Combine it with other Gmail and Todoist steps into one automation

Under the hood

The code that runs this automation

This is the Python script that runs each time the automation starts. Your AI assistant writes it for you when you send the prompt, and you allow each step in your assistant. To change how the automation works, describe the change to your assistant and it updates the script for you. For every function it can use, see the script reference.

turn_actionable_emails_into_todoist_tasks.pyexample

from google.oauth2.credentials import Credentials
from googleapiclient.discovery import build
from clickruntime import on_trigger, report_fetched, credentials, http, ai

LABEL_ID = "Label_456"  # your "Tasked" label
SCHEMA = {"type": "object", "required": ["actionable"], "properties": {"actionable": {"type": "boolean"},
          "title": {"type": "string"}, "due": {"type": "string"}, "next_step": {"type": "string"}}}

@on_trigger
def run(event):
    gmail = build("gmail", "v1", credentials=Credentials(credentials.connection("google", "work")), cache_discovery=False).users()
    msgs = gmail.messages().list(userId="me", q="in:inbox newer_than:1d -label:Tasked -category:promotions", maxResults=20).execute().get("messages", [])
    report_fetched(len(msgs))
    if not msgs:
        return {"tasks": 0}
    todoist, made = {"Authorization": "Bearer " + credentials.connection("todoist", "main")}, 0
    for m in msgs:
        msg = gmail.messages().get(userId="me", id=m["id"], format="metadata", metadataHeaders=["From", "Subject"]).execute()
        head = {h["name"]: h["value"] for h in msg["payload"]["headers"]}
        r = ai.generate(f"From: {head.get('From')}\nSubject: {head.get('Subject')}\n{msg['snippet']}", json_schema=SCHEMA, max_output_tokens=120,
                        system="Does this email need the reader to act? If so give a short task title, due date (YYYY-MM-DD or empty) and next step.").json
        if r["actionable"]:
            http.post("https://api.todoist.com/api/v1/tasks", headers=todoist, json={"content": r["title"], "due_date": r.get("due") or None,
                      "description": f"{r.get('next_step', '')}\nhttps://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#all/{m['id']}"}).raise_for_status()
            made += 1
        gmail.messages().modify(userId="me", id=m["id"], body={"addLabelIds": [LABEL_ID]}).execute()
    return {"checked": len(msgs), "tasks": made}

FAQ

Common questions

Will newsletters and notifications become tasks?

No. AI only creates tasks for emails that ask you to do something. Promotions and automated notifications are skipped.

Which Todoist project do tasks go to?

Your Inbox by default, or any project you name.

Does it change my emails?

It only adds a Tasked label to emails it turned into tasks. Nothing is archived or deleted.

What permissions does it need?

gmail.modify; Todoist write. Nothing else in your accounts is used.

Does it need AI?

Yes. It uses ClickRuntime's built-in AI, so you don't need an OpenAI or Anthropic key. Every plan includes a monthly AI allowance.

How many runs does it use?

One run each time it checks. Checks that find nothing new and stop right away aren't counted.

Can I change how it works?

Yes. Describe the change to your AI assistant, for example a different schedule, channel or filter. It updates the automation, tests it and tells you what changed.

On a schedule