Outlook

You have tools whose names begin with outlook_ that operate on the user's actual Microsoft Outlook account. They read and write live data — sent mail goes out, deleted items move to Deleted Items, accepted invites notify organizers. Treat write operations the way you would treat any user-visible action: confirm intent first.

When to use this skill

Activate whenever the user wants to do something with their Outlook data. The user does not need to say "Outlook." Triggers include:

• Mail: "any new emails from X?", "draft a reply to that thread about Y", "forward Bob's note to the team", "clean out my inbox", "save the attachment from Sarah's email"
• Calendar / meetings: "what do I have Friday?", "schedule 30 min with Alice next Tuesday", "make that meeting recurring weekly", "decline the 4pm", "what time is the all-hands?"
• Contacts: "what's Carlos's email?", "phone number for the legal team contact"
• Tasks: "remind me to send the report Monday", "mark the budget task done"
• Categories / rules / OOO: "tag that email as Important", "is my OOO still on?", "turn off the rule that auto-files Jira mail"

If outlook_* tools are not available in the session, the underlying integration isn't installed yet. Don't guess or improvise — instead, read references/setup.md and walk the user through installing it (Windows + classic Outlook + a one-line install + restart their MCP client). After install they restart the client and the tools appear.

Tool catalog

All tools are prefixed outlook_. Memorize the categories; consult references/tools.md for exact parameters and return shapes the first time you reach for one.

Conventions you must internalize

These rules are the same across every tool. Internalize them and you'll rarely need to peek at references/tools.md.

Folder references

Any parameter named folder, target_folder, parent, or root accepts:

• A well-known name (case-insensitive): inbox, sent, drafts, deleted (alias trash), outbox, junk (alias spam), calendar, contacts, tasks, notes.
• A slash path under the default mailbox: Inbox/Projects/Acme.
• A store-qualified path when the user has more than one mailbox or PST: Mailbox - you@example.com/Inbox/Projects/Acme.

When unsure of the exact path, call outlook_list_folders first and use the path string it returns verbatim.

Item identity: EntryID

Every mail, event, contact, and task has a stable entry_id string. List/search tools return it on every item; pass that exact string back to detail/edit/delete/reply/move tools. Never invent an entry_id. Never paste a subject line into an entry_id field.

If the user refers to an item by description ("the email from Bob about Q3"), first find it (e.g. search_mails), then act on the returned entry_id.

entry_ids become invalid if the item is deleted; moving an item between stores produces a new ID. If you get an "Item not found" error, re-list to refresh.

Dates and times

All date/time parameters are ISO-8601 strings: 2026-04-25T14:30:00. Without a timezone suffix the value is interpreted as the user's local time, which is what the user expects.

Resolve relative phrasing ("Friday at 3", "next Monday morning", "tomorrow") yourself before calling — the tools don't parse natural language. Use today's date from the conversation context as the anchor.

response_format

Most read tools accept response_format='markdown' (default; pretty for the user) or response_format='json' (structured for you to parse). Pick json when you need to extract a field (almost always an entry_id) to chain into another call. Pick markdown when the result is the final answer to the user.

Recurrence (calendar)

outlook_create_event accepts an optional recurrence object:

{
  "type": "weekly",         // "daily" | "weekly" | "monthly" | "yearly"
  "interval": 1,            // every N units; default 1
  "occurrences": 10,        // OR
  "end_date": "2026-12-31"  // ISO date — provide one or the other; omit both for indefinite
}

update_event does not change recurrence. If the user wants to alter a recurring series' cadence, the simplest path is delete + recreate.

Filesystem paths

attachments= (on send_mail/reply_mail/forward_mail) and output_dir= (on save_attachments) require absolute paths under the user's profile directory (C:\Users\<them>\...). This sandbox is enforced; you can't bypass it from a tool call. If the user really needs a path elsewhere (a network share, D:, etc.), they have to set OUTLOOK_MCP_ALLOW_ANY_PATH=1 in their environment — tell them, don't try to work around it.

Read tools are free; write tools have side effects

Read freely: list_mails, search_mails, get_mail, list_folders, list_events, get_event, list_contacts, search_contacts, get_contact, resolve_name, list_tasks, list_categories, list_rules, get_out_of_office, whoami.

Confirm before calling (these change shared state or send messages): send_mail, reply_mail, forward_mail, delete_mail, move_mail, mark_mail, save_attachments, create_event (especially with attendees — that sends a meeting invite immediately), update_event, delete_event, respond_event (with send_response=true), create_folder, create_task, complete_task, set_category, toggle_rule.

Two staging tricks worth knowing:

• outlook_send_mail(..., save_only=true) saves to Drafts without sending — perfect for "draft a reply for me to look at" requests.
• outlook_respond_event(..., send_response=false) records your local accept/decline without emailing the organizer.

Default workflow

1. Identify the item. For mail, prefer search_mails over list_mails when the user describes content (subject keyword, sender name). For calendar, list_events with a date range. Capture entry_ids as you go (response_format='json' makes this clean).
2. Read the full record before editing or replying. get_mail / get_event return the full body — list/search results only include a 200-char preview, which is not enough to write a grounded reply.
3. Confirm destructive or outbound actions unless explicitly authorized. State the verb, recipients, and key fields. For replies, show the user the body you're about to send, or save it as a draft and tell them where to find it.
4. Act, then report briefly. "Sent — replied-all to 'Re: Q3 budget' with the revised numbers." Don't echo raw JSON unless asked.

Critical gotchas

Read references/gotchas.md for the complete list. The non-negotiables:

• Exchange sender addresses look like EX:/O=... distinguished names, not SMTP. When filtering with from_address in list_mails, pass a name substring (e.g. "sarah") rather than an exact address.
• Mail rule toggling is live. toggle_rule flips a real rule the instant it's called. Always list_rules first, confirm the exact rule name with the user, then toggle.
• OOO is read-only here. get_out_of_office reports state; there is no tool to enable/disable. If the user wants to set OOO, tell them to use Outlook → File → Automatic Replies.
• Programmatic Access prompts on corporate machines can silently block send_mail/reply_mail/forward_mail/delete_mail. If the user reports "you said you sent it but I don't see it", point them to Outlook → File → Options → Trust Center → Programmatic Access.
• First call after a cold start can take several seconds. Don't retry as if it had failed.
• A meeting that has attendees is sent the moment create_event succeeds — there's no "save as draft" for invites. Confirm attendee list and times before calling.
• Only classic Outlook is supported. If the user is on the new Outlook (olk.exe), the tools won't see it. Tell them to switch back to classic Outlook.

Reference files (load on demand)

• references/tools.md — every outlook_* tool: parameters, defaults, return shape, and notes on which fields feed into which subsequent tools.
• references/recipes.md — worked examples for triage, drafting replies, weekly digests, scheduling meetings, recurring events, attachment workflows, multi-mailbox setups.
• references/gotchas.md — every quirk and failure mode worth knowing, with the user-visible symptom and the corrective action.
• references/setup.md — load this only when the outlook_* tools aren't yet available. It walks the user through the one-time install of the underlying integration (Windows + classic Outlook prerequisites, install command, registering with the user's MCP client, and a troubleshooting tree).

Read the relevant reference file when you're about to do something for the first time in a session. The information is dense — fetching it once and keeping it in working memory is cheaper than calling tools blindly and recovering from errors.