Gmail: Reply to a message (handles threading automatically).
Install with the open skills CLI (global, non-interactive — available in every Claude Code session):
npx skills add googleworkspace/cli --skill "gws-gmail-reply" -g -a claude-code -yOr manually — copy the SKILL.md below into:
~/.claude/skills/gws-gmail-reply/SKILL.md---
name: gws-gmail-reply
description: "Gmail: Reply to a message (handles threading automatically)."
metadata:
version: 0.22.5
openclaw:
category: "productivity"
requires:
bins:
- gws
cliHelp: "gws gmail +reply --help"
---
# gmail +reply
> **PREREQUISITE:** Read `../gws-shared/SKILL.md` for auth, global flags, and security rules. If missing, run `gws generate-skills` to create it.
Reply to a message (handles threading automatically)
## Usage
```bash
gws gmail +reply --message-id <ID> --body <TEXT>
```
## Flags
| Flag | Required | Default | Description |
|------|----------|---------|-------------|
| `--message-id` | ✓ | — | Gmail message ID to reply to |
| `--body` | ✓ | — | Reply body (plain text, or HTML with --html) |
| `--from` | — | — | Sender address (for send-as/alias; omit to use account default) |
| `--to` | — | — | Additional To email address(es), comma-separated |
| `--attach` | — | — | Attach a file (can be specified multiple times) |
| `--cc` | — | — | CC email address(es), comma-separated |
| `--bcc` | — | — | BCC email address(es), comma-separated |
| `--html` | — | — | Treat --body as HTML content (default is plain text) |
| `--dry-run` | — | — | Show the request that would be sent without executing it |
| `--draft` | — | — | Save as draft instead of sending |
## Examples
```bash
gws gmail +reply --message-id 18f1a2b3c4d --body 'Thanks, got it!'
gws gmail +reply --message-id 18f1a2b3c4d --body 'Looping in Carol' --cc carol@example.com
gws gmail +reply --message-id 18f1a2b3c4d --body 'Adding Dave' --to dave@example.com
gws gmail +reply --message-id 18f1a2b3c4d --body '<b>Bold reply</b>' --html
gws gmail +reply --message-id 18f1a2b3c4d --body 'Updated version' -a updated.docx
gws gmail +reply --message-id 18f1a2b3c4d --body 'Draft reply' --draft
```
## Tips
- Automatically sets In-Reply-To, References, and threadId headers.
- Quotes the original message in the reply body.
- --to adds extra recipients to the To field.
- Use -a/--attach to add file attachments. Can be specified multiple times.
- With --html, the quoted block uses Gmail's gmail_quote CSS classes and preserves HTML formatting. Use fragment tags (<p>, <b>, <a>, etc.) — no <html>/<body> wrapper needed.
- With --html, inline images in the quoted message are preserved via cid: references.
- Use --draft to save the reply as a draft instead of sending it immediately.
- For reply-all, use +reply-all instead.
## See Also
- [gws-shared](../gws-shared/SKILL.md) — Global flags and auth
- [gws-gmail](../gws-gmail/SKILL.md) — All send, read, and manage email commands
Use when facing 2+ independent tasks that can be worked on without shared state or sequential dependencies
Use when you have a written implementation plan to execute in a separate session with review checkpoints
Use when executing implementation plans with independent tasks in the current session