thread summary #597

gdkrmr · 2026-01-02T20:34:50Z

Adds an option to the context menu to summarize single emails and email threads and allows the user to chat with them.

Customizable templates
No icon for the context menu yet
The default prompts probably need some fine tuning
There are probably still some bugs.
It fails silently for email threads that are too long; the limit can be changed in the options, but it is reached easily for long conversations.

Context menu:

Summary:

Asking questions:

gdkrmr · 2026-01-02T20:38:00Z

js/mzta-utils.js

 export const contextMenuIconsPath = {
  [contextMenuID_AddTags]: 'moz-extension:images/autotags.png',
  [contextMenuID_Spamfilter]: 'moz-extension:images/spamfilter.png',
+  // [contextMenuID_Summarize]: 'moz-extension:images/summarize.png',


no icon yet. If you have a good idea, go ahead and add one.

micz · 2026-01-02T20:56:35Z

Thank you Guido for your PR!
It will fit also for #580. I think I'll add an option to let the user choose between automatic summary or manually via the context menu.
Don't worry for the icon, I'll add it.

I'm currently working on version 3.8.0 in this branch that simplifies a lot how special prompts work in regard of the different integration APIs and the default settings.

May you rebase this PR to that branch?
Thank you again!

micz · 2026-01-02T21:05:24Z

What do you think about adding the summary directly in the mail body, as PR #579 does?
Your PR is opening the webchat collecting a list of emails, I was thinking about summarizing a single message, waiting for #152 to be implemented for a real thread summarization.

gdkrmr · 2026-01-02T21:49:55Z

It will fit also for #580. I think I'll add an option to let the user choose between automatic summary or manually via the context menu.

What do you think about adding the summary directly in the mail body, as PR #579 does?

I think the automatic summary inside of the email (#579/#580) sounds very cool. Both options can be useful, and the user should be able to use both. I am personally more interested in the ability to summarize threads and ask questions about them, so the ability to select more than one email is important to me, but this does not mean that won't appreciate automatic summaries when opening emails.

Regarding #152 : You can already get this by "context menu" -> "open" -> "open message in conversation". There you can just collapse the thread and then use "context menu" -> "summarize" from my PR. It is a couple of more clicks but also gives a bit more control in case you want to exclude an email.

I'm currently working on version 3.8.0 in this branch that simplifies a lot how special prompts work in regard of the different integration APIs and the default settings.

May you rebase this PR to that branch?

👍

micz · 2026-01-03T00:01:13Z

Regarding #152 : You can already get this by "context menu" -> "open" -> "open message in conversation". There you can just collapse the thread and then use "context menu" -> "summarize" from my PR. It is a couple of more clicks but also gives a bit more control in case you want to exclude an email.

You are right, this gives a workaround waiting for that feature in the Thunderbird API.

micz · 2026-01-03T21:59:45Z

You should also change the PR base to be the branch v3.8.0.
If you want I can do it for you.

gdkrmr · 2026-01-04T11:37:07Z

Question: Currently I have separators between emails in both the prompt as well as in concatenation. Where should they go?

https://github.com/gdkrmr/ThunderAI/blob/5fdbce06487d2315a5468723e47200da103fb3d8/mzta-background.js#L1062

Translations are auto generated, right?

I think you can review the PR now.

micz · 2026-01-04T15:26:29Z

You need to prepare also the final prompt, to handle placeholders.

For the concatenation, I'd like to have an option in the special prompt page to define it. The default value should be a translated string and not something hardcoded, so that the user can define it.

For the translation, do not worry, there is no need to add it to the PR, I manage the translation on weblate.

gdkrmr · 2026-01-07T19:48:06Z

All prompts handle placeholders now
there is a third prompt field for a separator between emails

One issue I see is that placeholders that do not exist, e.g. emails without attachments, don't get replaced:

Attachments:
{%mail_attachments_info%}

It doesn't really matter for the LLM but it would probably be better to replace them with a default value (e.g. "none") but I don't think this should be part of this PR.

When loading ThunderAI, I get the following error message, not sure if it is my fault:

micz · 2026-01-09T22:00:25Z

* there is a third prompt field for a separator between emails

I was thinking about using a parameter, but a dedicated prompt might be more flexible.

May you handle the enable and disable of the button in the option page, like the tag and spamfilter ones?

One issue I see is that placeholders that do not exist, e.g. emails without attachments, don't get replaced:
Attachments:
{%mail_attachments_info%}

With the "Placeholders: use default value" option selected it should use an empty string instead of the placeholder tag. do you have that option active?

When loading ThunderAI, I get the following error message, not sure if it is my fault:

This is my fault. I fixed it in aa0fd97, thank you!

micz · 2026-01-09T22:03:00Z

Could you also add descriptions for the three prompts on the management page to explain their purpose?

gdkrmr · 2026-01-10T22:06:44Z

This is my fault. I fixed it in aa0fd97, thank you!

Rebased onto v3.8.0, error is gone. 👍

I was thinking about using a parameter, but a dedicated prompt might be more flexible.

Let me know if you want me to change it, see also comment at the end. Folding this one into the other two prompts is possible and decreases the amount of code.

May you handle the enable and disable of the button in the option page, like the tag and spamfilter ones?

Ahh, didn't notice this one before, thanks! I only require messagesRead permissions, right? Should work now.

With the "Placeholders: use default value" option selected it should use an empty string instead of the placeholder tag. do you have that option active?

Option was unchecked. Works as intended, thanks!

Could you also add descriptions for the three prompts on the management page to explain their purpose?

Done, please let me know if they are not clear enough.

Also:

When reloading the addon, sometimes I get the following error. I have the suspicion that this happens after I change something in the code regarding the options but I am not quite sure:

Here are two minor issues:
- In the AI chat, there are quite a lot of stray quotes.
- The actual email address is missing from the From: field if the email is of the form Name <[email protected]>.

We should think about final forms of the actual prompts, I like the following suggestion by ChatGPT:

You are an assistant that summarizes email conversations.

Given an email thread, produce a concise, accurate summary that captures:

The main topic or purpose of the conversation

Key decisions, conclusions, or agreements

Important questions, requests, or action items

Who is responsible for each action item (if stated)

Omit greetings, signatures, quoted text, and redundant back-and-forth.
Do not add assumptions or information not present in the emails.

Write the summary in clear, neutral language suitable for a busy professional.


EMAIL THREAD
------------

[Email 1]
From: Alice Johnson <[email protected]>
To: Bob Smith <[email protected]>
Date: 2025-01-03 09:14
Subject: Project timeline update

Body:
The client approved the revised timeline.
We can move the delivery to March 15.

---

[Email 2]
From: Bob Smith <[email protected]>
To: Alice Johnson <[email protected]>
Date: 2025-01-03 10:02
Subject: Re: Project timeline update

Body:
Great. I’ll notify the engineering team and update the roadmap.

finally: Is there a way to strip footers, legal disclaimers, quoted replies (only makes sense if reply is not inline), etc. These will mostly increase token count and have a chance of confusing the LLM.

micz · 2026-01-11T21:06:12Z

mzta-background.js

+
+    // Add Context menu: Summarize
+    if(prefs_init.summarize && prefs_init.summarize_context_menu && checkAPIIntegration(prefs_init.connection_type && prefs_init.summarize_use_specific_integration, prefs_init.summarize_connection_type)) {
+      console.log("adding summarize to context menu")


To be removed before merging.

micz · 2026-01-11T21:12:38Z

options/mzta-options.js

+  summarize_el.addEventListener('click', (event) => {
+     async function _summarize_el_change() {
+      if (event.target.checked) {
+        let granted = await messenger.permissions.request({ permissions: ["messagesRead"] });


messageRead is not an optional permission, so you can't ask for it here. The permission is mandatory to install ThunderAI. See the mainfest.json file.
In the logs there is this error: "Uncaught (in promise) Error: Cannot request permission messagesRead since it was not declared in optional_permissions"

micz · 2026-01-11T21:17:12Z

options/mzta-options-default.js

    spamfilter_context_menu: true,
    spamfilter_enabled_accounts: [],
+    summarize: false,
+    summarize_context_menu: true,


You have added this option that is used in the mzta-background script, but there is no way for the user to change it. I use a similar option for add_tags and spamfilter, but I'm thiking about removing it and always show the menuitem when the user has activated the feature. I think you could remove it and always show the context menu when the summurize feature is activated.

I filed issue #609

micz · 2026-01-11T21:25:19Z

You need to add these to the en locale file:

prompt_summarize_email_template_full_text
prompt_summarize_email_separator_full_text

You are using prompt_summarize_email_template and prompt_summarize_email_separator as the full text, but this one should be only the prompt name. Also fix the reset buttons on click methods on the summirize page.

micz · 2026-01-11T21:31:50Z

pages/summarize/mzta-summarize.js

+  let getting = await browser.storage.sync.get(prefs_default);
+
+  let specialPrompts = await getSpecialPrompts();
+  let addtags_prompt = specialPrompts.find(prompt => prompt.id === 'prompt_add_tags');


you need to update for summarize this code pasted from add_tags.

micz · 2026-01-11T21:57:03Z

I was thinking about using a parameter, but a dedicated prompt might be more flexible.

Let me know if you want me to change it, see also comment at the end. Folding this one into the other two prompts is possible and decreases the amount of code.

I think we can keep it this way.

Also:

When reloading the addon, sometimes I get the following error. I have the suspicion that this happens after I change something in the code regarding the options but I am not quite sure:

In your actual code at that line there is no call that uses prefs.
If it happens again, check the new line number and share it. Thanks.

In the AI chat, there are quite a lot of stray quotes.

The problem is in the preparePrompt method: when there are no placeholders it uses the mail_body.
If the mail_body is empty you see the "".

You need to change line 53 of mzta-utils-prompt.js with:

fullPrompt = curr_prompt.text + (String(curr_prompt.need_signature) == "1" ? " " + await taPromptUtils.getDefaultSignature():"") + " " + chatgpt_lang + ((selection_text!='' || body_text != '')? " \"" + (selection_text=='' ? body_text : selection_text) + "\" " : '');

This has to be tested against all the other prompts if they continue to work.

The actual email address is missing from the From: field if the email is of the form Name <[email protected]>.

I think this happens when the mail body is converted from html to text.
May you check it?

We should think about final forms of the actual prompts, I like the following suggestion by ChatGPT:

Find a generic prompt that for you is working ok and we can use it as standard.

finally: Is there a way to strip footers, legal disclaimers, quoted replies (only makes sense if reply is not inline), etc. These will mostly increase token count and have a chance of confusing the LLM.

I checked it in the past, but there is no standard about it, so it's not possibile to be sure to strip the correct part of the email.

Thank you for all the work you are putting in adding this feature!!
I'm going to release version 3.8.0 in the next few days, then I usually wait some days to fix any bug and then I'll start working on the next major version where we can add this one!

gdkrmr commented Jan 2, 2026

View reviewed changes

micz mentioned this pull request Jan 2, 2026

feat(summary): add AI-powered message summary feature #579

Open

micz mentioned this pull request Jan 2, 2026

Add a message summary above the mail content #580

Open

gdkrmr marked this pull request as draft January 2, 2026 22:06

gdkrmr force-pushed the gk/thread_summary branch from b057c31 to 81c626a Compare January 3, 2026 11:37

gdkrmr changed the base branch from main to v3.8.0 January 4, 2026 11:31

gdkrmr marked this pull request as ready for review January 4, 2026 11:37

gdkrmr added 13 commits January 10, 2026 21:22

resolve rebase conflicts

84a65ac

Add MZTA summary page

050a3fd

change all "summary" -> "summarize"

4ab6da2

Fix context menu ID typos

02787e2

Add summarize prompt to specialPrompts

8abb7e3

Remove unused imports from mzta-summarize.js

2c07aa6

fixes saving of summarize prompt

7eb9a2c

Add Email Template Editor to Summarize Panel

fe427c2

WIP: Add Summarize context menu action and handler

f29d833

Implement summarization internals

7595c70

Fix malformed label closing tag in options page

c3e27f0

add customizable model options for summarize

3d2c2b9

move email separators to extra prompt field

66cc357

gdkrmr added 6 commits January 10, 2026 21:22

make some variables const

24edcc0

allow placeholders in other summarize prompts

c6bf2ed

fix bug

c261c1d

better explanation

30a7de3

better descriptions for prompts

d601121

handle disabling summarize options button

51c8141

gdkrmr force-pushed the gk/thread_summary branch from f0773d8 to 51c8141 Compare January 10, 2026 22:00

micz reviewed Jan 11, 2026

View reviewed changes

thread summary #597

Are you sure you want to change the base?

thread summary #597

Uh oh!

Conversation

gdkrmr commented Jan 2, 2026

Uh oh!

gdkrmr Jan 2, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

micz commented Jan 2, 2026

Uh oh!

micz commented Jan 2, 2026

Uh oh!

gdkrmr commented Jan 2, 2026

Uh oh!

micz commented Jan 3, 2026

Uh oh!

micz commented Jan 3, 2026

Uh oh!

gdkrmr commented Jan 4, 2026

Uh oh!

micz commented Jan 4, 2026

Uh oh!

gdkrmr commented Jan 7, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

micz commented Jan 9, 2026

Uh oh!

micz commented Jan 9, 2026

Uh oh!

gdkrmr commented Jan 10, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

micz Jan 11, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

micz Jan 11, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

micz Jan 11, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

micz Jan 11, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

micz commented Jan 11, 2026

Uh oh!

micz Jan 11, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

micz commented Jan 11, 2026

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

2 participants

gdkrmr commented Jan 7, 2026 •

edited

Loading

gdkrmr commented Jan 10, 2026 •

edited

Loading

micz Jan 11, 2026 •

edited

Loading