An POP-like inbox for my note taking system. Rather than pushing things directly into my notes, I hold them here until I'm ready to thoughtfully engage with them. This separation allows me to capture freely in the moment, then process intentionally when I'm ready.

When I yeet raw information into my vault, I don't get any benefit from it. This POP-like approach forces me to engage with things before storing them more permanently.

Also, more technically, Obsidian doesn't have a push-friendly API - you can't just send data to your vault from anywhere. Instead, you have to pull data into the vault from a client. Doing so requires a unified receptacle, that's this val!

See CLAUDE.md for AI assistant guidelines and PROJECT.md for detailed architecture.

1. Remix on Val.town

2. Run one-time database setup

   Run the one-time setup script to create the database table in your val.town sqlite database.

3. Configure Environment Variables

   In val.town, set these secrets:

   • INBOX_API_TOKEN - Create a secure random token for API auth (via e.g. openssl rand -hex 32)
   • INCOMING_EMAIL_ALLOWLIST - Comma-separated email addresses allowed to send records to the inbox (e.g. name@gmail.com,name@work.org)

4. Set up MCP Server (for Claude Desktop integration)

   Create ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "inbox": {
         "command": "deno",
         "args": [
           "run",
           "--allow-net",
           "--allow-env",
           "/path/to/inbox/localMcpServer.ts"
         ],
         "env": {
           "INBOX_API_URL": "https://your-username-httphandler.web.val.run",
           "INBOX_API_TOKEN": "your-api-token"
         }
       }
     }
   }

   Alternatively, use the published val URL:

   "command": "deno",
   "args": [
     "run",
     "--allow-net",
     "--allow-env",
     "https://esm.town/v/your-username/inbox/localMcpServer.ts"
   ]

obsidian-inbox/
├── server/            # Core http server logic
├── mcp/               # Model Context Protocol server
├── emailHandler.ts    # Val.town email trigger
├── httpHandler.ts     # Val.town HTTP endpoint
├── cleanupCron.ts     # Val.town cron job
├── localMcpServer.ts  # Entry point for local MCP
└── apiClient.ts       # HTTP client (used by MCP)

Via Email: Send email to your Val.town email address from an allowlisted sender. The email body and attachments are automatically saved.

Via HTTP API:

curl -X POST https://your-val.web.val.run/api/record \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "raw": "Content to process later",
    "subject": "Meeting notes",
    "from": "manual-entry",
    "date": "2025-10-21T10:00:00Z",
    "attachmentBlobIds": []
  }'

With Claude Desktop (MCP): In Claude Desktop, ask:

• "What's in my inbox?"
• "Download the attachments from inbox item XYZ"
• "Mark inbox item ABC as processed"

With Custom Scripts:

# Get unprocessed items
curl https://your-val.web.val.run/api/inbox \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

# Mark item as processed
curl -X PATCH https://your-val.web.val.run/api/record/{id}/processed \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

All endpoints require Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN header.

Go nuts, but know this was largely vibe-coded