Introduction

Universal Inbox is a productivity solution that streamlines your digital workflow by centralizing notifications and tasks from multiple tools into one manageable interface.

What is Universal Inbox?

Universal Inbox brings together your notifications and tasks in one powerful interface, featuring:

• Centralized Notification Hub: Consolidates notifications from multiple tools:

  • GitHub notifications
  • Linear issue and project notifications
  • Google Mail threads (with specific tags)
  • Slack "saved for later" items and reacted with an emoji

• Efficient Notification Management: Take immediate action on notifications:

  • Delete notifications until next update
  • Unsubscribe to silence future updates
  • Snooze notifications for later handling
  • Convert notifications into actionable tasks
  • Custom actions tailored to notification types (e.g. respond to Google Calendar invitations)

• Task Synchronization: Two-way synchronization between your task management tool and connected tools (e.g. Slack "saved for later" items or Linear assigned issues).

Key Benefits

• Streamlined Workflow: Eliminate the need to check multiple inboxes
• Enhanced Productivity: Transform unplanned notifications into structured tasks
• Perfect Synchronization: Maintain consistent status across all connected tools
• Flexible Integration: Works with your existing tools and workflows

Getting Started

To begin using Universal Inbox:

1. Sign up on Universal Inbox
2. Connect your tools
3. Start managing your notifications and tasks

Ready to take control of your notifications? Head to the Quick Start Guide to begin.

Getting Started with Universal Inbox

Logging In to Your Account

If you already have a Universal Inbox account, log in here using the same authentication method you used when creating your account.

Creating a New Account

If you're new to Universal Inbox, click "Create a new account" from the login page.

Universal Inbox offers three secure methods to create your account. Choose the option that best suits your preferences:

1. Email-Based Registration

Create an account with your email address:

1. Enter your email address
2. Create a strong password
3. Click "Sign up"

2. Sign Up with Google

Use your existing Google account for faster registration:

1. Click "Sign up with Google"
2. Select your Google account (or sign in if needed)
3. Review and accept the permissions

3. Passkey Registration (Enhanced Security)

For passwordless authentication with enhanced security:

1. From the login page, click "Sign up with a passkey"
2. Enter a unique username
3. Click "Sign up with a passkey"
4. Your device will prompt you to create a passkey using one of these methods:
   • Fingerprint
   • Face recognition
   • PIN
   • Other biometric methods supported by your device

What's Next?

After successfully creating your account, you'll be guided through the process of connecting your tools and services to Universal Inbox.

Connecting Your Tools

Getting Started with Universal Inbox

To begin centralizing your notifications and tasks in Universal Inbox, you'll need to connect your preferred tools. This guide walks you through the simple connection process.

Initial Setup

1. On your first login, you'll automatically see the Settings screen
2. This screen displays all available tool integrations

Connecting Tools

To connect a tool:

1. Find your desired tool on the Settings screen
2. Click the "Connect" button
3. A new window will open showing either:
   • The tool's login page (if you're not already logged in)
   • An authorization request for Universal Inbox
4. The window closes automatically once connection is established

After connecting a tool, Universal Inbox automatically fetches notifications and displays them on your Inbox screen.

Next Steps

After connecting your tools:

• View all your notifications in the Inbox screen
• Manage synchronized tasks in the Synced Tasks screen
• Configure individual integrations in Integration Settings

The Inbox Screen

Overview

The Inbox screen is your central hub for managing all synchronized notifications from your connected tools.

Notifications List (Left Pane)

Each notification entry includes:

• Source: Where the notification originated (GitHub, Linear, Google Mail, Slack, etc.)
• Type: The format of content (Linear issue, Slack message, GitHub discussion, etc.)
• Title: Main subject with contextual details
• Indicators: Additional information such as author names, notification reasons, PR review status, etc.
• Timestamp: When the notification was last updated

Preview Pane (Right Side)

The preview pane displays comprehensive details about the selected notification, allowing you to view content without leaving Universal Inbox.

Managing Notifications

Universal Inbox doesn't just collect your notifications, it empowers you to take action directly from the interface.

Notification Actions

Task Management actions

Create Task

Link to Task

Type-Specific Actions

Different notification types offer specialized actions relevant to their content:

Keyboard Shortcuts

The Synced Tasks Screen

Overview

The Synced Tasks screen displays all tasks synchronized between your connected tools and your task management system. It follows the same dual-pane layout as the Inbox screen, but optimized specifically for task management.

Tasks List (Left Pane)

Each task entry includes:

• Source: Origin of the task (Linear, Slack, etc.)
• Type: Format of the task (Linear issue, Slack message reaction, Slack "saved for later" message, etc.)
• Title: Main subject with contextual details
• Indicators: Additional information like author, priority, and other metadata
• Timestamp: When the task was last updated

Preview Pane (Right Side)

The preview pane displays comprehensive details about the selected task, allowing you to view its content and context without switching applications.

Task Lifecycle

Universal Inbox maintains continuous synchronization between three points: source tools, your task management tool, and the Universal Inbox interface.

Automatic Task Creation

When these events occur, Universal Inbox automatically creates tasks in your task management tool:

• A Linear issue is assigned to you
• You save a Slack message for later
• You add a specific reaction to a Slack message

Completing Tasks

Mark as Complete: The primary action available for tasks is completion. When you complete a task in Universal Inbox, this status is synchronized across all connected systems:

• The source tool (e.g., Linear issue will be closed)
• Your task management tool (e.g., Todoist task will be completed)
• Universal Inbox interface

Configuration & Documentation

• Setup Instructions: For detailed configuration options, see Linear Integration or Slack Integration.
• Technical Details: To learn more about the synchronization process, visit the Synchronizing Tasks page.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Integration Setup

Each connected tool has specific configuration options to customize how it synchronizes with Universal Inbox.

Connection Status

Your integrations will display one of these connection states:

• Disconnected: The integration is available but not yet connected

  

• Connected: The integration is successfully connected and authorized

  

• Needs Reconnection: The integration is missing required authorizations. This typically happens when Universal Inbox adds new features that require additional permissions.

  

Synchronization Status

Once connected, each integration displays its current synchronization state:

• Not Yet Synchronized: Initial state before the first synchronization occurs

  

• Successfully Synchronized: Data has been synchronized without issues

  

• Synchronization Failed: An error occurred during synchronization

  

  If errors persist, try disconnecting and reconnecting the integration. If problems continue, please contact support.

Tool-Specific Configuration

For detailed setup instructions for each tool, select the appropriate guide:

• GitHub
• Linear
• Slack
• Google Mail
• Google Calendar
• Todoist

GitHub Integration

Notification Synchronization

The GitHub integration imports your GitHub notifications into Universal Inbox, giving you a centralized place to manage all your GitHub activity.

What Gets Synchronized

You receive GitHub notifications for various activities you're subscribed to:

• Conversations: Comments on issues, pull requests, or gists
• Repository Activity: Updates in repositories you watch
• CI/CD: Status updates from GitHub Actions workflows
• Repository Content: Issues, pull requests, releases, security alerts, and discussions (if enabled)

Managing Your Subscriptions

To control which GitHub notifications you receive, visit GitHub's documentation on managing your subscriptions.

Limitations & Important Notes

Unsubscribing from Notifications

Universal Inbox allows you to unsubscribe from receiving future updates on issues, pull requests, and other GitHub items.

Available Actions

With the GitHub integration, you can perform these actions directly from Universal Inbox:

• View detailed notification content
• Mark notifications as read/unread
• Unsubscribe from future updates
• Convert notifications to tasks in your task management tool

Google Mail Integration

Email Synchronization

The Google Mail integration allows you to selectively import email threads as notifications in Universal Inbox, giving you a streamlined way to manage important emails alongside your other notifications.

How It Works

The Google Mail integration offers a selective approach to email management:

Label-Based Filtering

Universal Inbox only synchronizes email threads that have a specific Google Mail label. This allows you to create Google Mail filters to automatically select which emails you want to manage in Universal Inbox, such as:

• Notifications from third-party services not directly supported by Universal Inbox
• Important emails where you are the direct recipient
• Messages requiring follow-up or action
• Specific categories of messages you want to track alongside other notifications

Thread Consolidation

Each email thread appears as a single notification in Universal Inbox, regardless of how many individual emails the thread contains. This reduces clutter and provides a cleaner view of your communications.

Configuration Options

• Google Mail Label to Synchronize: Select which labeled emails will be used to synchronize with Universal Inbox

Available Actions

With Google Mail integration, you can perform these actions directly from Universal Inbox:

• View email thread content
• Delete threads (mark as read and archive in Google Mail)
• Convert emails into tasks in your task management tool
• Snooze emails for later handling

Linear Integration

The Linear integration offers comprehensive support for both notifications and issue tracking, allowing you to manage your Linear workflow directly within Universal Inbox.

Notification Synchronization

When enabled, Universal Inbox imports all your Linear notifications, including:

• Issue Updates: Changes to status, priority, or assignments
• Project Changes: Updates to projects you're involved with
• Mentions: When you're tagged or referenced
• Comments: Responses on issues you're subscribed to

These notifications mirror what you would see in the Linear notifications inbox, but are now consolidated alongside notifications from your other tools in Universal Inbox.

Issue Synchronization

A key benefit of the Linear integration is that issues assigned to you can be automatically synchronized as tasks in your connected task management tool (like Todoist), creating a seamless workflow between your issue tracker and task manager.

Configuration Options

You can customize how Linear issues appear in your task management tool:

• Project Assignment: Automatically sort issues into a specific project
• Due Date: Set the default due date for synchronized issues

Available Actions

With the Linear integration, you can perform these actions directly from Universal Inbox:

• View detailed issue information
• Delete / Unsubscribe notifications
• Convert notifications to tasks (in addition to automatic synchronization)
• Complete tasks and have the status reflected in Linear

Slack Integration

The Slack integration for Universal Inbox provides multiple ways to track important Slack content and convert it into tasks. This integration helps you ensure that important messages don't get lost in the stream of Slack conversations.

Supported Slack Features

Universal Inbox connects with Slack through three different mechanisms. For each mechanism, you can choose to either receive items as notifications or synchronize them as tasks in your task management tool.

1. Saved for Later Messages

Slack's "Save for later" feature (bookmark icon) lets you mark messages for future reference. With this integration, these saved messages can automatically:

• Appear in your Universal Inbox notification feed
• Be converted to tasks in your task management tool

2. Message Reactions

Specific emoji reactions can trigger task creation or a new notification. When you react to a message with your designated emoji, Universal Inbox can:

• Appear in your Universal Inbox notification feed
• Be converted to tasks in your task management tool

3. Message Mentions

Messages where you're mentioned (@username or @groupname) can be tracked in Universal Inbox, helping you:

• Keep track of requests and questions directed to you
• Ensure you don't miss important mentions across multiple channels

Configuration Options

Each Slack integration component has its own settings:

Saved for Later

You must choose one of the following synchronization methods:

• Notification Synchronization: Saved messages appear in your Universal Inbox notification feed
• Task Synchronization: Saved messages are synchronized as tasks in your task management tool
  • Project Assignment: Optionally assign tasks to a specific project
  • Due Date: Set a default due date for tasks created from saved messages

Message Reactions

• Reaction Emoji: Select which emoji reaction will trigger synchronization

You must choose one of the following synchronization methods:

• Notification Synchronization: Messages with your chosen reaction appear in your Universal Inbox notification feed
• Task Synchronization: Messages with your chosen reaction are synchronized as tasks in your task management tool
  • Project Assignment: Optionally assign tasks to a specific project
  • Due Date: Set a default due date for tasks created from reactions

Message Mentions

Unlike the other integration options, Message Mentions can only be synchronized as notifications:

• Notification Synchronization: Messages mentioning you appear in your Universal Inbox notification feed

This allows you to keep track of conversations where you're mentioned.

Available Actions

With the Slack integration, you can:

• View saved messages, reactions, and mentions in one place
• Convert these items into tasks with proper due dates
• Complete tasks directly from Universal Inbox

Todoist Integration

The Todoist integration is a core component of Universal Inbox, enabling powerful task management capabilities that connect your notifications with your Todoist workflow.

Key Features

Connecting Todoist with Universal Inbox enables you to:

• Create Tasks from Notifications: Convert any notification into a Todoist task with one click
• Link Notifications to Tasks: Associate existing notifications with tasks you've already created
• Bidirectional Synchronization: Keep tasks in sync between Todoist and other connected tools
• Centralized Task Management: View and update tasks from multiple sources in one interface

Configuration Options

• Synchronize Todoist tasks from #Inbox as notifications: When enabled, tasks from your Todoist Inbox project will appear in Universal Inbox's notification feed, allowing you to process them alongside your other notifications.

Available Actions

With the Todoist integration, you can:

• Create new Todoist tasks from any notification
• Link existing Todoist tasks to notifications
• Complete tasks from Universal Inbox (status updates in Todoist)
• View task details, including due dates and priorities

Google Calendar Integration

Calendar Invitation Management

The Google Calendar integration extends the Google Mail integration to enhance your event management workflow. Once enabled, you can respond to calendar invitations directly within Universal Inbox without switching to Google Mail or Google Calendar.

How It Works

1. Google Mail Connection Required: This integration depends on having the Google Mail integration set up and properly configured
2. Automatic Detection: Universal Inbox automatically detects calendar invitations in your synchronized emails
3. Direct Responses: Accept, tentatively accept, or decline invitations without leaving Universal Inbox

Available Actions

With calendar invitations in Universal Inbox, you can:

• Accept: Confirm your attendance at the event
• Maybe: Indicate tentative attendance
• Decline: Reject the invitation
• View Details: See event time, location, and other participants

Collecting notifications

Overview

Universal Inbox centralizes notifications from various tools into a unified interface. This process involves several steps to securely fetch, normalize, and display notifications from different sources.

Notification Collection Mechanism

OAuth Authorization

When you connect an integration (GitHub, Linear, Google Mail, Slack), Universal Inbox establishes a secure connection using OAuth:

1. You authorize Universal Inbox to access your account on the respective tool
2. The tool provides access tokens that Universal Inbox securely stores
3. These tokens are used to fetch notifications on your behalf

Synchronization Frequency

Synchronization happens through two methods:

1. Automatic Background Sync: Occurs every few minutes while you're logged in
2. Manual Refresh: Triggered when you connect or re-connect an integration.

Integration-Specific Collection

Slack

Unlike other integrations, Slack uses a real-time webhook system that delivers events to Universal Inbox as they occur. This results in faster notification delivery compared to the scheduled synchronization used by other integrations.

Notification Lifecycle

After collection, notifications become part of the Universal Inbox workflow:

1. Initial Collection: Notification appears in your inbox
2. User Action: You can delete, snooze, unsubscribe, or convert to a task
3. Updates: If the source notification is updated, Universal Inbox refreshes its content
4. Resolution: When a notification is handled in its source platform or through Universal Inbox actions

Synchronizing tasks

Overview

Task synchronization is a core feature of Universal Inbox, enabling bidirectional sync between your task management tool (such as Todoist) and other connected tools (e.g., Linear, Slack). This ensures that tasks remain consistent across all tools in your workflow.

Synchronization Mechanisms

OAuth Authorization

When you connect an integration (GitHub, Linear, Google Mail, Slack), Universal Inbox establishes a secure connection using OAuth:

1. You authorize Universal Inbox to access your account on the respective tool
2. The tool provides access tokens that Universal Inbox securely stores
3. These tokens are used to fetch notifications on your behalf

Bidirectional Synchronization

Universal Inbox maintains real-time consistency between tools through:

1. Source to Task Manager: When tasks are created or updated in source tools (Linear, Slack), changes are synchronized to your task management tool
2. Task Manager to Source: When tasks are completed or updated in your task management tool, changes are reflected back in the source tools

Synchronization Frequency

Task synchronization occurs through:

• Automatic Background Sync: Occurs every few minutes while you're logged in
• Manual Refresh: Triggered when you connect or re-connect an integration

Tool-Specific Synchronization

Linear Integration

When synchronizing with Linear:

• Assigned issues in Linear appear as tasks in your task manager
• Completing a task in your task manager marks the Linear issue as completed

Slack Integration

Unlike other integrations, Slack uses a real-time webhook system that delivers events to Universal Inbox as they occur.

When synchronizing with Slack:

• Messages marked as "saved for later" appear as tasks in your task manager
• Messages with specific reactions appear as tasks in your task manager
• Completing a task in your task manager removes the saved status or reaction in Slack

Notification to Task Conversion

When you convert notifications into tasks:

1. A new task is created in your task management tool
2. The task includes a link back to the original notification source
3. The notification is marked as associated with this task in Universal Inbox

Data Mapping

To ensure accurate synchronization, Universal Inbox maps fields between different platforms:

• Task Title: Maintained across platforms with source context
• Task Status: Completion status is synchronized bidirectionally
• Task Priority: When available, priority levels are mapped between systems
• Task Details: Description, notes, and metadata are preserved

Task Lifecycle

Synchronized tasks follow a consistent lifecycle:

1. Creation: Tasks are created in source tools or by converting notifications
2. Synchronization: Tasks are synchronized to your task management tool
3. Updates: Changes to task properties (priority, description) are synchronized bidirectionally. Due date is not updated after the creation of the task to allow you to keep your own organization of tasks.
4. Completion: When marked as complete in either system, the completion status is synchronized.

Actions by integration

Overview

Universal Inbox allows you to perform specific actions on notifications from different tools. These actions help you manage your notifications effectively without having to switch between multiple applications.

This section provides detailed information about the actions available for each supported integration.

• GitHub
• Linear
• Google Mail
• Google Calendar
• Slack
• Todoist

GitHub

GitHub Notification Types

Universal Inbox collects several types of GitHub notifications:

• Issue: Updates on issues you're assigned, mentioned in, or watching
• Pull Request: Review requests, comments, approvals, and mentions
• Discussion: Updates on discussions you've participated in
• Repository Invitation: Invitations to collaborate on repositories
• Security Alert: Security vulnerabilities in repositories you maintain
• Workflow Run: CI/CD workflow completion notifications

Available Actions

Actions on notifications

The following actions apply to all GitHub notifications from the Inbox screen:

View in GitHub

• Keyboard Shortcut: Enter
• Effect: Opens the notification source in GitHub

This action lets you view the full context of the notification directly in GitHub, where you can respond, review code, or participate in discussions.

Delete

• Keyboard Shortcut: d
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Removes the notification from your inbox until the next update
• Effect in GitHub: The notification is marked as read (it is not deleted due to Github API limitations)

Use this action when you want to clear a notification from your Universal Inbox and GitHub. The notification will reappear if updated in GitHub.

Unsubscribe

• Keyboard Shortcut: u
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Removes the notification from your inbox
• Effect in GitHub: Unsubscribes you from the underlying issue or discussion, preventing future notifications. It can still be re-subscribed to if you are directly pinged in the issue or discussion.

This action helps reduce notification noise by unsubscribing you from conversations that aren't relevant to your work.

Snooze

• Keyboard Shortcut: s
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Temporarily hides the notification for a few hours
• Effect in GitHub: No change in GitHub

Use this when you need to defer handling a notification until later.

Create Task

• Keyboard Shortcut: p
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Links notification to a newly created task and remove the notification from your inbox
• Effect in GitHub: Mark the notification as read
• Effect in Task Manager: Creates a new task with a link to the GitHub item

Ideal for converting a GitHub notification into a task in your task management tool.

Link to Task

• Keyboard Shortcut: l
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Links notification to an existing task and remove the notification from your inbox
• Effect in GitHub: Mark the notification as read
• Effect in Task Manager: Add a link to the GitHub item in the task description

Use this when you already have a task related to this GitHub notification.

Google Mail

Google Mail Notification Types

Universal Inbox collects email threads from Google Mail that are marked with the label you've configured for synchronization.

Available Actions

Actions on notifications

The following actions apply to all Google Mail notifications from the Inbox screen:

View in Google Mail

• Keyboard Shortcut: Enter
• Effect: Opens the email thread in Google Mail

This action lets you view the full email thread directly in Google Mail, where you can respond, forward, or perform other email actions.

Delete

• Keyboard Shortcut: d
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Removes the notification from your inbox until the next reply in the thread
• Effect in Google Mail: Mark the thread as read and archived

Use this action when you want to clear a notification from your Universal Inbox and mark the thread as read and archived in Google Mail. The notification will reappear if the thread receives a new reply.

Unsubscribe

• Keyboard Shortcut: u
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Removes the notification from your inbox
• Effect in Google Mail: Mark the thread as read and archived. Future replies will be automatically marked as read and archived.

This action helps reduce notification noise by preventing future replies from this email thread from appearing in Universal Inbox.

Snooze

• Keyboard Shortcut: s
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Temporarily hides the notification for a few hours
• Effect in Google Mail: No change in Google Mail

Use this when you need to defer handling an email until later.

Create Task

• Keyboard Shortcut: p
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Links notification to a newly created task and remove the notification from your inbox
• Effect in Google Mail: Mark the thread as read and archived
• Effect in Task Manager: Creates a new task with a link to the Google Mail thread

Ideal for converting an email into an actionable task in your task management tool.

Link to Task

• Keyboard Shortcut: l
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Links notification to an existing task and remove the notification from your inbox
• Effect in Google Mail: Mark the thread as read and archived
• Effect in Task Manager: Add a link to the Google Mail thread in the task description

Use this when you already have a task related to this email thread.

Linear

Linear Notification Types

Universal Inbox collects several types of Linear notifications:

• Issue Assignment: Notifications when issues are assigned to you
• Issue Comment: Comments on issues you're involved with
• Issue Status Change: Updates when issue statuses change
• Project Update: Updates on projects you're participating in
• Mention: Direct mentions in issues or comments

Available Actions

Actions on notifications

The following actions apply to all Linear notifications from the Inbox screen:

View in Linear

• Keyboard Shortcut: Enter
• Effect: Opens the notification source (ie. issue or project) in Linear

This action lets you view the full context of the notification directly in Linear, where you can respond to comments, update issues, or participate in project discussions.

Delete

• Keyboard Shortcut: d
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Removes the notification from your inbox until the next update
• Effect in Linear: Delete all the notifications of the issue or project

Use this action when you want to clear a notification from your Universal Inbox and Linear. The notification will reappear if updated in Linear.

Unsubscribe

• Keyboard Shortcut: u
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Removes the notification from your inbox
• Effect in Linear: Unsubscribes you from the issue, preventing future notifications. It can still be re-subscribed to if you are directly pinged in the issue or project.

This action helps reduce notification noise by unsubscribing you from issues that aren't relevant to your work.

Snooze

• Keyboard Shortcut: s
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Temporarily hides the notification for a few hours
• Effect in Linear: Linear notifications are also snoozed for the same duration

Use this when you need to defer handling a notification until later.

Create Task

• Keyboard Shortcut: p
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Links notification to a newly created task and remove the notification from your inbox
• Effect in Linear: Delete all the notifications of the issue or project
• Effect in Task Manager: Creates a new task with a link to the Linear issue or project

Ideal for converting a Linear notification into an actionable task in your task management tool, especially when you want to track it outside of Linear.

Link to Task

• Keyboard Shortcut: l
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Links notification to an existing task and remove the notification from your inbox
• Effect in Linear: Delete all the notifications of the issue or project
• Effect in Task Manager: Add a link to the Linear issue or project in the task description

Use this when you already have a task related to this Linear notification.

Actions on tasks

The following actions apply to all tasks synchronized with Linear issues assigned to you from the Synchronized Tasks screen:

View in Linear

• Keyboard Shortcut: Enter
• Effect: Opens the Linear issue in Linear

Complete task

• Keyboard Shortcut: c
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Removes the task from your synchronized tasks list
• Effect in Linear: Marks the Linear issue as done
• Effect in Task Manager: Marks the task as completed

Slack

Slack Message Types

Universal Inbox collects specific types of Slack messages based on your configuration:

• Saved for Later Messages: Messages you've saved for later in Slack
• Emoji-Reacted Messages: Messages you've reacted to with specific emoji (configurable)
• Direct Mentions: Messages where you're explicitly mentioned

Available Actions

Actions on notifications

The following actions apply to all Slack notifications from the Inbox screen:

View in Slack

• Keyboard Shortcut: Enter
• Effect: Opens the message directly in Slack

This action lets you view the full message context in Slack, where you can respond, add reactions, or interact with threads.

Delete

• Keyboard Shortcut: d
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Removes the notification from your inbox until the next reply in the thread
• Effect in Slack: Remove the "saved for later" status from the message or remove the reaction. It does not mark the message as read.

Use this action when you want to clear a notification from your Universal Inbox. The notification will reappear if there's a new reply in the thread for notifications from a Slack mention.

Unsubscribe

• Keyboard Shortcut: u
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Removes the notification from your inbox
• Effect in Slack: Remove the "saved for later" status from the message or remove the reaction. It does not mark the message as read, nor unsubscribe the Slack thread for notifications from Slack mentions.

Snooze

• Keyboard Shortcut: s
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Temporarily hides the notification for a few hours
• Effect in Slack: No change in Slack

Use this when you need to defer handling a message until later.

Create Task

• Keyboard Shortcut: p
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Links notification to a newly created task and remove the notification from your inbox
• Effect in Slack: Remove the "saved for later" status from the message or remove the reaction. It does not mark the message as read.
• Effect in Task Manager: Creates a new task with a link to the Slack message

Ideal for converting a Slack message into an actionable task in your task management tool.

Link to Task

• Keyboard Shortcut: l
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Links notification to an existing task and remove the notification from your inbox
• Effect in Slack: Remove the "saved for later" status from the message or remove the reaction. It does not mark the message as read.
• Effect in Task Manager: Add a link to the Slack message in the task description

Use this when you already have a task related to this Slack message.

Todoist

Overview

Todoist integration is a central component of Universal Inbox, serving as the primary task management system. Rather than simply collecting notifications from Todoist, this integration enables bidirectional synchronization of tasks between Todoist and other connected tools.

Integration Role

Todoist in Universal Inbox serves several key functions:

1. Task Repository: Acts as the central storage for all tasks across tools
2. Synchronization Hub: Enables bidirectional sync between tasks and source tools
3. Task Creation Target: Receives tasks created from notifications

Available Actions

Task Management

Complete Task

• Keyboard shortcut: c
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Marks the synchronized task or task associated to a notification as complete and remove the notification from your inbox
• Effect in Todoist: Completes the task in Todoist
• Effect in Source Tool: Updates the status in the original platform (e.g., completes a Linear issue, removes a Slack "saved for later" status)

This is the primary action for tasks, which synchronizes completion status across all platforms.

Google Calendar

Calendar Notification Types

Universal Inbox collects specific types of Google Calendar notifications:

• Meeting Invitations: New calendar invitations requiring your response
• Meeting Updates: Changes to meetings you're invited to
• Cancellations: Notifications about canceled meetings

Available Actions

Actions on notifications

The following actions apply to all Google Calendar notifications from the Inbox screen:

View in Calendar

• Keyboard Shortcut: Enter
• Effect: Opens the calendar event in Google Calendar

This action lets you view the full event details directly in Google Calendar, where you can see the complete attendee list, access video conferencing links, or view your full schedule.

Delete

• Keyboard Shortcut: d
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Removes the notification from your inbox until the next update
• Effect in Google Calendar: No change in Google Calendar

Use this action when you want to clear a notification from your Universal Inbox without affecting its status in Google Calendar. The notification will reappear if the event is updated.

Unsubscribe

• Keyboard Shortcut: u
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Removes the notification from your inbox
• Effect in Google Calendar: No direct effect in Google Calendar, but future updates to this event won't appear in Universal Inbox

This action helps reduce notification noise by preventing future updates about this event from appearing in Universal Inbox.

Snooze

• Keyboard Shortcut: s
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Temporarily hides the notification for a few hours
• Effect in Google Calendar: No change in Google Calendar

Use this when you need to defer handling an invitation until later.

Create Task

• Keyboard Shortcut: p
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Links notification to a newly created task and remove the notification from your inbox
• Effect in Google Calendar: No change in Google Calendar
• Effect in Task Manager: Creates a new task with a link to the calendar event

Ideal for creating follow-up tasks related to calendar events.

Link to Task

• Keyboard Shortcut: l
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Links notification to an existing task and remove the notification from your inbox
• Effect in Google Calendar: No change in Google Calendar

Use this when you already have a task related to this calendar event.

Calendar-Specific Actions

Accept Invitation

• Keyboard Shortcut: y
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Updates invitation status indicator to "Accepted" and remove the notification from your inbox
• Effect in Google Calendar: Marks you as "Going" for the event

Quickly accept meeting invitations directly from Universal Inbox.

Maybe/Tentative

• Keyboard Shortcut: m
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Updates invitation status indicator to "Maybe" and remove the notification from your inbox
• Effect in Google Calendar: Marks you as "Maybe" for the event

Indicates that you might attend the meeting but aren't committing yet.

Decline Invitation

• Keyboard Shortcut: n
• Effect in Universal Inbox: Updates invitation status indicator to "Declined" and remove the notification from your inbox
• Effect in Google Calendar: Marks you as "Not Going" for the event

Decline meetings that you can't or don't want to attend.

Keyboard shortcuts

General Navigation

Universal Inbox provides an extensive set of keyboard shortcuts to enhance your productivity and navigate the interface efficiently. Press ? at any time to display the shortcuts.

List Navigation

Notification Actions

Notification/Task Preview

Task Actions

Calendar Integration

API Usage

Overview

Universal Inbox provides a RESTful API that allows third-party tools like Raycast to interact with notifications.

Creating an API key

From the user profile screen:

• click on the "Create new API key" button. This will generate a new API key.
• Copy the key and store it securely. You will not be able to see it again.

Universal Inbox Raycast Extension

Universal Inbox integrates seamlessly with Raycast, allowing you to access your notifications and perform actions without leaving your keyboard-driven workflow.

What is the Raycast Extension?

The Universal Inbox Raycast extension enhances your productivity by providing:

• Quick access to your Universal Inbox notifications directly from Raycast
• Keyboard-driven actions to process notifications efficiently
• Seamless integration with your existing Raycast workflow

How It Works

The Raycast extension connects to your Universal Inbox account using an API key and allows you to:

1. View your inbox notifications in a clean Raycast interface
2. Perform all essential notification actions without opening your browser
3. Process notifications quickly using keyboard shortcuts

Setup Instructions

To install and configure the Universal Inbox Raycast extension:

1. Open Raycast and navigate to the Extensions Store
2. Search for "Universal Inbox" and click Install
3. Generate an API key from Universal Inbox (see API Usage for detailed instructions)
4. Open the Universal Inbox extension in Raycast
5. Paste your API key when prompted and enter the Universal Inbox instance URL: https://app.universal-inbox.com
6. Click Save

Available Actions

The Raycast extension supports Universal Inbox actions:

• List Notifications: Browse through all your notifications
• Process Notifications: Delete, snooze, or unsubscribe from notifications
• Task Management: Create tasks from notifications or link to existing tasks

Keyboard Shortcuts

Maximize your efficiency with these keyboard shortcuts: