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+# Inbound Email Path Migration Scope
+
+**Date:** 2026-05-21
+**Status:** Scoping complete; ready for implementation planning
+**Successor to:** Telepathy JMAP outbound (shipped in fe5896b)
+
+---
+
+## 1. Current State
+
+The inbound email path is split across **two Python services**:
+
+### Muse Inbox (`/data/muse/smtp_handler.py` — 360 lines)
+- **Purpose:** SMTP server on port 25 accepting inbound mail for `muse@hydrascale.net` and `muse@cortex.hydrascale.net`
+- **Architecture:** aiosmtpd + aiohttp async event loop
+- **Key features:**
+  - Parses MIME emails
+  - Logs raw emails to `inbox.jsonl` (similar to Telepathy's `messages.jsonl`)
+  - Dispatches to Symbiont API `/task` endpoint (port 8111) with task prompt + context
+  - Implements exponential backoff retry (3 attempts) on transient Symbiont failures
+  - Sends reply via Telepathy `/email` (JMAP)
+  - Marks inbox entries as `processed=True` after success
+
+### Telepathy (`/data/telepathy/app.py` — 143 lines; `/data/telepathy/mailer.py` — 204 lines)
+- **Purpose:** HTTP API (FastAPI on port 8114) for message persistence and JMAP email sending
+- **Endpoints:** `POST /messages`, `GET /messages`, `GET /messages/unread`, `POST /messages/{id}/read`, `POST /email`, `GET /health`
+- **Dependencies:** requests, FastAPI, Pydantic
+
+### Data Flow (Merged View)
+```
+Inbound email (SMTP:25, Muse)
+  → Parse MIME + log to inbox.jsonl
+  → POST /task to Symbiont (8111)
+  → Claude CLI produces reply
+  → POST /email to Telepathy (8114)
+  → JMAP send via Fastmail
+  → Mark processed in inbox.jsonl
+  → (Optionally) Mark Telepathy message as read
+```
+
+---
+
+## 2. Proposed Elixir Architecture
+
+**Goal:** Consolidate both services into Symbiont.Telepathy supervision tree on port 8111 (single app).
+
+### New Modules
+
+| Module | Purpose | Est. Lines |
+|--------|---------|-----------|
+| `Symbiont.Telepathy.SMTPHandler` | gen_smtp_server_session callbacks | 100-150 |
+| `Symbiont.Telepathy.InboxStore` | JSONL-backed inbox (like MessageStore) | 80-120 |
+| `Symbiont.Telepathy.Pipeline` | Orchestrates receive → Symbiont dispatch → reply → mark read | 150-200 |
+| HTTP endpoints (extend `Symbiont.API.ex`) | `/messages`, `/email`, `/health` | 80-120 |
+| Tests | SMTP integration, dispatch retry, pipeline | 150-200 |
+
+### Supervision Tree (Updated)
+```
+Symbiont.Telepathy.Supervisor (one_for_one)
+  +-- MessageStore (JSONL: Fastmail-fetched emails)
+  +-- InboxStore (JSONL: SMTP-received emails)
+  +-- JMAP (GenServer: Fastmail session + sender)
+  +-- SMTPHandler (wraps :gen_smtp listener on port 25)
+  +-- TaskSupervisor (spawns Pipeline.process tasks)
+```
+
+### Key Design Decisions
+1. **Inbox vs Messages:** Separate stores because they track different email directions (received vs polled from Fastmail). Both feed the UI and dispatch logic.
+2. **Retry logic:** Implement as a simple loop in Pipeline.process (not a separate backoff supervisor) since Muse inbox already handles transient retries.
+3. **API consolidation:** POST `/email` becomes a direct call to `JMAP.send_email/3` instead of an HTTP hop; remove port 8114 entirely.
+
+---
+
+## 3. Complexity Estimate
+
+**Total LOC: ~650-870 across modules + tests**
+
+| Category | Effort | Notes |
+|----------|--------|-------|
+| SMTP handler (gen_smtp) | Medium (100-150) | Straightforward protocol impl; risk is MIME edge cases |
+| Pipeline + dispatch | Medium (150-200) | Needs retry logic, timeout handling, error reporting |
+| Inbox store | Small (80-120) | Clone MessageStore pattern; simple JSONL ops |
+| API endpoints | Small (80-120) | Thin wrappers around store/sender; mostly copy-paste |
+| Tests + integration | Medium (150-200) | Must verify SMTP flow, Symbiont dispatch, reply send |
+| **Refactor/Config** | **Small** | Update Application.ex, mix.exs (add :gen_smtp), runtime.exs |
+
+**Blockers:**
+- None identified. Both Muse Inbox and Telepathy run standalone with no inter-service locks. Can be developed/tested in parallel with Python services running.
+
+**Risks:**
+1. **Email loss on crashes:** If Elixir app restarts mid-Pipeline.process, inbox entry is not marked processed. Mitigation: restore from unprocessed entries on startup.
+2. **gen_smtp limitations:** Erlang SMTP impl is less polished than Python aiosmtpd. May hit MIME parsing edge cases. Mitigation: test with real emails from inbox.jsonl.
+3. **Symbiont dispatch timeout:** Task may take >600s. Current SMTP client will time out waiting for reply. Mitigation: return 250 OK immediately (like Muse does now), dispatch async.
+
+---
+
+## 4. Recommendation
+
+**Start next session (after Michael confirms).**
+
+**Rationale:**
+- Work is well-scoped with a clear blueprint and existing code to port
+- JMAP client already shipped; this is a natural successor
+- System currently stable (both services running)
+- Estimated 2-3 focused sessions including tests and cutover
+- **No explicit urgency signal from Michael** (reflection logs don't mention inbound as a blocker)
+- Higher-priority items remain blocked (blog project, permissions)
+
+**Decision factors to verify with Michael:**
+1. Is the "19 unread" bug urgent enough to fast-track this? (Elixir port fixes it by design)
+2. Are there other blockers (blog, permissions) that should be prioritized first?
+3. Can SMTP listen on a non-privileged port during development (e.g., 10025) for testing?
+
+---
+
+## 5. Next Steps (If Approved)
+
+1. Confirm with Michael: urgency, priority relative to blog/permissions, port 25 availability
+2. Add `:gen_smtp ~> 1.2` to `mix.exs`
+3. Implement SMTPHandler as gen_smtp_server_session behaviour
+4. Implement InboxStore (clone MessageStore, s/messages/inbox/)
+5. Implement Pipeline with retry loop and Symbiont dispatch
+6. Add HTTP endpoints to API.ex
+7. Integration test: send email to muse@, verify dispatch, verify reply
+8. Cutover: stop Python services, verify Elixir handles full flow
+9. Decommission `/data/muse/` and `/data/telepathy/` services
+
+---
+
+**Appendix: Python Source Files for Reference**
+
+- `/data/muse/smtp_handler.py` (360 lines) — aiosmtpd handler + Symbiont dispatch logic
+- `/data/telepathy/app.py` (143 lines) — FastAPI message/email endpoints
+- `/data/telepathy/mailer.py` (204 lines) — JMAP sender (already ported to Elixir)
+- `/data/muse/inbox.jsonl` — inbox log (schema: timestamp, from, subject, message_id, body, processed)
+- `/data/telepathy/messages.jsonl` — messages log (schema: id, timestamp, source, subject, content, read)