Free for Windows, Mac & Linux · No account · Works in 2 minutes

Know what needs you.
Skip the rest.

InboxScout reads your email so you don't have to, then hands you a 30-second brief in plain words: the bill that's due, the client waiting on a reply, the form to sign. Everything else stays out of your way.

Free forever · never sends or deletes your mail · updates itself · Linux: .deb · first-time install tips ↓

Read-onlyPrivate by designFixes itselfNo AI account needed
InboxScout
📬 InboxScoutTodayMy briefsPeopleSetup
✉ Check now

Good morning

2 things need you, then you're clear.

Tue 7:30
3 inboxes
⚠ Needs you
Due MonVendor contract expires→ Sign and return Jane's PDF
Northwind still waiting on the quote→ Reply to Mark (3 days)
💵 Bills
Electric — $128.40 · due Sep 12
Water — $42.10 · due Sep 20
📅 This week
Fri 2pm — Home inspection, 42 Maple St
Tue 10am — Dentist
👥 Your people
MomSunday lunch — she asked twice
Grandpa Joe has gone quiet for 3 weeks
Last checked 7:30 · all 3 inboxes fine · ✓ nothing else needs you
☀
Your brief is readyRead it, or press “Read it to me”
🩹
Fixed on its ownReconnected Yahoo with your saved sign-in
Sound familiar?

Email is where the important stuff hides.

Between the newsletters and the receipts: the contract that expires Monday, the school form, the client who has been waiting three days. InboxScout finds those, and says so in one calm screen.

I have four hundred unread emails and I know maybe six of them matter. I just don't know which six.

💼Owner, 9-person plumbing company

My mom kept missing doctor's appointments that were sitting right there in her inbox.

👵Daughter who set it up for her mother

Three deals, two lenders, a dozen inspectors. I need to know today what will hurt if it slips.

🏠Real-estate agent
How it works

Two minutes to set up. Thirty seconds a day after that.

1

Connect your email

Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, Outlook.com, Hotmail — or any other mailbox. Read-only: InboxScout can never send, delete, or change anything.

2

Say what you do — or don't

Nurse, contractor, teacher, landlord, retiree, developer, pastor, caregiver… 56 kinds of people. Pick one, or let InboxScout work it out from your mail.

3

Get your brief

Every morning, or whenever you press the button: what needs you, what you're waiting on, what's coming up. Or simply, “you're all caught up.”

Simple or Pro

Simple enough for a grandparent. Sharp enough for a CEO.

The same app shows more as you use more. It notices how you work, changes at most once a week, always tells you, and always lets you go back or lock it.

✉ Check my email
⚠ 1 thing needs youDentist wants you to confirm Tuesday
💵 BillsElectric is due next Friday
📅 This weekBook club on Thursday at 2
🔊 Read it to me
SimpleOne button. Three cards. Big text.

For anyone who just wants to know if something needs them. A voice can read the brief out loud.

Today

2 things need you, then you're clear.

⚠ Needs you
Contract expires Monday
Quote for Northwind
💵 Bills
Electric — $128.40
Water — $42.10
📅 This week
Fri — Home inspection
Tue — Dentist
✉ Waiting on you
Rate lock — Jane
Field trip form
StandardThe daily brief, at a glance.

Needs you, bills, this week, your people, and the replies you owe — with a next step for each.

All inboxeswork@me@ops@
DECIDESign vendor renewal (auto-renews Mon, +8%)Jane · 2d
REPLYNorthwind quote — 3rd nudgeMark · 3d
DELEGATEQ3 invoices → Priyaops@ · 5
WATCHLease: 42 Maple inspection Fri 2pmoverlap ⚠
PROMISE“I'll send the deck by Thursday”you · due
R check · 1–6 tabs · / search · per-inbox · promises · delegation
ProDecisions first, every inbox, keyboard.

Dense and fast: what to decide, reply, delegate, and watch — across all your accounts at once.

What it does

A scout, not another inbox.

InboxScout doesn't replace your email app. It reads alongside it and reports back in plain language.

📬

Reads all your mail, read-only

Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, Outlook.com, Hotmail, any IMAP mailbox — several at once. It can never send, delete, or move anything.

🛑

Spots scams before you do

A “bank” writing from a free mailbox, a grandchild who suddenly needs gift cards, a prize that needs a fee, a link that hides where it goes. InboxScout flags it first thing, says why in plain words, and tells you what to do instead. Works on your computer, no AI needed, and your trusted helper hears about it too.

🧠

Sorts personal from work

Plus what needs a reply, what's a newsletter, what's a receipt — and a quiet heads-up when something contains sensitive information.

📎

Reads the attachments too

The invoice in the PDF, the form in the Word file, the bill in a photo — it reads what's inside and treats it like part of the email. Documents are read on your computer; photos go to your AI helper only if it can see images. One switch turns it off.

🔎

Watches for what matters to you

Bills, appointments, deals, work orders, deliveries, travel, school, health, job search, customer requests, the people you care about. Tick what fits.

👥

Knows your people and your week

Learns who matters across every inbox, tells you when someone has gone quiet, gathers the week's dates from all your accounts, and remembers what you promised.

💬

Just ask

“Did the dentist write back?” “What do I owe this month?” “Tell Jane I'll sign it Friday.” Ask in plain words on Today or on your phone and get an answer from your own mail in seconds. It can open a draft for you; it never sends.

👪

Someone has your back

Name a family member or friend and choose what they may see. One tap asks them for help with any item, a short digest says “all fine” when it is, and they get a heads-up if a stranger pushes you to pay or someone close goes quiet. You see every message sent, and can pause it all in one press.

📨

Comes to you

Email yourself the brief, get the headline as a text message, or have it read out loud when it's ready. It only ever sends to you and the helpers you name.

📱

On your phone, too

Scan a code and your iPhone or Android gets a phone-sized InboxScout on your home Wi‑Fi: check email, what needs you, bills, past briefs. Add it to your home screen and it works like an app. No app store, nothing leaves your network.

✍

Helps you act

One click opens a reply draft in your own mail app (you send it), adds dates to your calendar, or saves briefs to Google Docs and Sheets.

🩹

Fixes itself

Checks its own health on every run and quietly repairs what it safely can. When something really needs you, it says so in plain words, with one button: Fix it for me.

🤖

Does the fiddly parts for you

An assistant opens its own browser window and handles the setup chores — app passwords, connecting accounts — or any web task you describe. There's always a Stop button.

Who it's for

One app, anyone's inbox.

InboxScout adapts to what you do instead of making you adapt to it. 56 kinds of people, each with their own idea of “urgent.”

🏠Real-estate agents🔧Contractors🩺Nurses🍎Teachers💼Small-business owners🏢Landlords🌅Retirees💛Caregivers💻Developers⛪Pastors🍽Restaurant owners🦺Field crews👨‍👩‍👧Busy parents📈Executives+ 42 more
👵 Parents & grandparents

One big button, three cards, larger text, and a voice that reads the brief out loud. Set it up for them in two minutes; it stays out of their way.

💼 Small-business owners

Customer requests, invoices, contracts, and the replies you owe, ranked by what will hurt if it slips. Across every inbox you run.

🏠 Agents, landlords & trades

Every deal, unit, or job tracked by address and stage. Expiring dates, inspections, and unanswered clients surfaced first.

📈 Executives & managers

Decisions first. Delegate with a click, see promises you made, and keep one schedule across work and life. Keyboard all the way.

Free & private

Works out of the box. Nothing leaves your computer unless you say so.

  • Local-first. Your mail lives in a database on your computer. Passwords and keys are locked with your system's own keychain.
  • No AI account required. A built-in engine sorts, tracks, and writes briefs entirely on your PC. Connect a smarter AI later if you like.
  • Read-only, always. InboxScout can't send, delete, or move your mail. Replies are drafts you send yourself.
  • You choose how far it goes. The assistant asks before it uses your computer; one switch turns it off. Every setting says what it does and why.
  • Source-available. The code is public on GitHub, so anyone can check what it does.
$0
Free forever. No account. No subscription.
Optional smarter AI — your pick
Built-in (free)GeminiGroqOpenRouterMistralDeepSeekOpenAIClaudeGrokOllamaLM Studio

Give your inbox a scout.

Download, connect your email, and get your first brief before your coffee cools. Windows, Mac and Linux.

Not sure which Mac? Apple menu → About This Mac → “Apple M…” means Apple Silicon. Linux: .deb for Ubuntu, Debian and Mint. All versions

Install help

First-time install tips

Windows says “Windows protected your PC”

InboxScout isn't code-signed yet (that costs money; we're in the friends-and-family stage). Click More info → Run anyway. It's a one-time message; the app updates itself after that.

Mac says “InboxScout can't be opened”

Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, click Open Anyway, then open InboxScout again. One time only.

Linux: the AppImage won't open

On Linux the AppImage needs to be marked executable first: right-click it → Properties → Permissions → Allow executing file as program (or chmod +x InboxScout-x64.AppImage), then double-click it. It updates itself after that. Prefer a normal install on Ubuntu, Debian, or Mint? sudo apt install ./InboxScout-x64.deb — that one does not update itself: download the new .deb and run the same command again. For passwords to be locked with your system keyring, have gnome-keyring or kwallet installed (most desktops already do).

Which Mac download do I need?

Apple menu → About This Mac. If you see “Apple M1/M2/M3/M4”, choose Apple Silicon; if you see “Intel”, choose Intel.

How does it connect to Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, or Outlook?

Gmail and Outlook can use a normal “Sign in with Google / Microsoft” page. Gmail, Yahoo, and iCloud also work with an app password — a separate password the service makes just for InboxScout. Press Get it for me: the service's own page opens, you sign in and press Create, and InboxScout picks the password up and connects your email. Nothing to copy or type.

Is it really free?

Yes. The app, the built-in engine, text messages through your carrier's free gateway, updates — all free. The only optional cost is a paid AI service you might choose to connect.

Is there an iPhone or Android app?

Not in the app stores — but you don't need one. Open Setup → On your phone, scan the code with your phone on the same Wi‑Fi, and tap Share → Add to Home Screen. You get a phone-sized InboxScout that talks to your computer over your own network. The computer has to be on; the brief also reaches your phone by email, text, or voice.

Can I set it up for a parent or grandparent?

Yes — that's one of the main reasons it exists. Install it, connect their email, answer “Someone I'm helping” when it asks who is setting up, and you become their first trusted helper: you get a short note when something needs them, they get one big button, three cards, and “Read it to me.” They can see everything sent to you and pause it any time.