Use Tags as a Workflow

Prerequisites

1. Notmuch virtual mailboxes configured in NeoMutt (see Getting Started with Notmuch Virtual Mailboxes).

2. A key bound for tagging (see below).

Set Up Workflow Mailboxes

1. Add virtual mailboxes that map to workflow stages:

virtual-mailboxes "Inbox"  "notmuch://?query=tag:inbox"
virtual-mailboxes "Action" "notmuch://?query=tag:todo"
virtual-mailboxes "Done"   "notmuch://?query=tag:done"

2. Bind a key for modifying tags if you haven’t already:

bind index,pager \eT modify-tags

Triage Messages

1. Open the Inbox mailbox.

2. Select a message and press Alt-T.

3. Add a workflow tag and remove the inbox tag:

+todo -inbox

Expected result: the message disappears from Inbox and appears in Action.

Mark Messages as Done

1. Open the Action mailbox.

2. Select a completed item and press Alt-T:

+done -todo

Expected result: the message moves from Action to Done.

The Workflow in Practice

Stage	Tag change	Message appears in
Triage	+todo -inbox	Action
Complete	+done -todo	Done
Defer	leave in inbox	Inbox

Messages move between virtual mailboxes automatically as their tags change — no manual filing required.

Speed Up Tagging with Macros

1. Create macros for common tag operations:

macro index ,t "<modify-tags>+todo -inbox<Enter>"  "Move to Action"
macro index ,d "<modify-tags>+done -todo<Enter>"    "Mark as Done"
macro index ,i "<modify-tags>+inbox -todo -done<Enter>" "Return to Inbox"

Expected result: pressing ,t, ,d, or ,i applies the tag change in one step.

See Organising Email with Tags for the full tagging tutorial and Organise Multiple Virtual Mailboxes for keeping the mailbox list tidy.