# Hodios paste pack: Email
Everything in Email from Hodios, the open prompt library by Hermes IDE: 8 entries, catalog 2026.1002.2.
Every entry is dedicated to the public domain under CC0 1.0. Copy, change and share them freely, no attribution needed.
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## How to use
Find an entry below and copy the text inside its block into ChatGPT, claude.ai or any chat. Replace each [PLACEHOLDER] with your own material. Personas, rules and styles work best as custom instructions or project instructions.
## Contents
- Email
- [Decline a request gracefully](#decline-request-gracefully) (prompt)
- [Reply to an email](#reply-to-email) (prompt)
- [Respond to an angry email](#respond-to-angry-email) (prompt)
- [Triage an inbox](#triage-inbox) (prompt)
- [Write a follow-up to an unanswered email](#write-follow-up-email) (prompt)
- [Write a professional email](#write-professional-email) (prompt)
- [Write an escalation email](#write-escalation-email) (prompt)
- [Write an introduction email](#write-introduction-email) (prompt)
---
## Decline a request gracefully
`decline-request-gracefully` · prompt · Email · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/decline-request-gracefully
Declines a request or invitation clearly and kindly in the first lines, gives an honest brief reason if wanted, offers only real alternatives and preserves the relationship.
````markdown
A good "no" is clear early, brief and warm. People damage relationships less by declining than by declining badly: a vague reply that sounds like "maybe" and has to be chased, a long justification that invites negotiation, excessive apology that makes the other person comfort the decliner, or a counter-offer the decliner does not actually want to honour. A reason is optional; a clear answer is not.
Write a message declining this request:
[REQUEST]
1. If it is unclear what is being requested, ask and stop.
2. Infer the channel (email, chat, letter) and the relationship (boss, client, friend, stranger, organiser) from the request, and match its formality.
3. Open with brief, specific thanks or acknowledgement that shows you read the request, then decline clearly within the first two sentences. Use unambiguous words ("I won't be able to", "I'm going to say no to this"), not "I'm not sure I can" or "probably not".
4. Give the reason only if one was provided, in one sentence, without over-explaining. If none was provided, decline without a reason or with a neutral line such as "I can't take this on right now"; never invent one.
5. Offer the alternative only if one was provided, stated specifically. If none was provided, do not offer to help in some other way, and do not suggest asking again later unless the user said so.
6. End warmly and in a way that fits the relationship (wishing the event well, expressing interest in future work only if the user's input supports it).
- At most one apology, and only if the relationship calls for it.
- No invented reasons, commitments, referrals or future availability.
- Keep the main message under 120 words. The short version is under 40 words, suitable for chat.
- If the request is from a manager or client where saying no has consequences, keep the message respectful and note in Notes any part the user may want to discuss live instead of in writing.
## Message
Subject line if email, then the message.
## Short version
A shorter version for chat or text.
## Notes
One to three bullets: what to adjust (warmth, reason, door left open) and any risk in how it may land. "None" if none.
Request: "Hi! Loved your talk last autumn. Would you speak at our 12 March meetup? 20 minutes on anything testing-related. Jordan" Reason: none given. Alternative: none.
Message: "Hi Jordan, thanks for thinking of me for the March meetup, and for the kind words about my last talk. I won't be able to speak this time. I hope the evening goes really well."
Why it works: the thanks uses only what Jordan wrote, the no is in the second sentence, and nothing is promised for later.
````
---
## Reply to an email
`reply-to-email` · prompt · Email · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/reply-to-email
Drafts a reply that answers every question and request in a received email from your stated position, matches its formality, proposes next steps and flags points you have not decided.
````markdown
The most common failure in a reply is answering the first question and missing the rest, which costs another round trip. The second is committing to more than the sender intended: a polite reply that accidentally agrees to a date, a price or a deliverable. A good reply answers each point in the order that is easiest to read, says clearly what happens next and who does it, and mirrors the sender's formality without copying their mood if they are upset.
Draft a reply to this email:
[EMAIL]
My position:
[MY_POSITION]
1. List every question, request, proposal and implied expectation in the email, numbered, including ones in postscripts and attachments mentioned.
2. Map my position to each item. Where my position does not cover an item, do not guess an answer: put a `[your answer on …]` placeholder in the reply and list it under Still to decide.
3. Match formality: mirror the sender's greeting, sign-off style, use of first names and length, adjusting up if they are senior or external. If the email is angry or upset, acknowledge the concern once, without matching the emotion, and move to substance.
4. Order the reply for the reader: lead with the answer they most need (usually the main yes or no, or a decision); answer the remaining points briefly, numbered if there are more than three.
5. Close with a concrete next step: who does what by when. Propose times or options when something needs scheduling.
6. Keep the original subject line with "Re:" unless the topic has changed; if so, suggest a new subject.
- Do not commit me to anything beyond my position: no dates, prices, deliverables, apologies or admissions of fault I did not state.
- Do not invent facts about earlier conversations, attachments or third parties.
- Keep it as short as the points allow; no filler openings or closings.
- If my position conflicts with something the sender said is fixed (for example a deadline), keep my position and flag the conflict under Still to decide.
- If my position contains a point the sender did not raise (for example "no refund" when they have not asked for one), do not volunteer it in the reply unless it is needed to answer them; list it under Still to decide as "held back" so I can choose.
## Points to answer
Numbered list of each point in their email, each marked "answered", "placeholder" or "declined".
## Reply
Subject: Re: …
The reply, ready to send apart from placeholders.
## Still to decide
Bullets: each placeholder or conflict and the decision you need to make. "None" if complete.
````
---
## Respond to an angry email
`respond-to-angry-email` · prompt · Email · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/respond-to-angry-email
Drafts a reply to an angry email that de-escalates, acknowledges what is valid, corrects facts without defensiveness and sets a clear next step, with a note on whether to call instead.
````markdown
An angry email usually contains three things mixed together: a legitimate grievance, some facts that are wrong or exaggerated, and emotion. Replies go wrong when they answer the emotion with emotion, defend line by line, open with corporate apology language ("We apologise for any inconvenience"), or concede things that are not true to make the anger stop. Replies that de-escalate acknowledge the person's experience specifically, own what is genuinely the sender's to own, correct facts once, calmly and with evidence, and move quickly to what happens next, often offering a call. Shorter is usually better.
Draft a reply to this email.
[EMAIL]
1. Read the email and separate: (a) the core grievance, (b) what they want, (c) claims that are valid according to the facts, (d) claims that are wrong or unclear, (e) tone issues such as insults or threats. If no facts were supplied, do not assume either side is right: write the reply so it acknowledges without conceding disputed points, and list what to check.
2. Decide the reply's single purpose, using the desired outcome if given.
3. Write the reply:
- Open by acknowledging their experience in specific terms (what happened to them and its effect), without "I understand your frustration" boilerplate and without blaming them.
- Own clearly anything that is genuinely the sender's fault, once, with a plain apology for that specific thing.
- Correct wrong facts briefly and neutrally, with the evidence or reference, without "as I already said" or sarcasm.
- State what you will do, what you cannot do and why in one line, and the next step with a date or a call offer.
- Close courteously, without a lecture about their tone. If the email contained abuse or threats, set one calm, firm boundary.
4. Keep it under about 200 words unless the facts require more.
5. Advise whether this should be a call or meeting instead of email, and whether anyone else should be copied or consulted first.
- Never admit fault, liability or facts the sender did not confirm. Apologise for experience and for actual mistakes, not for things that did not happen.
- No defensiveness, sarcasm, passive aggression, or point-by-point rebuttal. No promises the facts do not show the sender can keep.
- If the email involves a legal threat, a safety issue, discrimination or harassment, say once that the sender should involve their manager, HR or legal before replying, and keep the draft neutral.
- If the email threatens violence or harm, tell the sender to keep it, not to reply alone, and to report it to their manager, security or the police as appropriate.
- Match the sender's role: a support agent follows company policy; an individual replying to a family member can be warmer.
## Read of the email
Bullets: grievance, what they want, valid points, points to correct or check, tone issues.
## Reply
Subject line and the full reply.
## Why it is written this way
Three to five bullets explaining the key choices.
## Before you send
Facts to verify, who to consult, whether to call first, and a reminder to wait a few minutes and reread before sending.
````
---
## Triage an inbox
`triage-inbox` · prompt · Email · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/triage-inbox
Sorts a batch of emails into reply, delegate, schedule and archive by your priorities, flags suspicious messages, and drafts the short replies and delegation notes.
````markdown
Inbox triage is a sequence of fast decisions, one per message: reply now if it takes a couple of minutes, delegate it if someone else should own it, schedule it if it needs real time or a later date, archive it if no action is needed. The value is in getting each decision right against what matters this week, catching the hidden deadline in a long thread, and not letting a phishing email or a vague "quick question" jump the queue.
Triage these emails:
[EMAILS]
1. If the input contains no recognisable emails, ask for them and stop.
2. For each email, identify the sender, what is being asked of me, any deadline stated in the email, and how it relates to my priorities.
3. Assign exactly one bucket:
- **Reply:** needs my response and it can be written in about two minutes.
- **Delegate:** someone else should own it. Name the delegate only if my priorities say who handles this; otherwise write `[who?]`.
- **Schedule:** needs me but more than a few minutes of work or thought, or not until a later date. Estimate the time it needs and when to do it, before any deadline.
- **Archive:** information only, newsletters, notifications, resolved threads or requests I have said to ignore.
4. Check each email for signs of phishing or fraud: urgency plus a link or attachment, requests for credentials, payment or gift cards, changed bank details, a sender name that does not match the address, or an unexpected invoice. Give these the bucket "Suspicious" in the triage table instead of one of the four, explain the signs in the Suspicious section and how to verify through a known channel (a number you already have, not one in the email); never draft a reply that complies. A routine invoice from a supplier I already use is not suspicious by itself; changed payment details or an unknown supplier are.
5. Order the triage table by urgency: hard deadlines first, then items tied to my priorities, then the rest.
6. Draft each Reply in under 80 words, and a one or two line forwarding note for each Delegate.
- Do not invent deadlines, facts or my decisions. Write deadlines as the email states them ("Friday", "5pm tomorrow"); do not convert them to calendar dates you cannot confirm. When a reply needs a decision I have not given, draft it with a `[decide: …]` placeholder.
- Drafts must not commit me to meetings, money or deliverables unless my priorities say so.
- If there are more than 30 emails, triage the 30 most urgent and list the rest by subject with a suggested bucket only.
## Triage
A table: # | From | Subject | Bucket | Why (one line) | Deadline.
## Draft replies
For each Reply item: "#n to ", then the draft.
## Delegate
For each Delegate item: delegate, then the forwarding note.
## Schedule
For each Schedule item: what it needs, time estimate, suggested slot.
## Suspicious
Each flagged email with the warning signs and how to verify it. "None" if none.
````
---
## Write a follow-up to an unanswered email
`write-follow-up-email` · prompt · Email · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-follow-up-email
Writes a polite follow-up to an unanswered email that adds new context, makes the ask easier to answer and sets a gentle deadline, in three escalation levels from nudge to final note.
````markdown
Most unanswered emails are not refusals. The recipient was busy, the ask was unclear or too big to answer quickly, or it sank under newer mail. A follow-up that just says "Just checking in!" or "Bumping this to the top of your inbox" adds nothing and can read as passive-aggressive. Follow-ups that work restate the ask in one line, make it easier to say yes (a yes or no question, a choice of two options, a default the sender will act on), add something new (a fact, a deadline, a smaller version of the request), and get shorter and clearer with each round, while staying courteous.
Write follow-ups to this email, sent 5 days ago with no reply.
[ORIGINAL_EMAIL]
1. If the original email is missing or has no identifiable ask, say what is unclear and ask what the sender needs from the recipient, then stop.
2. Diagnose why it may have gone unanswered: was the ask buried, vague, too big, or missing a deadline? Name the one change that will help most.
3. Write three escalating follow-ups, each designed to be sent as a reply in the same thread so the original stays below:
- **Follow-up 1 (gentle nudge):** two to four sentences. Restate the ask in one clear line, add one helpful element (new context, a link, a smaller ask or a yes-or-no version), and propose a soft date.
- **Follow-up 2 (make it easy):** shorter. Offer a choice or a default ("If I don't hear by Thursday, I'll go ahead with option A"), or offer another route (a 10-minute call, the right person to ask instead).
- **Follow-up 3 (close the loop):** a courteous final note that releases the recipient or states what the sender will do next, leaving the door open. Only include a default action the sender can genuinely take.
4. Keep the subject line of the thread; suggest a clearer subject only if the original was vague, as "Re: [original]" plus the ask.
5. Recommend when to send each one, adjusted for the relationship, any deadline in the original, and the 5 days already passed.
- Polite, warm and direct. No guilt ("I know you're busy, but…" repeated), no sarcasm, no "per my last email", no fake urgency or invented deadlines. A deadline must come from the original or be clearly the sender's own preference.
- Do not assume the recipient is ignoring the sender, and never threaten.
- Match the formality of the original email and the relationship. For a hiring manager or a senior person, keep it brief and deferential; for a supplier who owes a deliverable, it can be firmer.
- Do not invent facts, attachments or prior conversations.
- If more than one follow-up would be inappropriate (for example a job application after a final round, or a personal message), say so and recommend only what fits.
## Diagnosis
One or two sentences.
## Follow-up 1
Subject line, then the email.
## Follow-up 2
Subject line, then the email, or "Not recommended" and the reason when a second follow-up would not fit the situation.
## Follow-up 3
Subject line, then the email, or "Not recommended" and the reason.
## Timing
When to send each, and when to switch channel (call, chat, someone else) instead.
````
---
## Write a professional email
`write-professional-email` · prompt · Email · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-professional-email
Drafts an email from rough intent with a specific subject line, the ask in the first two sentences and the right tone for the relationship, marking any detail it would otherwise have to invent.
````markdown
Busy recipients decide from the subject line and the first two sentences whether to act now, later or never. Emails get ignored when the ask is in the last paragraph, when several unrelated requests share one message, when the reader must work out what is wanted or by when, or when the tone is wrong for the relationship (over-familiar with a stranger, stiff with a close colleague). A good work email is short, makes the next step obvious and easy, and gives just enough context to act.
Write an email to [RECIPIENT] in a neutral tone that achieves this:
[INTENT]
1. If the intent does not make clear what the recipient should do or know, ask one short question and stop.
2. Name the single outcome you want from the recipient (a reply, a decision, a meeting, a document, awareness). If the intent mixes unrelated requests, put the main one in this email and note in Placeholders that the others may deserve their own.
3. Write a subject line that states the topic and the action, with a date if there is a deadline, for example "Approval needed by 12 May: Q3 travel budget".
4. Put the ask, or the key information, in the first two sentences. Then give only the context the recipient needs to act.
5. Make the next step easy: specific options or times, the deadline and why it matters, what is attached, and who else is involved.
6. Fit the relationship: a stranger gets a one-line reason you are writing to them and how you got their name; a senior or formal recipient gets full greetings and no slang; a friendly colleague gets brevity and contractions.
7. Close with a clear line about what happens next, then a sign-off suited to the tone.
- Under 150 words in the body unless the intent truly needs more; if it does, use short paragraphs or a short list.
- Never invent facts: names, dates, times, numbers, attachments, prior conversations or titles not in the input become `[placeholders]`.
- No filler openings ("I hope this email finds you well") unless the tone is formal and the relationship is new, and never more than one such line.
- No over-apologising, guilt-tripping or false urgency.
## Email
Subject: …
The email body, ready to paste.
## Placeholders
Bullets: each `[placeholder]` with what to put there, plus any split-out requests. "None" if none.
## Alternative subject lines
Two alternatives, one shorter and one more specific.
````
---
## Write an escalation email
`write-escalation-email` · prompt · Email · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-escalation-email
Writes an escalation to a manager, vendor or another team that states the issue, its impact, what was already tried and the specific decision or help needed by a date, without blame.
````markdown
An escalation asks someone with more authority or reach to unblock something you cannot unblock yourself. It works when the reader can act on it in two minutes: the ask and deadline are at the top, the impact is concrete, the history shows you made reasonable attempts, and the tone is factual rather than accusatory. It backfires when it is a complaint about a person, when it skips the people directly involved without warning them, when the ask is vague ("please help"), or when it arrives as a surprise to someone who will be embarrassed by it.
Write an escalation email.
[ISSUE]
1. If you cannot tell what is blocked, the impact, or what the recipient could do about it, ask up to three short questions and stop.
2. Check whether escalation is the right move now: has the direct owner been asked clearly, with a deadline, and told the matter would be escalated? If not, say so in "Check before escalating" and include a one-paragraph heads-up message to the direct owner first. Still write the escalation, ready for later.
3. Define the ask precisely: a decision (choose A or B), an action (assign an engineer, approve spend, call the vendor), or a priority call, with a date and the reason for that date.
4. Write the email:
- Subject line: "[Decision/Help needed by date]: short issue".
- First two lines: the ask, the deadline and the impact if nothing changes.
- Context in three to five bullets: what is blocked, since when, impact in numbers where the facts allow, and who is affected.
- What has been tried, as a short dated list, stated neutrally.
- Options if helpful, with your recommendation.
- A closing line offering a 15-minute call and stating what you will do in the meantime.
5. Recommend who to copy and who must be told before sending.
- Factual and neutral: describe actions and results, not people's character or motives. No sarcasm, no "per my last five emails".
- Use only facts from the input; mark missing figures or dates `[NEEDED: …]`.
- Keep the email under about 250 words; put long threads in an attachment or link, not in the body.
- For a vendor, refer to the contract or service level only if the input mentions it, and do not threaten legal action unless the user says that is the intent.
- If the issue involves harassment, discrimination, safety or a possible legal breach, say that the right channel may be HR, a safety officer or legal rather than a normal escalation.
## Check before escalating
Whether the direct owner has been given a fair chance, and the heads-up message if one is needed. "Ready to escalate" if so.
## Escalation email
Subject line and the email.
## Notes
Who to copy, who to tell first, `[NEEDED: …]` items, and when to follow up if there is no answer.
````
---
## Write an introduction email
`write-introduction-email` · prompt · Email · https://hermes-ide.com/prompts/write-introduction-email
Writes a double opt-in introduction, first the private ask to the person being introduced, then the intro email itself, with why the two should talk and an easy next step.
````markdown
A double opt-in introduction asks the busier or more senior person privately whether they want the intro before connecting them. It protects the connector's relationships and makes the eventual intro warmer, because both people have agreed. Good introductions are short and specific: who each person is in one line, why they in particular should talk, what is in it for the person being asked, and an easy next step that puts the burden on the person who asked. Weak ones are vague ("you two should connect!"), forward a long thread, or obligate a busy person in public.
Write a double opt-in introduction.
[PERSON_A]
[PERSON_B]
[REASON]
1. If it is unclear who is asking for what, or why person B would want this, ask one or two short questions and stop.
2. Decide who needs to opt in (usually the busier person, or whoever is being asked for something; both when the intro would reveal something sensitive about either, such as a confidential job search). Say which and why in Notes.
3. Write a private opt-in request to each person who needs to opt in: two to five sentences naming who the other person is, the specific reason they might want to talk, what is being asked of them (time, advice, a meeting), and an easy way to decline ("No worries at all if the timing isn't right"). Suggest the person who asked for the intro supplies a forwardable blurb.
4. Write the introduction email, to be sent once both agree: a subject line with both names, one line on each person (what they do and why relevant to the other), the specific reason for the intro, and a clear next step, usually that the person who asked will follow up with times. Suggest moving the connector to BCC.
5. Write a two-sentence forwardable blurb for each person in case either needs it.
- Specific and brief: each email under about 150 words. No gushing superlatives.
- Use only the facts given about each person; do not invent titles, companies or achievements.
- Never imply someone has already agreed when they have not.
- Do not share private details about one person with the other unless the brief says it is fine.
- Put the effort on the person who benefits most: they schedule, they follow up.
## Opt-in request
One per person who needs to opt in: To: [name]. Subject line and the message.
## Introduction email
Subject line and the message, to send once both agree.
## Blurbs
Person A: two sentences. Person B: two sentences.
## Notes
Who should opt in and why, and any detail to confirm before sending.
````