Command
nylas air
AI-powered email assistant. Opens an interactive REPL where you can draft, reply, search, and manage email with natural language.
Written by Qasim Muhammad Staff SRE
What does nylas air do?
The nylas air command starts an interactive AI-powered email session. Type natural language requests — "draft a follow-up to the last email from Sarah", "find all unread emails about the Q3 report", "reply saying I'll attend" — and AIR translates them into CLI actions. It maintains conversation context across turns, so you can refine drafts and chain operations without re-specifying details.
Usage
nylas airFlags
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| --json | Output as JSON |
| --no-color | Disable color output |
| --verbose(-v) | Enable verbose output |
| --config | Custom config file path |
| --help(-h) | Show help for the command |
| --limit | Limit results (most list commands) |
| --yes(-y) | Skip confirmations |
| --clear-cache | Clear all cached data before starting |
| --encrypted | Enable encryption for cached data (uses system keyring) |
| --no-browser | Don't open browser automatically |
| --port(-p) | Port to run the server on |
Examples
Start the AI email assistant
nylas airDraft and send in a session
nylas air
# > Draft a meeting recap to team@company.com
# > Make it shorter and add action items
# > Send itExample output
Launching Nylas Air...
Local: http://localhost:7365
Opening browser...
Press Ctrl+C to stop.Troubleshooting
AIR starts but can't access email
Run `nylas auth login` to connect a mailbox first. AIR needs an active grant to read and send email.
AI responses are slow or timing out
AIR calls the Nylas AI backend. Check your internet connection. If the issue persists, try `nylas air --verbose` for diagnostic output.
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Run nylas air --help for full help output.