💡 New script: gmail-attachment-vault (automatic attachment archiving to Drive)

[github-actions[bot]]

Summary

A Google Apps Script that extracts attachments from emails matching user-defined criteria (labels, sender patterns, date ranges), organizes them in Drive folders by configurable rules (sender, date, label, file type), and tracks extracted files in a Sheets manifest. Helps users reclaim Gmail storage quota without losing access to important files.

Market Signal

Gmail offers only 15GB free across Gmail/Drive/Photos, making storage management a universal pain point. Google's native "Save to Drive" is manual and one-at-a-time. Paid alternatives (Save Emails and Attachments at $5-30/mo, Zapier workflows) charge recurring fees. The open-source automation market is booming — n8n reached a $5.2B valuation in 2026 by offering free alternatives to paid tools. Google's new "Organize My Files" Gemini feature (June 2026) only works in My Drive and does not auto-file attachments from Gmail, leaving a clear gap.

User Signal

The existing gmail-to-drive-by-labels script archives entire emails to Docs but does not handle attachments as first-class objects. Users who need to extract invoices, contracts, photos, or receipts from email currently lack a zero-friction, free tool that organizes attachments by sender/date/type in Drive. Attachment management is the #1 recommended strategy for reclaiming Gmail storage.

Technical Opportunity

Builds directly on the proven gmail-to-drive-by-labels architecture: dual-layer GAS/Node pattern, dependency injection for testability, batch processing with configurable batch_size, the deploy page's SCRIPT_CATALOG integration, and test-utils/ mock infrastructure. GmailApp.getAttachments() and DriveApp.createFile() are well-established GAS APIs. No new platform capabilities required.

Assessment

Dimension	Score	Rationale
Feasibility	high	Proven GAS APIs, extends existing architecture directly, no new platform dependencies
Impact	high	Universal Gmail pain point (storage quota), replaces $5-30/mo paid alternatives
Urgency	med	No immediate competitive deadline, but growing user need as storage limits tighten

Adversarial Review

Strongest objection: Gmail already integrates with Drive for attachments. Users can manually save attachments to Drive, and Google offers storage management tools. Why build something Google might eventually offer natively?

Rebuttal: Google's attachment handling is manual and one-at-a-time with no organization logic. The new "Organize My Files" Gemini feature (June 2026) only works in My Drive and never auto-files attachments from Gmail. Bulk extraction with rule-based organization into folder hierarchies (by sender, month, file type) is a different workflow that Google has not addressed and is unlikely to prioritize, since it would reduce the pressure to upgrade storage plans.

Suggested Next Step

Create a tech spec following the calendar-to-briefing-doc pattern: define config.gs fields (trigger label, destination folder, organization rules, batch size), map GAS API calls, and draft the extractable src/index.js interface with dependency-injected GmailApp/DriveApp/SpreadsheetApp.