Conversation objects
Specification Reviewed · not yet fact-checked
In short
What is the Reply Inbox and how does it organize threads?
The Inbox is Reply's consolidated view of all threads from all sequences and team members, covering automatic and manual emails and LinkedIn messages. Threads carry one inbox category — Interested, Not interested, Do not contact, Not now, Forwarded, with Meeting intent as a subcategory — assigned by AI or manually, and filters, search, and bulk actions organize triage.
At a glance
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| What it is | The Consolidated Inbox — all threads from all sequences initiated by all team members, in one place |
| Contains | Conversations from automatic and manual emails and LinkedIn messages |
| Organized by | Main categories (Inbox, Unread, AI draft) and inbox categories, each with an unread counter |
| Key rule | Only one inbox category can be assigned per thread — Meeting intent, a subcategory, is the exception |
| Levels | Consolidated (Inbox button in the main header) and sequence level (the Inbox tab of a sequence); both are synced and updated simultaneously |
| Does not | Display auto-replies, out-of-office messages, or bounced emails by default; allow multiple inbox categories on one thread; offer Delete as a bulk action on desktop |
Definition
The Inbox — also known as the Consolidated Inbox — gathers all threads from all sequences initiated by all team members in one place. It opens from the Inbox button in the main header menu, which carries a counter of unread messages.
Purpose
With more than one active sequence, responses would otherwise be checked in a different inbox per sequence. The Consolidated Inbox manages all threads from all sequences in one place: reading replies from automatic and manual emails and LinkedIn, filtering and grouping them, responding quickly, and performing bulk actions.
Relationships
| Relationship | Object |
|---|---|
| Contains | Conversations from every sequence and team member |
| Mirrored at | The sequence level — the Inbox tab of a sequence shows only that sequence's threads |
| Categorizes with | Main categories and inbox categories, including custom ones |
| Filters over | Sequences, sending emails, LinkedIn accounts, categories, timeframes, channels, and team members |
Creation
Threads appear once contacts reply — if you have not received any replies yet, the inbox is empty. Replies arrive from automatic and manual emails and from LinkedIn, including conversations started via direct LinkedIn actions on the contact card. Auto-replies, out-of-office messages, and bounced emails are not displayed by default. Emails sent outside Reply can also sync in — see Conversations.
Lifecycle and states
- Unread. Unread threads show in bold with a small blue circle to the left of the contact name. The left panel shows the number of unread messages in front of each category.
- Read. Opening a thread automatically marks it as read and decreases the unread counter. Threads can also be marked read or unread manually, one by one or in bulk.
- Synced levels. The consolidated and sequence-level inboxes update simultaneously: unread counters increment and decrement synchronously, and reading messages, answering, or creating categories in one inbox is reflected in the other.
Configuration
Inbox categories
Reply provides this default list of inbox categories: Interested, Not interested, Do not contact, Not now, Forwarded, and Meeting intent. Categories reflect the contact's interest and are assigned automatically by the AI algorithm, which classifies them based on the tone of email replies. Only one inbox category can be assigned per thread — the exception is Meeting intent, which is a subcategory.
Custom categories
Custom categories are created from the Inbox tab of a sequence: open the Categories section, click the "+" button, enter the category name, pick the color for its label, and click Create. The new category is automatically pinned. Custom categories are created at the team level, so team members can view each other's categories, and one category cannot be created twice. The Settings icon in the Categories section pins and unpins categories from the visible list.
Auto-reply handling
By default, auto-replies, out-of-office messages, and bounced emails are not displayed in the Inbox. The handling is set in Settings → Emails → Email Safety, separately for your email client and for the Reply inbox.
| Email client action | Effect |
|---|---|
| Do nothing (default) | Detected auto-replies, OOO, and bounced emails are displayed |
| Delete | Detected auto-replies, OOO, and bounced emails are deleted |
| Mark as read | Detected auto-replies, OOO, and bounced emails are displayed and marked read on receipt |
| Reply inbox action | Effect |
|---|---|
| Do not display (default) | Detected auto-replies are shown neither in the inbox nor on the contact card |
| Display | Auto-replies, OOO, and bounced emails appear in the inbox and contact card, marked unread; the Inbox counter increments |
| Display & mark as read | Same as Display, but the emails are marked read right after receiving |
Notifications
Inbox notifications announce new replies, whether email or LinkedIn messages, and are managed in Settings → Notifications.
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Receive notifications from | My threads only; All team members' threads; Specific team members' threads |
| When to show notifications | When any page is open; Only when Inbox page is open |
| Visibility | Automatically hide after 5 seconds, or stay until dismissed |
| Sound | Play sound for notification |
| Notification filters | Relevant replies only — no notifications for auto-replies or bounced emails |
| Channels | Email; LinkedIn |
Processing behavior
Viewing threads
Messages are displayed chronologically with the most recent replies on top. One page holds up to 50 threads, with pagination buttons in the upper left corner; the mobile app uses infinite scroll instead. A Split pane icon switches between Standard mode (the list of all threads) and Half-opened mode (the list plus a panel with the opened thread). Each thread row shows the channel (a light blue icon for manual emails, dark blue for automatic), the contact's full name, categories, the subject and body preview, the sequence where the thread was initiated, and the date and time of the last received message.
Assigning categories
The AI assigns inbox categories automatically. To change one, select the thread, click the Manually assign/reassign category icon, pick the category from the drop-down list, and click Apply; in bulk, the same flow applies to multiple selected threads, including the Meeting intent subcategory. A category is removed with the x icon next to it on the thread or with Clear assigned category in the same drop-down.
Filtering
Main categories on the left panel are Inbox (all threads — the default filter), Unread (threads with unread messages only), and AI draft (threads with replies generated by Jason AI). Inbox categories sit below them, and the two blocks combine — for example, Unread and Interested together filter Interested threads among the unread ones.
The team-member filter in the upper left switches between All (threads started by all team members), My (only your threads), and a particular team member; the filters, categories, and message counts change accordingly. The channel filter offers All channels, Email channel, and LinkedIn channel.
Filters at the top of the page can be combined: All sequences (one or more sequences), All emails (sending email addresses), All accounts (sending LinkedIn accounts, connected or disconnected), All categories (standard and custom), and All time (All time, Older than 1 month, Older than 3 months, Older than 6 months, Custom).
Search
The search bar finds threads by the first or last name of the contact, the subject line of an email, or the contact's email address. A fragment is enough — matches are found at the beginning, middle, or end of the name, address, or subject. Search by subject line works only for the visible part of the subject.
Bulk actions
Checkmark the needed threads or select all with the All button, then use the icons on top: mark as read, mark as unread, or manually assign/reassign a category. Selected replies can also be exported with Export contacts to CSV with replies — the file covers both email and LinkedIn replies and includes contact information, engagement details, and reply details such as Reply Subject, Reply Body, Reply Text Body, Reply Date, Replies by SMS, and Replies by LinkedIn.
Canned responses
To save a canned (snippet) response, type the response in the Inbox, right-click it, select Save as Canned Response, name it, and click Save. Insert a saved response from the Note icon in the text editor, by typing "/" in the reply field, or with the keyboard shortcut CTRL + S on Windows or Command + S on Mac.
Side effects
- Opening a thread marks it read and decreases the unread counters — in both the consolidated and the sequence-level inbox.
- Filtering by a team member changes the filters, categories, and message counts shown.
- Setting auto-replies to Display marks them unread and increments the counter near the Inbox title. Auto-replies are never treated as real replies, so the contact is not finished in the sequence.
- Category changes, read states, and new custom categories made in one inbox level appear in the other as well.
Limits
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Threads per page (desktop) | 50 |
| Inbox categories per thread | 1 — the Meeting intent subcategory is the only exception |
| Default inbox categories | Interested, Not interested, Do not contact, Not now, Forwarded, Meeting intent |
| Duplicate custom categories | Not allowed — one category cannot be created twice |
| CSV export of replies | Only the latest reply per contact is included |
| Search by subject line | Matches only the visible part of the subject |
Deletion behavior
Desktop bulk actions include mark as read, mark as unread, and category assignment — Delete is a bulk action in the mobile app only. Clearing an assigned category removes the label, not the thread. For custom categories, the sources describe unpinning them from the visible list rather than deleting them.
Edge cases
- A thread that contains an auto-reply plus real messages is still displayed when auto-replies are hidden — just without the auto-reply — and appears on the contact card's Emails tab. With Display & mark as read, threads that contain other real replies are not marked as read.
- Displayed auto-replies carry an "automatic reply" or "Delivery Status Notification (Failure)" prefix at the beginning of the subject.
- The sequence-level Inbox has the same functionality as the Consolidated Inbox except filtering by sequence and by team member, which it does not need.
- The sequence-level Inbox shows threads from all sending email addresses linked to the sequence, including threads with contacts whose owner is not the sequence owner.
- The "Relevant replies only" notification filter suppresses notifications for auto-replies and bounced emails.
FAQ
What are the default inbox categories?
Interested, Not interested, Do not contact, Not now, Forwarded, and Meeting intent. You can also create custom categories with their own name and label color — they are shared at the team level.
Can a thread have more than one inbox category?
No — only one inbox category can be assigned per thread. The exception is Meeting intent, which is a subcategory and can be applied alongside a category.
Why don't I see out-of-office replies and bounces in the Inbox?
They are hidden by default. Change the behavior in Settings → Emails → Email Safety: Do not display, Display, or Display & mark as read. Displayed auto-replies are never treated as real replies, so they do not finish the contact in the sequence.
How do I export replies from the Inbox?
Select the replies and click Export contacts to CSV with replies. The export covers both email and LinkedIn replies; when a contact replied several times, only the latest reply is included.
Does the sequence-level Inbox behave differently?
It has the same functionality as the Consolidated Inbox, minus the sequence and team-member filters, which it does not need. Both levels are synced and updated simultaneously, including unread counters.
Related
- Conversations — the threads the Inbox lists
- Reply detection — how inbound messages are recognized
- Reply management — AI classification of replies
- Process replies
- Process positive replies
Build with Reply
- REST API: docs.reply.io — inbox and reply endpoints
- MCP: agents.reply.io/mcp — agents triage the inbox, change categories, and send replies