Surface unanswered emails from the past week
If you’re anything like me — you can think back to countless memories of coding sessions running deep into the night. Task: The author attempted to build an automated personal assistant to surface unanswered emails from the past week using the Gmail API. Devin struggled with initial authentication, prompting the author to write that code manually using Cursor. Once authenticated, Devin autonomously researched Gmail API documentation, implemented filtering logic for the Primary inbox, built a frontend, and deployed it to a public link. The workflow continued with Devin connecting the application to a Supabase backend to persist 'Ignore' actions.; tools: Devin, Cursor. Human role: The original post does not say how a person stayed involved.; limitations: Devin's autonomous deployment can lead to unexpected hosting costs, similar to Replit's pricing model. The tool lacks the intuitive, step-by-step control of Cursor, making it difficult to monitor specific file changes or package installations. Authentication tasks proved difficult for Devin, requiring human intervention. The source is a single user's anecdotal experience from December 2024, so performance may vary..
Tools
Published on Agent Work Atlas:
Overview
If you’re anything like me — you can think back to countless memories of coding sessions running deep into the night.
Workflow
The author attempted to build an automated personal assistant to surface unanswered emails from the past week using the Gmail API. Devin struggled with initial authentication, prompting the author to write that code manually using Cursor. Once authenticated, Devin autonomously researched Gmail API documentation, implemented filtering logic for the Primary inbox, built a frontend, and deployed it to a public link. The workflow continued with Devin connecting the application to a Supabase backend to persist 'Ignore' actions.
Reported result
The author observed that Devin operates more like a junior developer or intern than a coding companion, working at human speed and sometimes slower than manual execution. While Devin successfully deployed the website and handled complex API research, the author noted discomfort with the lack of visibility into the codebase and the automatic deployment costs. The project was not fully completed in the reported timeframe, with backend integration still in progress.
Human role
The original post does not say how a person stayed involved.
Limitations
Devin's autonomous deployment can lead to unexpected hosting costs, similar to Replit's pricing model. The tool lacks the intuitive, step-by-step control of Cursor, making it difficult to monitor specific file changes or package installations. Authentication tasks proved difficult for Devin, requiring human intervention. The source is a single user's anecdotal experience from December 2024, so performance may vary.
Try it
I want to replicate the 'Unanswered Emails' assistant workflow using Devin and Cursor. First, set up Gmail API authentication; if Devin fails after 30 minutes, switch to Cursor for this step. Once authenticated, instruct Devin to: 1) Research Gmail API methods for filtering 'Primary' inbox messages from the last 7 days that have no replies. 2) Write a function to extract sender, subject, and date. 3) Build a simple frontend to display this list. 4) Deploy the frontend to a public link. 5) Connect to a Supabase database to save 'Ignore' actions. Before Devin deploys or spends money, pause and show me the code diff and estimated hosting costs for my approval. Start with a dry run on a sample dataset of 5 emails to verify logic before connecting to my live Gmail account. If Devin gets stuck on a specific API method, provide the exact error and the documentation link it is trying to access.
Source reports are not independently verified. Publication date is the catalog publication date, not the original article date.