Communication · Email

Gmail-style app

Illustrative system design for a email app like Gmail: 6 topics to read, from requirements to deep dives.

Two copies of the truth, kept honest.

Illustrative design, not Gmail’s actual implementation. Arrowbox is not affiliated with Gmail’s owner. Disclaimer

Inbox

Inbox listIntermediate · 46 min read · Sign in to read
Triage at speed: virtualised thread rows, bulk actions with undo, keyboard shortcuts, cached first paint.
Search operators and filter chipsIntermediate · 46 min read · Sign in to read
Operators like from: and has: answered from mail kept on the device first, then merged with the server's results.

Thread viewBeginner · 46 min read · Sign in to read
A long conversation made readable: collapsed older messages, hidden quoted text, reply in place, read state.
Rendering untrusted emailAdvanced · 45 min read · Sign in to read
Show a stranger's HTML without letting it run: sanitise, isolate, proxy images and flag risky links.

Compose and sendIntermediate · 44 min read · Sign in to read
Recipient chips with autocomplete, attachments that upload first, an undo-send window and an outbox.
Draft autosaveIntermediate · 45 min read · Sign in to read
Never lose a draft: debounced saves, a local copy offline, and a conflict when two devices edit it.