Guide reviewed 23 September 2026. The live Chrome Web Store listing for TriageBox is 2.02. See the changelog for what shipped.
Desktop Chrome extension · needs your AI key
Summarize a PDF attached to Gmail, on the card
TriageBox reads the attached PDF — not only the subject — and puts the summary on the card. Dates, amounts, what it asks of you. Your own key (Gemini, xAI, or OpenRouter). No TriageBox mailbox server.
This is not a thread summary, and it is not copying a sign-in code, a phishing checker, bulk unsubscribe, or deleting old emails.
Free to install · the PDF read uses the key you add · desktop Chrome only
Gmail already opens the file
Open the PDF if you need the pages. Use TriageBox if you need the point of it.
Gmail will download or preview the attachment. That is the real document, and it is free. TriageBox is the narrower job: the file is already on the message, and you want a short read of it on the card without a second app. The button is on the attachment preview and in the menu as “Summarize PDF · name”. Review Google's sign-in and permission prompts before connecting.
Same mailbox, different job
Opening the PDF vs TriageBox
Facts from the current extension documentation for TriageBox and from how the popup summarizes an attachment. No invented ratings.
| What you need | Gmail | TriageBox |
|---|---|---|
| The pages themselves | Open or download the attachment | A summary, not the file. Open the PDF when the pages matter. |
| Dates, amounts, what it asks | You read them | Summary on the card, from the PDF bytes. The model can be wrong. |
| Cost | None | Your Gemini, xAI, or OpenRouter key. No key, no PDF summary. |
| Size | Gmail’s own limit | Over 4 MB is refused, same ceiling as an email summary. |
| How many files | Every attachment on the message | The first two PDFs on the card get a Summarize PDF entry. Images do not. |
| On your phone | Gmail app | Desktop Chrome only |
TriageBox is not affiliated with Google. Gmail, Google and Chrome are trademarks of Google LLC. The summary is assistive. A scan that is only a picture of a page can come back thin. Cached per attachment; Regenerate reads it again.
Desktop Chrome · your key, not a TriageBox account
How Summarize PDF actually runs
- Install and connect Gmail. Desktop Chrome. Add a Gemini, xAI, or OpenRouter key in Options. No TriageBox account.
- Open the card that has the PDF. The gold Summarize PDF button sits on the attachment preview. The menu says “Summarize PDF · name”.
- It reads the file. The button says Reading… while the model works. The summary appears above the viewer and scrolls into view. Over 4 MB is refused.
- Read it, or open the real PDF. Show summary brings the cached text back. Regenerate reads the attachment again. Nothing here files the document for you.
The attachment, not the subject
The prompt is the PDF you already have on that message. Thread summary is a different control.
One cache per file
The same attachment does not get billed again until you press Regenerate.
Not a PDF app
No annotation, no download of a new file, no claim that every page was understood.
Codes and phishing are other pages
A sign-in code is copy the code. Sender checks are the phishing checker.
The point of the PDF, on the card
Read the document without leaving the queue.
Desktop Chrome extension. Your key. Data stays in your browser, then goes to the provider you chose.
Limits, stated
What this page does not claim
- It does not work with no API key. Add Gemini, xAI, or OpenRouter yourself.
- It does not replace opening the PDF. You still do that when the pages matter.
- It does not accept a file over 4 MB.
- It does not offer this button on images. The first two PDFs on a card get the menu entry.
- It does not promise a scan of a photographed page will read well.
- It does not summarize the email thread. That is a different control on the card.
- It does not copy a sign-in code. That is Gmail verification code.
- It does not check phishing. That is Gmail phishing checker.
- It does not unsubscribe or delete mail. Those are bulk unsubscribe and delete old emails.
- It does not run on your phone.
- It does not send the PDF through a TriageBox server. The request goes to the provider whose key you added.
- It is not for anyone else’s mailbox.
Quick answers
Gmail PDF summary
How do I summarize a PDF attached to a Gmail message?
TriageBox is a Chrome extension. Open the attachment preview on the card, or the menu, and choose Summarize PDF. It reads that attached document and puts a summary on the card — dates, amounts, what it asks of you — without you opening the file in another app. This needs an AI key you add yourself (Gemini, xAI, or OpenRouter). It is not a no-key feature.
Does the summary read the PDF, or only the email subject?
The attachment. TriageBox sends that PDF’s bytes from your browser to the AI provider whose key you configured. A file over 4 MB is refused, the same ceiling as an email summary. The first two PDFs on a card get a Summarize PDF entry. Pictures are not offered this button. A scan that is only a picture of a page can come back thin.
Is this the same as summarizing the email thread?
No. Thread summary is the email. This page is the attached PDF. They can both exist on the same card. Neither replaces opening the real document if you need the pages themselves. The model can be wrong. A cached summary opens again without another read; Regenerate reads the file again. Sign-in codes are a different page.
Does my mail go through a TriageBox server?
No. There is no TriageBox mailbox backend. The separate public support service counts anonymous likes; it receives no Gmail content. The PDF goes from your browser to the provider whose key you added. Gmail data is not sent to the publisher.
Desktop Chrome · Gmail you already have
The PDF’s point, on the card you already have open.
Free to install. The summary uses the key you add. No TriageBox account.