# Communication Category Plugins in the OpenAI Repository: 11 Examples with Implementation Details

> Explore Communication category plugins in the OpenAI repository. Discover examples like Zoom, Slack, and Gmail, and learn how they enhance messaging and email workflows with implementation details.

- Repository: [OpenAI/plugins](https://github.com/openai/plugins)
- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-06-24

---

**The OpenAI plugins repository identifies Communication category plugins through a `"category": "Communication"` field in each plugin's [`plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugin.json) manifest, including popular integrations like Zoom, Slack, Gmail, Microsoft Teams, and Otter AI that enable messaging, video conferencing, and email workflows.**

The openai/plugins repository hosts reference implementations for extending OpenAI models through external APIs. Each plugin declares its functional domain via a structured metadata file, with **Communication category plugins** specifically handling real-time messaging, video conferencing, email management, and meeting transcription. These implementations reside in dedicated subdirectories under `plugins/`, with their classification explicitly defined in `<plugin-root>/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`.

## How Communication Category Classification Works

### The Plugin Manifest Structure

Every plugin in the repository defines its capabilities in a [`plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugin.json) file located at [`.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/.codex-plugin/plugin.json) within its root directory. The **category** field serves as the primary classifier, with Communication plugins explicitly setting `"category": "Communication"`. This metadata allows the OpenAI platform to filter and route function calls to appropriate services based on user intent.

### OpenAPI Specification Integration

Each manifest file exposes an **OpenAPI specification** that describes available endpoints, request schemas, and authentication methods. According to the openai/plugins source code, the platform uses these specifications to construct valid API calls when the model determines that Communication functionality is required.

## Notable Communication Category Plugins

### Video Conferencing Solutions

- **Zoom**: Implements the Zoom App SDK, Meeting SDK, and Video SDK for in-app video, chat, and app-to-app messaging. Configuration resides in [`plugins/zoom/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugins/zoom/.codex-plugin/plugin.json).
- **Microsoft Teams**: Exposes Teams-specific actions including message sending, meeting creation, and channel data retrieval. Manifest location: [`plugins/teams/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugins/teams/.codex-plugin/plugin.json).

### Email Management Platforms

- **Gmail**: Provides full-featured integration for sending, searching, and labeling emails via Google's API. Defined in [`plugins/gmail/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugins/gmail/.codex-plugin/plugin.json).
- **Outlook Email**: Interfaces with Microsoft Graph to send, read, and organize Outlook emails. Manifest: [`plugins/outlook-email/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugins/outlook-email/.codex-plugin/plugin.json).
- **Superhuman**: Enhances email workflows with thread-level communication timelines and smart reply capabilities. Located at [`plugins/superhuman/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugins/superhuman/.codex-plugin/plugin.json).

### Team Messaging and Chat

- **Slack**: Enables posting, reading, and reacting to Slack messages alongside channel management functions. Manifest: [`plugins/slack/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugins/slack/.codex-plugin/plugin.json).
- **Fyxer**: Offers secure messaging and file-sharing capabilities for team collaboration. Configuration: [`plugins/fyxer/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugins/fyxer/.codex-plugin/plugin.json).
- **Granola**: Implements a lightweight chat-bot framework designed for synchronous messaging scenarios. Found in [`plugins/granola/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugins/granola/.codex-plugin/plugin.json).

### Meeting Intelligence and Transcription

- **Otter AI**: Captures live audio, transcribes conversations in real-time, and shares communication notes. Manifest: [`plugins/otter-ai/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugins/otter-ai/.codex-plugin/plugin.json).
- **Fireflies**: Automates meeting transcription and generates follow-up communication summaries. Located at [`plugins/fireflies/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugins/fireflies/.codex-plugin/plugin.json).
- **Read AI**: Summarizes meeting transcripts and extracts communication-focused insights for briefs. Configuration: [`plugins/read-ai/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugins/read-ai/.codex-plugin/plugin.json).

## Technical Implementation and Integration

### Python Integration Example

The following demonstrates invoking the Gmail plugin through the OpenAI Chat Completion API:

```python
import openai

response = openai.ChatCompletion.create(
    model="gpt-4-plugins",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Send an email to alice@example.com saying \"Meeting at 3 PM\"."}
    ],
    plugins=[
        {
            "type": "plugin",
            "id": "gmail",
            "manifest_url": "https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugins/gmail/.codex-plugin/plugin.json"
        }
    ]
)

print(response["choices"][0]["message"]["content"])

```

The `plugins` parameter references the manifest URL defined in [`plugins/gmail/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugins/gmail/.codex-plugin/plugin.json), triggering the plugin's send-email operation when the model determines email functionality is required.

### Manifest Schema Requirements

Each Communication plugin must declare its **category** explicitly to be recognized by the platform. The [`plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugin.json) structure includes fields for plugin ID, description, authentication details, and the OpenAPI spec URL. As implemented in [`plugins/slack/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugins/slack/.codex-plugin/plugin.json) and similar paths, this standardized format ensures consistent integration across video, email, and messaging platforms.

## Summary

- Communication category plugins in the openai/plugins repository are identified by the `"category": "Communication"` field in their [`plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugin.json) manifests.
- Notable examples include Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Gmail, Outlook Email, Superhuman, Otter AI, Fireflies, Read AI, Fyxer, and Granola.
- Each plugin stores its metadata in [`.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/.codex-plugin/plugin.json) within its respective `plugins/<name>/` directory.
- Integration requires referencing the plugin's manifest URL and ID in the Chat Completion API's `plugins` parameter.
- These plugins expose OpenAPI specifications that enable video conferencing, email management, team messaging, and meeting transcription capabilities.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How does the OpenAI plugins repository classify Communication plugins?

The repository uses a **category** field inside each plugin's [`plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugin.json) file. When this field contains the value `"Communication"`, the plugin is categorized as handling messaging, email, video calls, or real-time interaction capabilities. This classification metadata resides in `<plugin-root>/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`.

### What types of functionality do Communication category plugins provide?

Communication plugins cover four primary domains: video conferencing (Zoom, Microsoft Teams), email management (Gmail, Outlook, Superhuman), team messaging (Slack, Fyxer, Granola), and meeting intelligence (Otter AI, Fireflies, Read AI). Each exposes specific endpoints through OpenAPI specifications defined in their manifest files.

### How do you invoke a Communication plugin through the OpenAI API?

You include a `plugins` array in your `ChatCompletion.create` request, specifying the plugin's `id` (folder name) and `manifest_url` pointing to the raw [`plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugin.json) file. The model then uses the OpenAPI schema defined in `plugins/<name>/.codex-plugin/plugin.json` to construct appropriate API calls to the external service.

### Where are the manifest files located for Communication plugins?

Each plugin stores its manifest at `plugins/<plugin-name>/.codex-plugin/plugin.json` within the openai/plugins repository. For example, Slack uses [`plugins/slack/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugins/slack/.codex-plugin/plugin.json), while Zoom's configuration resides at [`plugins/zoom/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`](https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/main/plugins/zoom/.codex-plugin/plugin.json).