GTM-Lite

Cold outbound prep on autopilot — an autogtm-style pipeline that runs entirely on free tiers: GitHub Actions (runner) + GitHub Models (LLM, free via GITHUB_TOKEN) + Exa free tier (lead discovery, $10 credits/month) + your own Gmail (drafts only — a human sends every email).

config.yml ─▶ discover (Exa) ─▶ enrich+score (LLM) ─▶ draft (LLM) ─▶ review PR
                                                                        │ you edit "to:", move to data/approved/, merge
                                                                        ▼
                                                          Gmail drafts in YOUR inbox ─▶ you hit send

Nothing is ever sent automatically. That's a feature: it keeps you inside Gmail's terms, keeps deliverability sane at founder-led volumes, and keeps a human judgment call on every single email.

Setup (per project, ~15 minutes)

1. Use this template. Click Use this template → new repo. One repo = one project. Each repo runs independently with its own schedule, quota, config, and secrets.
2. Edit config.yml. Company profile, ICP, lead briefs, limits. This is the only file you must touch.
3. Add secrets (repo → Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions):
   • EXA_API_KEY — free key from https://dashboard.exa.ai ($20 signup + $10/month credits)
   • GMAIL_CLIENT_ID, GMAIL_CLIENT_SECRET, GMAIL_REFRESH_TOKEN — see below
   • HUNTER_API_KEY (optional) — free tier from https://hunter.io (25 domain searches/month) as a fallback when scraping finds no address
4. Enable workflows (Actions tab → enable). Done. The pipeline runs weekdays at 13:00 UTC; edit the cron in .github/workflows/pipeline.yml or hit Run workflow anytime.

Gmail OAuth (one time per Google account)

1. https://console.cloud.google.com → new project → enable the Gmail API.
2. OAuth consent screen → External → add yourself as a test user.
3. Credentials → Create credentials → OAuth client ID → Desktop app. Copy the client ID and secret.
4. Get a refresh token with the scope https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.compose. Easiest path: https://developers.google.com/oauthplayground — gear icon → "Use your own OAuth credentials" → paste ID/secret → authorize the gmail.compose scope → Exchange authorization code → copy the refresh token.
5. Save all three as repo secrets. The pipeline can only create drafts (gmail.compose) — it cannot read your mail or send.

Daily loop

1. The pipeline workflow discovers leads, scores them against your ICP, drafts emails, and opens a PR titled GTM review: <date>.
2. You review data/drafts/*.md in the PR. Each draft arrives with the to: address pre-filled (found by scraping the lead's site, or via the optional Hunter fallback; email_source tells you where it came from). Move the ones you like to data/approved/. If to: is blank, either fill it or skip that lead.
3. Merge. The gmail-drafts workflow pushes approved files into your Gmail drafts folder and archives them to data/sent/.
4. Open Gmail (phone works), give each draft a final glance, send.

Multiple projects

Template → N repos. Each has its own:

• config.yml (different product, ICP, briefs, tone)
• schedule (stagger the crons if you like)
• Exa key (each free account gets its own monthly credits)
• Gmail account (recommended: one sending identity per project)
• Actions quota (free: unlimited minutes on public repos, 2,000 min/month on private repos per account — a daily run uses ~2-3 minutes)

No shared infrastructure, no orchestration, nothing to host.

Make it compound

knowledge/ is injected into prompts. After real replies come in, append winning messages, objections, and segment learnings to knowledge/playbook.md (or add new files). The next day's drafts get sharper. This is the part that actually matters.

Ground rules

• Keep volumes low (the default caps are deliberate). Cold outreach from a personal Gmail at bulk volume gets accounts flagged fast.
• Keep the opt-out line on and honor it permanently (move repliers' ids into data/rejected/ so dedupe never resurfaces them).
• Know your jurisdiction: GDPR/PECR in Europe and CAN-SPAM in the US put real constraints on unsolicited B2B email. Personalized, relevant, low-volume, easy-opt-out founder mail is the defensible end of the spectrum — stay there.

Costs

Piece	Free quota	Enough for
GitHub Actions	2,000 min/mo private	~30x daily runs
GitHub Models	free w/ GITHUB_TOKEN (rate-limited)	daily enrich+draft batches
Exa	$10 credits/mo (~1,400 searches)	3 searches/day forever
Gmail	free	founder-led volumes

$0/month per project.