Email MCP Server
An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server providing comprehensive email capabilities via IMAP and SMTP.
Enables AI assistants to read, search, send, manage, schedule, and analyze emails across multiple accounts. Exposes 47 tools, 7 prompts, and 6 resources over the MCP protocol with OAuth2 support (experimental), email scheduling, calendar extraction, analytics, provider-aware label management, real-time IMAP IDLE watcher with AI-powered triage, customizable presets and static rules, and a guided setup wizard.
Highlights
| Feature | email-mcp | Typical MCP email |
|---|
| Multi-account | ✅ | ❌ |
| Send / reply / forward | ✅ | ✅ |
| Drafts & templates | ✅ | ❌ |
| Labels & bulk ops | ✅ provider-aware | ❌ |
| Schedule future emails | ✅ | ❌ |
| Real-time IMAP IDLE watcher | ✅ | ❌ |
| AI triage with presets | ✅ | ❌ |
| Desktop & webhook alerts | ✅ | ❌ |
| Calendar (ICS) extraction | ✅ | ❌ |
| Email analytics | ✅ | ❌ |
| OAuth2 (Gmail / M365) | ✅ experimental | ❌ |
| Guided setup wizard | ✅ auto-detect | ❌ |
Table of Contents
Security
- All connections use TLS/STARTTLS encryption
- Passwords are never logged; audit trail records operations without credentials
- Token-bucket rate limiter prevents abuse (configurable per account)
- OAuth2 XOAUTH2 authentication for Gmail and Microsoft 365 (experimental)
- Attachment downloads capped at 5 MB with base64 encoding
Background
Most MCP email implementations provide only basic read/send. This server aims to be a full-featured email client for AI assistants, covering the entire lifecycle: reading, composing, managing, scheduling, and analyzing email — all from a single MCP server.
Key design decisions:
- XDG-compliant config — TOML at
~/.config/email-mcp/config.toml
- Multi-account — Operate across multiple IMAP/SMTP accounts simultaneously
- Layered services — Business logic is decoupled from MCP wiring for testability
- Provider auto-detection — Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud, Fastmail, ProtonMail, Zoho, GMX
Install
Requires Node.js ≥ 22.
npx @codefuturist/email-mcp setup
pnpm dlx @codefuturist/email-mcp setup
npm install -g @codefuturist/email-mcp
pnpm add -g @codefuturist/email-mcp
Docker
No Node.js required — just Docker.
docker pull ghcr.io/codefuturist/email-mcp:latest
docker pull ghcr.io/codefuturist/email-mcp:0.2.3
docker pull ghcr.io/codefuturist/email-mcp:0.2
docker pull ghcr.io/codefuturist/email-mcp:0
docker pull ghcr.io/codefuturist/email-mcp:sha-abc1234
docker build -t ghcr.io/codefuturist/email-mcp .
Tag convention: Tags follow bare semver (no v prefix), matching Docker ecosystem standards (e.g. node:24, nginx:1.25). The latest tag is only updated on stable releases, never pre-releases.
Note: The server uses stdio transport. Config must be created on the host first
(via npx @codefuturist/email-mcp setup or manually) and mounted into the container.
Usage
Setup
email-mcp account add
email-mcp setup
email-mcp config init
The setup wizard auto-detects server settings, tests connections, saves config, and outputs the MCP client config snippet.
Test Connections
email-mcp test
email-mcp test personal
Recommended — use the guided installer (auto-detects Claude Desktop, VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf):
Or add manually using the snippets below.
Claude Desktop
Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):
{
"mcpServers": {
"email": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"]
}
}
}
VS Code (GitHub Copilot)
Option 1 — Extensions gallery (easiest):
- Open the Extensions view (⇧⌘X / Ctrl+Shift+X)
- Search
@mcp email-mcp
- Click Install (user-wide) or right-click → Install in Workspace
Option 2 — Workspace config (.vscode/mcp.json, committed to source control):
{
"servers": {
"email": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"]
}
}
}
Option 3 — User config (settings.json, applies to all workspaces):
Open the Command Palette → Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON) and add:
{
"mcp": {
"servers": {
"email": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"]
}
}
}
}
Cursor
Edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"email": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"]
}
}
}
Windsurf
Edit ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"email": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"]
}
}
}
Zed
Edit ~/.config/zed/settings.json:
{
"context_servers": {
"email": {
"command": {
"path": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"]
}
}
}
}
Mistral Vibe
Add to ~/.vibe/config.toml:
[[mcp_servers]]
name = "email-mcp"
transport = "stdio"
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"]
To pass credentials directly instead of using a config file, use the env field:
[[mcp_servers]]
name = "email-mcp"
transport = "stdio"
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"]
env = { "EMAIL_ACCOUNTS" = "<your-accounts-json>" }
MCP tools are exposed as email-mcp_<tool_name> (e.g. email-mcp_list_emails). Restart Vibe after editing the config.
Docker (any MCP client)
Run the server in a container — mount your config directory read-only:
docker run --rm -i \
-v ~/.config/email-mcp:/home/node/.config/email-mcp:ro \
ghcr.io/codefuturist/email-mcp
For MCP client configuration (e.g. Claude Desktop):
{
"mcpServers": {
"email": {
"command": "docker",
"args": [
"run", "--rm", "-i",
"-v", "~/.config/email-mcp:/home/node/.config/email-mcp:ro",
"ghcr.io/codefuturist/email-mcp"
]
}
}
}
Single-account via environment variables (no config file needed)
{
"mcpServers": {
"email": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"],
"env": {
"MCP_EMAIL_ADDRESS": "you@gmail.com",
"MCP_EMAIL_PASSWORD": "your-app-password",
"MCP_EMAIL_IMAP_HOST": "imap.gmail.com",
"MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_HOST": "smtp.gmail.com"
}
}
}
}
CLI Commands
email-mcp [command]
Commands:
stdio Run as MCP server over stdio (default)
account list List all configured accounts
account add Add a new email account interactively
account edit [name] Edit an existing account
account delete [name] Remove an account
setup Alias for 'account add'
test Test connections for all or a specific account
install Register email-mcp with MCP clients interactively
install status Show registration status for detected clients
install remove Unregister email-mcp from MCP clients
config show Show config (passwords masked)
config edit Edit global settings (rate limit, read-only)
config path Print config file path
config init Create template config
scheduler check Process pending scheduled emails
scheduler list Show all scheduled emails
scheduler install Install OS-level scheduler (launchd/crontab)
scheduler uninstall Remove OS-level scheduler
scheduler status Show scheduler installation status
help Show help
Configuration
Located at $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/email-mcp/config.toml (default: ~/.config/email-mcp/config.toml).
[settings]
rate_limit = 10
[[accounts]]
name = "personal"
email = "you@gmail.com"
full_name = "Your Name"
password = "your-app-password"
[accounts.imap]
host = "imap.gmail.com"
port = 993
tls = true
[accounts.smtp]
host = "smtp.gmail.com"
port = 465
tls = true
starttls = false
verify_ssl = true
[accounts.smtp.pool]
enabled = true
max_connections = 1
max_messages = 100
OAuth2 (experimental)
Note: OAuth2 support is experimental. Token refresh and provider-specific flows may require additional testing in your environment.
[[accounts]]
name = "work"
email = "you@company.com"
full_name = "Your Name"
[accounts.oauth2]
provider = "google"
client_id = "your-client-id"
client_secret = "your-client-secret"
refresh_token = "your-refresh-token"
[accounts.imap]
host = "imap.gmail.com"
port = 993
tls = true
[accounts.smtp]
host = "smtp.gmail.com"
port = 465
tls = true
[accounts.smtp.pool]
enabled = true
max_connections = 1
max_messages = 100
Environment Variables
For single-account setups (overrides config file):
| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|
MCP_EMAIL_ADDRESS | required | Email address |
MCP_EMAIL_PASSWORD | required | Password or app password |
MCP_EMAIL_IMAP_HOST | required | IMAP server hostname |
MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_HOST | required | SMTP server hostname |
MCP_EMAIL_ACCOUNT_NAME | default | Account name |
MCP_EMAIL_FULL_NAME | — | Display name |
MCP_EMAIL_USERNAME | email | Login username |
MCP_EMAIL_IMAP_PORT | 993 | IMAP port |
MCP_EMAIL_IMAP_TLS | true | IMAP TLS |
MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_PORT | 465 | SMTP port |
MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_TLS | true | SMTP TLS |
MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_STARTTLS | false | SMTP STARTTLS |
MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_VERIFY_SSL | true | Verify SSL certificates |
MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_POOL_ENABLED | true | Enable SMTP transport pooling |
MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_POOL_MAX_CONNECTIONS | 1 | Max pooled SMTP connections |
MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_POOL_MAX_MESSAGES | 100 | Max messages per pooled connection |
MCP_EMAIL_RATE_LIMIT | 10 | Max sends per minute |
Email Scheduling
The scheduler enables future email delivery with a layered architecture:
- MCP auto-check — Processes the queue on server startup and every 60 seconds while the MCP server is running
- CLI —
email-mcp scheduler check for manual or cron-based processing
- OS-level daemon —
email-mcp scheduler install sets up launchd (macOS) or crontab (Linux) to run every minute, independently of the MCP server
Important — the daemon must be installed for reliable delivery.
Without it, scheduled emails only fire while an AI client is actively connected.
Your machine also needs to be running at the scheduled time; if it's asleep or
off, the daemon will process overdue emails on next wake/startup. Failed sends
are retried up to 3 times before being marked failed.
Setting up the daemon
email-mcp scheduler install
email-mcp scheduler status
email-mcp scheduler list
email-mcp scheduler check
email-mcp scheduler uninstall
Scheduled emails are stored as JSON files in ~/.local/state/email-mcp/scheduled/ with status-based locking. Each entry tracks attempts (max 3) and the last error, so you can inspect failures with scheduler list.
Real-time Watcher & AI Hooks
The IMAP IDLE watcher monitors configured mailboxes in real-time using persistent IDLE connections (separate from tool connections). When new emails arrive:
- Static rules — Pattern-match on from/to/subject → apply labels, flag, or mark read instantly (no AI)
- AI triage — Remaining emails are analyzed via MCP sampling with a customizable preset prompt
- Notify mode — Falls back to logging if AI triage is disabled
Configure in config.toml:
[settings.watcher]
enabled = true
folders = ["INBOX"]
idle_timeout = 1740
[settings.hooks]
on_new_email = "triage"
preset = "inbox-zero"
auto_label = true
auto_flag = true
batch_delay = 5
custom_instructions = """
I'm a software engineer. Emails from @mycompany.com are always high priority.
Newsletters I read: TL;DR, Hacker Newsletter.
"""
[[settings.hooks.rules]]
name = "GitHub Notifications"
match = { from = "*@github.com" }
actions = { labels = ["Dev"], mark_read = true }
[[settings.hooks.rules]]
name = "Newsletter Archive"
match = { from = "*@substack.com|*@buttondown.email" }
actions = { labels = ["Newsletter"] }
[[settings.hooks.rules]]
name = "VIP Contacts"
match = { from = "ceo@company.com|cto@company.com" }
actions = { flag = true, labels = ["VIP"] }
Presets
| Preset | Focus | Suggested Labels |
|---|
inbox-zero | Aggressive categorization + archiving | Newsletter, Notification, Updates, Finance, Social, Promo |
gtd | Getting Things Done contexts | @Action, @Waiting, @Reference, @Someday, @Delegated |
priority-focus | Simple priority classification (default) | (none — just priority + flag) |
notification-only | No AI triage, just log | (none) |
custom | User defines full system prompt | User-defined |
Static Rules
Static rules use glob-style patterns (*@github.com) with | as OR separator (*@github.com|*@gitlab.com). All conditions within a match are AND'd. First matching rule wins.
Available actions: labels (string array), flag (boolean), mark_read (boolean), alert (boolean — forces desktop notification).
Alerts
Urgency-based multi-channel notification routing — grab attention for important emails even when you're not looking at the chat. All channels are opt-in and disabled by default.
| Priority | Desktop | Sound | MCP Log Level | Webhook |
|---|
urgent | ✅ Banner | 🔊 Alert | alert | ✅ |
high | ✅ Banner | 🔇 Silent | warning | ✅ |
normal | ❌ | ❌ | info | ❌ |
low | ❌ | ❌ | debug | ❌ |
[settings.hooks.alerts]
desktop = true
sound = true
urgency_threshold = "high"
webhook_url = "https://ntfy.sh/my-email-alerts"
webhook_events = ["urgent", "high"]
Supported platforms: macOS (Notification Center via osascript), Linux (notify-send), Windows (PowerShell toast). Zero npm dependencies — uses native OS commands.
Notification setup by platform:
macOS
Desktop notifications use osascript (built-in). The terminal app running the MCP server needs notification permission:
- Open System Settings → Notifications & Focus
- Find your terminal app (Terminal, iTerm2, VS Code, Cursor, etc.)
- Enable Allow Notifications and choose Banners or Alerts
- Ensure Focus / Do Not Disturb is not blocking notifications
Use check_notification_setup to diagnose and test_notification to verify.
Linux
Requires notify-send from libnotify. For sound alerts, paplay is also needed:
sudo apt install libnotify-bin pulseaudio-utils
sudo dnf install libnotify pulseaudio-utils
sudo pacman -S libnotify
Desktop notifications require a running display server (X11/Wayland) — they will not work in headless/SSH sessions.
Windows
Uses PowerShell toast notifications (built-in):
- Open Settings → System → Notifications
- Ensure Notifications is turned on
- Set Focus Assist to allow notifications
- If using Windows Terminal, ensure its notifications are enabled
AI-configurable: The AI can check, test, and configure notifications at runtime:
check_notification_setup — diagnose platform support and show setup instructionstest_notification — send a test notification to verify everything worksconfigure_alerts — enable/disable desktop, sound, threshold, webhook (with optional persist to config file)
Webhook payload:
{
"event": "email.urgent",
"account": "work",
"sender": { "name": "John CEO", "address": "ceo@company.com" },
"subject": "Q4 Review Due Today",
"priority": "urgent",
"labels": ["VIP"],
"rule": "VIP Contacts",
"timestamp": "2026-02-18T11:30:00Z"
}
Static rules can force desktop notifications with alert = true, regardless of urgency threshold:
[[settings.hooks.rules]]
name = "VIP Contacts"
match = { from = "ceo@company.com" }
actions = { flag = true, alert = true, labels = ["VIP"] }
Features:
- Auto-reconnect — Exponential backoff (1s → 60s) on connection failures
- Batching — Groups arrivals within a configurable delay to reduce AI calls
- Rate limiting — Max 10 sampling calls per minute
- Graceful degradation — Falls back to notify mode if client doesn't support sampling
- Resource subscriptions — Pushes
notifications/resources/updated for unread counts
API
Read (14)
| Tool | Description |
|---|
list_accounts | List all configured email accounts |
list_mailboxes | List folders with unread counts and special-use flags |
list_emails | Paginated email listing with date, sender, subject, and flag filters |
get_email | Read full email content with attachment metadata |
get_emails | Fetch full content of multiple emails in a single call (max 20) |
get_email_status | Get read/flag/label state of an email without fetching the body |
search_emails | Search by keyword across subject, sender, and body |
download_attachment | Download an email attachment by filename |
find_email_folder | Discover the real folder(s) an email resides in (resolves virtual folders) |
extract_contacts | Extract unique contacts from recent email headers |
get_thread | Reconstruct a conversation thread via References/In-Reply-To |
list_templates | List available email templates |
get_email_stats | Email analytics — volume, top senders, daily trends |
check_health | Connection health, latency, quota, and IMAP capabilities |
Write (9)
| Tool | Description |
|---|
send_email | Send a new email (plain text or HTML, CC/BCC) |
reply_email | Reply with proper threading (In-Reply-To, References) |
forward_email | Forward with original content quoted |
save_draft | Save an email draft to the Drafts folder |
send_draft | Send an existing draft and remove from Drafts |
apply_template | Apply a template with variable substitution |
schedule_email | Schedule an email for future delivery |
list_scheduled | List scheduled emails by status |
cancel_scheduled | Cancel a pending scheduled email |
Manage (7)
| Tool | Description |
|---|
move_email | Move email between folders |
delete_email | Move to Trash or permanently delete |
mark_email | Mark as read/unread, flag/unflag |
bulk_action | Batch operation on up to 100 emails |
create_mailbox | Create a new mailbox folder |
rename_mailbox | Rename an existing mailbox folder |
delete_mailbox | Permanently delete a mailbox and contents |
Labels (5)
| Tool | Description |
|---|
list_labels | Discover available labels (auto-detects provider strategy) |
add_label | Add a label to an email (ProtonMail folders, Gmail X-GM-LABELS, or IMAP keywords) |
remove_label | Remove a label from an email |
create_label | Create a new label |
delete_label | Delete a label |
Watcher & Alerts (6)
| Tool | Description |
|---|
get_watcher_status | Show IMAP IDLE connections, folders being monitored, and last-seen UIDs |
list_presets | List available AI triage presets with descriptions and suggested labels |
get_hooks_config | Show current hooks configuration — preset, rules, and custom instructions |
configure_alerts | Update alert/notification settings at runtime |
check_notification_setup | Diagnose desktop notification support and provide setup instructions |
test_notification | Send a test notification to verify OS permissions are configured |
Calendar & Reminders (6)
| Tool | Description |
|---|
extract_calendar | Extract ICS/iCalendar events from an email |
analyze_email_for_scheduling | Analyze an email to detect events and reminder-worthy content |
add_to_calendar | Add an email event to the local calendar (macOS/Linux) |
create_reminder | Create a reminder in macOS Reminders.app from an email |
list_calendars | List all available local calendars |
check_calendar_permissions | Check whether the local calendar is accessible |
Prompts (7)
| Prompt | Description |
|---|
triage_inbox | Categorize and prioritize unread emails with suggested actions |
summarize_thread | Summarize an email conversation thread |
compose_reply | Draft a context-aware reply to an email |
draft_from_context | Compose a new email from provided context and instructions |
extract_action_items | Extract actionable tasks from email threads |
summarize_meetings | Summarize upcoming calendar events from emails |
cleanup_inbox | Suggest emails to archive, delete, or unsubscribe from |
Resources (6)
| Resource | URI | Description |
|---|
| Accounts | email://accounts | List of configured accounts |
| Mailboxes | email://{account}/mailboxes | Folder tree for an account |
| Unread | email://{account}/unread | Unread email summary |
| Templates | email://templates | Available email templates |
| Stats | email://{account}/stats | Email statistics snapshot |
| Scheduled | email://scheduled | Pending scheduled emails |
Provider Auto-Detection
| Provider | Domains |
|---|
| Gmail | gmail.com |
| Outlook / Hotmail | outlook.com, hotmail.com, live.com |
| Yahoo Mail | yahoo.com, ymail.com |
| iCloud | icloud.com, me.com, mac.com |
| Fastmail | fastmail.com |
| ProtonMail Bridge | proton.me, protonmail.com |
| Zoho Mail | zoho.com |
| GMX | gmx.com, gmx.de, gmx.net |
Architecture
src/
├── main.ts — Entry point and subcommand routing
├── server.ts — MCP server factory
├── logging.ts — MCP protocol logging bridge
├── cli/ — Interactive CLI commands
│ ├── account-commands.ts — Account CRUD (list, add, edit, delete)
│ ├── setup.ts — Legacy setup alias → account add
│ ├── test.ts — Connection tester
│ ├── config-commands.ts — Config management (show, edit, path, init)
│ ├── install-commands.ts — MCP client registration (install, status, remove)
│ ├── providers.ts — Provider auto-detection + OAuth2 endpoints (experimental)
│ └── scheduler.ts — Scheduler CLI
├── config/ — Configuration layer
│ ├── xdg.ts — XDG Base Directory paths
│ ├── schema.ts — Zod validation schemas
│ └── loader.ts — Config loader (TOML + env vars)
├── connections/
│ └── manager.ts — Lazy persistent IMAP/SMTP with OAuth2 (experimental)
├── services/ — Business logic
│ ├── imap.service.ts — IMAP operations
│ ├── label-strategy.ts — Provider-aware label strategy (ProtonMail/Gmail/IMAP keywords)
│ ├── smtp.service.ts — SMTP operations
│ ├── template.service.ts — Email template engine
│ ├── oauth.service.ts — OAuth2 token management (experimental)
│ ├── calendar.service.ts — ICS/iCalendar parsing
│ ├── scheduler.service.ts — Email scheduling queue
│ ├── watcher.service.ts — IMAP IDLE real-time watcher with auto-reconnect
│ ├── hooks.service.ts — AI triage via MCP sampling + static rules + auto-labeling/flagging
│ ├── notifier.service.ts — Multi-channel notification dispatcher (desktop/sound/webhook)
│ ├── presets.ts — Built-in hook presets (inbox-zero, gtd, priority-focus, etc.)
│ └── event-bus.ts — Typed EventEmitter for internal email events
├── tools/ — MCP tool definitions (42)
├── prompts/ — MCP prompt definitions (7)
├── resources/ — MCP resource definitions (6)
├── safety/ — Audit trail and rate limiter
└── types/ — Shared TypeScript types
Maintainers
@codefuturist
Contributing
PRs accepted. Please conform to the standard-readme specification when editing this README.
pnpm install
pnpm typecheck
pnpm check
pnpm build
pnpm start
License
LGPL-3.0-or-later