Provides tools for searching and reading emails, managing contacts, listing calendars, and composing/replying to messages through Thunderbird's local API. Compose operations open a review window before sending.
Thunderbird MCP
Inspired by bb1/thunderbird-mcp. Rewritten from scratch with a bundled HTTP server, proper MIME decoding, and UTF-8 handling throughout.
An MCP server that lets Claude Code read your email, search contacts, and draft replies in Thunderbird.
How it works
The Thunderbird extension runs a local HTTP server on port 8765. The Node.js bridge translates between MCP's stdio protocol and HTTP so Claude Code can talk to it.
Setup
1. Install the extension
Restart Thunderbird.
2. Configure Claude Code
Add to ~/.claude.json:
What you can do
Tool | What it does |
| Find emails by subject, sender, or recipient |
| Read full email content |
| Look up contacts |
| List your calendars |
| Open a compose window with pre-filled content |
| Open a reply with proper threading |
Compose tools open a window for you to review before sending. Nothing gets sent automatically.
Security
The extension only listens on localhost, but any local process can access it while Thunderbird is running. Keep this in mind on shared machines.
Troubleshooting
Extension not loading? Check Tools → Add-ons and Themes. For errors: Tools → Developer Tools → Error Console.
Connection refused? Make sure Thunderbird is running and the extension is enabled.
Can't find recent emails? IMAP folders can be stale. Click on the folder in Thunderbird to sync, or right-click → Properties → Repair Folder.
Development
After changing extension code, you'll need to remove it from Thunderbird, restart, reinstall, and restart again. Thunderbird caches aggressively.
Known issues
Replies don't include the quoted original message (Thunderbird limitation workaround)
IMAP folder databases can be stale until you click on them
Email bodies with weird control characters get sanitized to avoid breaking JSON
Project structure
License
MIT. The bundled httpd.sys.mjs is from Mozilla and licensed under MPL-2.0.