# Getting Started
Get Apple Mail MCP running with Claude in under 2 minutes.
## Prerequisites
- **macOS** (Ventura or later)
- **Apple Mail** configured with at least one account
- **Python 3.11+** (for `pipx` or `uv`)
- An MCP client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, etc.)
## Step 1: Add to Your MCP Client
=== "Claude Desktop"
Edit `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"mail": {
"command": "pipx",
"args": ["run", "apple-mail-mcp"]
}
}
}
```
=== "Claude Code"
Edit `.mcp.json` in your project or `~/.claude/mcp.json` globally:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"mail": {
"command": "apple-mail-mcp"
}
}
}
```
## Step 2: Build the Search Index (Recommended)
The FTS5 index makes body search **700–3500x faster** (~2ms vs ~7s). It's optional but highly recommended.
### Grant Full Disk Access
The indexer reads `.emlx` files directly from `~/Library/Mail/V10/`, which requires Full Disk Access:
1. Open **System Settings**
2. Go to **Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access**
3. Add and enable **Terminal.app** (or your terminal emulator)
4. Restart your terminal
### Build the Index
```bash
apple-mail-mcp index --verbose
# → Indexed 22,696 emails in 1m 7.6s
# → Database size: 130.5 MB
```
!!! note
The MCP server itself does **not** need Full Disk Access — it uses disk-based sync at startup to keep the index fresh.
## Step 3: Use It
Once configured, talk to Claude naturally:
- *"Show me today's unread emails"*
- *"Search for emails about invoices"*
- *"Get the full content of email 12345"*
- *"List my email accounts"*
## Optional: Real-Time Index Updates
Keep the index automatically up-to-date as new emails arrive:
```bash
apple-mail-mcp --watch
```
This monitors `~/Library/Mail/V10/` for new `.emlx` files and indexes them in real-time.
## Next Steps
- [Installation](installation.md) — alternative install methods (pipx, uv, from source)
- [Configuration](configuration.md) — environment variables and defaults
- [Tools](tools.md) — full reference for all 5 MCP tools
