Which integrations are available for this server?

Allows searching, reading, and sending emails through Gmail accounts using IMAP and SMTP protocols with support for App Passwords. Provides tools for managing emails on iCloud and Me.com accounts, including searching, reading, sending, and organizing messages via IMAP/SMTP. Enables interaction with ProtonMail accounts through the ProtonMail Bridge, supporting operations like searching, reading, and sending emails. Supports email operations for Zoho Mail accounts, allowing users to search, read, send, and organize messages via IMAP and SMTP.

Better Email MCP

IMAP/SMTP MCP Server for Email - Optimized for AI Agents

codecov npm Docker License: MIT

TypeScript Node.js IMAP/SMTP semantic-release Renovate

Why "Better"?

5 composite tools that provide full email operations (search, read, send, reply, forward, organize) across multiple accounts using IMAP/SMTP with App Passwords.

Key Features

Feature	Description
Multi-Account	Manage 6+ email accounts simultaneously
App Passwords	No OAuth2 setup required - clone and run in 1 minute
Auto-Discovery	Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud, Zoho, ProtonMail auto-configured
Clean Text	HTML stripped for LLM token savings
Thread Support	Reply/forward maintains In-Reply-To and References headers
Composite Tools	5 tools with 15 actions (not 15+ separate endpoints)

Related MCP server: WET - Web Extended Toolkit

Quick Start

Prerequisites

Create App Passwords (NOT your regular password):

Gmail: Enable 2FA, then https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords
Yahoo: Enable 2FA, then https://login.yahoo.com/account/security/app-passwords
iCloud: https://appleid.apple.com > Sign-In and Security > App-Specific Passwords
Outlook/Hotmail/Live: OAuth2 built-in (server guides you on first use)

Option 1: Package Manager (Recommended)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "better-email": {
      "command": "bun",
      "args": ["x", "@n24q02m/better-email-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "EMAIL_CREDENTIALS": "user@gmail.com:abcd-efgh-ijkl-mnop"
      }
    }
  }
}

Alternatively, you can use npx, pnpm dlx, or yarn dlx:

Runner	`command`	`args`
npx	`npx`	`["-y", "@n24q02m/better-email-mcp@latest"]`
pnpm	`pnpm`	`["dlx", "@n24q02m/better-email-mcp@latest"]`
yarn	`yarn`	`["dlx", "@n24q02m/better-email-mcp@latest"]`

Option 2: Docker

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "better-email": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "--name", "mcp-email",
        "-e", "EMAIL_CREDENTIALS",
        "n24q02m/better-email-mcp:latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "EMAIL_CREDENTIALS": "user@gmail.com:abcd-efgh-ijkl-mnop"
      }
    }
  }
}

Multiple Accounts

EMAIL_CREDENTIALS=user1@gmail.com:pass1,user2@outlook.com:pass2,user3@yahoo.com:pass3

Custom IMAP Host

EMAIL_CREDENTIALS=user@custom.com:password:imap.custom.com

Tools

Tool	Actions
`messages`	search, read, mark_read, mark_unread, flag, unflag, move, archive, trash
`folders`	list
`attachments`	list, download
`send`	new, reply, forward
`help`	Get full documentation for any tool

Search Query Language

Query	Description
`UNREAD`	Unread emails
`FLAGGED`	Starred emails
`SINCE 2024-01-01`	Emails after date
`FROM boss@company.com`	Emails from sender
`SUBJECT meeting`	Emails matching subject
`UNREAD SINCE 2024-06-01`	Compound filter
`UNREAD FROM boss@company.com`	Compound filter

Token Optimization

Tiered descriptions for minimal context usage:

Tier	Purpose	When
Tier 1	Compressed descriptions	Always loaded
Tier 2	Full docs via `help` tool	On-demand
Tier 3	MCP Resources	Supported clients

{"name": "help", "tool_name": "messages"}

MCP Resources (Tier 3)

URI	Description
`email://docs/messages`	Messages tool docs
`email://docs/folders`	Folders tool docs
`email://docs/attachments`	Attachments tool docs
`email://docs/send`	Send tool docs

Supported Providers

Provider	Auth	IMAP / SMTP	Save-to-Sent
Gmail	App Password	`imap.gmail.com:993` / TLS (465)	Auto (skipped)
Yahoo	App Password	`imap.mail.yahoo.com:993` / TLS (465)	Auto (skipped)
iCloud/Me.com	App-Specific Password	`imap.mail.me.com:993` / STARTTLS (587)	Auto (skipped)
Outlook/Hotmail/Live	OAuth2 (Device Code)	`outlook.office365.com:993` / STARTTLS (587)	IMAP APPEND
Zoho	App Password	`imap.zoho.com:993` / TLS (465)	IMAP APPEND
ProtonMail	ProtonMail Bridge	`imap.protonmail.ch:993` / TLS (465)	IMAP APPEND
Custom	Via `email:pass:imap.host` format	Configurable	IMAP APPEND

Outlook OAuth2

Outlook.com / Hotmail / Live accounts use OAuth2 automatically — just add the email to EMAIL_CREDENTIALS. On first use, the server returns a sign-in link and code. Open the link, enter the code, then retry your request. Tokens are saved to ~/.better-email-mcp/tokens.json and auto-refresh silently.

Self-hosting with your own client ID? Set OUTLOOK_CLIENT_ID env var. See Azure Setup for details.

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/n24q02m/better-email-mcp
cd better-email-mcp
mise run setup
bun run build

Requirements: Node.js 24+, Bun

Compatible With

Claude Desktop Claude Code Cursor VS Code Copilot Antigravity Gemini CLI OpenAI Codex OpenCode

Also by n24q02m

Server	Description	Install
better-notion-mcp	Notion API for AI agents	`npx -y @n24q02m/better-notion-mcp@latest`
wet-mcp	Web search, content extraction, library docs	`uvx --python 3.13 wet-mcp@latest`
mnemo-mcp	Persistent AI memory with hybrid search	`uvx mnemo-mcp@latest`
better-godot-mcp	Godot Engine for AI agents	`npx -y @n24q02m/better-godot-mcp@latest`

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md

License

MIT - See LICENSE

Install Server

A

license - permissive license

A

quality

A

maintenance

How are these scores calculated?

Maintenance

–Maintainers

5hResponse time

1dRelease cycle

83Releases (12mo)

Issues opened vs closed

Resources

Need Help?

Related Servers

Better Email MCP

Better Email MCP

Why "Better"?

Key Features

Quick Start

Prerequisites

Option 1: Package Manager (Recommended)

Option 2: Docker

Multiple Accounts

Custom IMAP Host

Tools

Search Query Language

Token Optimization

MCP Resources (Tier 3)

Supported Providers

Outlook OAuth2

Build from Source

Compatible With

Also by n24q02m

Contributing

License

Maintenance

Resources

Tools

Latest Blog Posts

MCP directory API