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Apple Mail MCP Server

License: MIT Python 3.7+ MCP GitHub stars

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An MCP server that gives AI assistants full access to Apple Mail -- read, search, compose, organize, and analyze emails via natural language. Built with FastMCP.

Quick Start

Prerequisites: macOS with Apple Mail configured, Python 3.7+

git clone https://github.com/patrickfreyer/apple-mail-mcp.git cd apple-mail-mcp python3 -m venv venv && source venv/bin/activate pip install -r requirements.txt

Add to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{ "mcpServers": { "apple-mail": { "command": "/path/to/apple-mail-mcp/venv/bin/python3", "args": ["/path/to/apple-mail-mcp/apple_mail_mcp.py"] } } }

Restart Claude Desktop and grant Mail.app permissions when prompted.

Tip: An .mcpb bundle is also available on the Releases page for one-click install in Claude Desktop.

Tools (26)

Tool

Description

get_inbox_overview

Dashboard with unread counts, folders, and recent emails

list_inbox_emails

List emails with account/read-status filtering

get_email_with_content

Search emails with full content preview

get_unread_count

Unread count per account

list_accounts

List all configured Mail accounts

get_recent_emails

Recent emails from a specific account

get_recent_from_sender

Recent emails from a sender with time-range filters

search_emails

Advanced multi-criteria search (subject, sender, dates, attachments)

search_by_sender

Find all emails from a specific sender

search_email_content

Full-text search in email bodies

search_all_accounts

Cross-account unified search

get_newsletters

Detect newsletter and subscription emails

get_email_thread

Conversation thread view

Organization

Tool

Description

list_mailboxes

Folder hierarchy with message counts

move_email

Move emails between folders (supports nested paths)

update_email_status

Batch mark read/unread, flag/unflag

manage_trash

Soft delete, permanent delete, empty trash

Composition

Tool

Description

compose_email

Send new emails (TO, CC, BCC)

reply_to_email

Reply or reply-all with optional CC/BCC

forward_email

Forward with optional message, CC/BCC

manage_drafts

Create, list, send, and delete drafts

Attachments

Tool

Description

list_email_attachments

List attachments with names and sizes

save_email_attachment

Save attachments to disk

Analytics & Export

Tool

Description

get_statistics

Email analytics (volume, top senders, read ratios)

export_emails

Export single emails or mailboxes to TXT/HTML

inbox_dashboard

Interactive UI dashboard (requires mcp-ui-server)

Configuration

User Preferences (Optional)

Set the USER_EMAIL_PREFERENCES environment variable to give the assistant context about your workflow:

{ "mcpServers": { "apple-mail": { "command": "/path/to/venv/bin/python3", "args": ["/path/to/apple_mail_mcp.py"], "env": { "USER_EMAIL_PREFERENCES": "Default to BCG account, show max 50 emails, prefer Archive and Projects folders" } } } }

For .mcpb installs, configure this in Claude Desktop under Developer > MCP Servers > Apple Mail MCP.

Safety Limits

Batch operations have conservative defaults to prevent accidental bulk actions:

Operation

Default Limit

update_email_status

10 emails

manage_trash

5 emails

move_email

1 email

Override via function parameters when needed.

Usage Examples

Show me an overview of my inbox Search for emails about "project update" in my Gmail Reply to the email about "Domain name" with "Thanks for the update!" Move emails with "invoice" in the subject to my Archive folder Show me email statistics for the last 30 days

Email Management Skill

A companion Claude Code Skill is included that teaches Claude expert email workflows (Inbox Zero, daily triage, folder organization). Install it alongside the MCP for intelligent, multi-step email management:

cp -r skill-email-management ~/.claude/skills/email-management

See skill-email-management/README.md for details.

Requirements

  • macOS with Apple Mail configured

  • Python 3.7+

  • fastmcp (+ optional mcp-ui-server for dashboard)

  • Claude Desktop or any MCP-compatible client

  • Mail.app permissions: Automation + Mail Data Access (grant in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation)

Troubleshooting

Issue

Fix

Mail.app not responding

Ensure Mail.app is running; check Automation permissions in System Settings

Slow searches

Set include_content: false and lower max_results

Mailbox not found

Use exact folder names; nested folders use / separator (e.g., Projects/Alpha)

Permission errors

Grant access in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation

Project Structure

apple-mail-mcp/ ├── apple_mail_mcp.py # Main MCP server (26 tools) ├── requirements.txt # Python dependencies ├── apple-mail-mcpb/ # MCP Bundle build files ├── skill-email-management/ # Email Management Expert Skill ├── CHANGELOG.md ├── LICENSE └── README.md

Contributing

  1. Fork the repository

  2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/my-feature)

  3. Commit and push

  4. Open a Pull Request

License

MIT -- see LICENSE.

-
security - not tested
A
license - permissive license
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quality - not tested

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