google_gmail_get_email
Retrieve detailed information about a specific email using its unique message ID. Specify the output format (full, metadata, minimal, raw) for tailored results within the Google MCP server.
Instructions
Get detailed information about a specific email
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| format | No | Format to return the email in (full, metadata, minimal, raw) | |
| messageId | Yes | ID of the email to retrieve |
Implementation Reference
- handlers/gmail.ts:50-63 (handler)The main handler function for the google_gmail_get_email tool. Validates input using isGetEmailArgs and delegates to GoogleGmail.getEmail method.export async function handleGmailGetEmail( args: any, googleGmailInstance: GoogleGmail ) { if (!isGetEmailArgs(args)) { throw new Error("Invalid arguments for google_gmail_get_email"); } const { messageId, format } = args; const result = await googleGmailInstance.getEmail(messageId, format); return { content: [{ type: "text", text: result }], isError: false, }; }
- server-setup.ts:144-148 (registration)Registration in the MCP server: switch case that dispatches tool calls to the appropriate handler function.case "google_gmail_get_email": return await gmailHandlers.handleGmailGetEmail( args, googleGmailInstance );
- tools/gmail/index.ts:35-53 (schema)MCP Tool schema definition with input schema specifying required messageId and optional format.export const GET_EMAIL_TOOL: Tool = { name: "google_gmail_get_email", description: "Get detailed information about a specific email", inputSchema: { type: "object", properties: { messageId: { type: "string", description: "ID of the email to retrieve", }, format: { type: "string", description: "Format to return the email in (full, metadata, minimal, raw)", }, }, required: ["messageId"], }, };
- utils/helper.ts:139-148 (helper)Type guard/helper function that validates the tool arguments against the expected schema.export function isGetEmailArgs(args: any): args is { messageId: string; format?: string; } { return ( args && typeof args.messageId === "string" && (args.format === undefined || typeof args.format === "string") ); }
- utils/gmail.ts:125-193 (helper)Core helper method in GoogleGmail class that implements the Gmail API call to retrieve email details, parse headers, body, attachments, and format the response text.async getEmail(messageId: string, format: string = "full") { try { const response = await this.gmail.users.messages.get({ userId: "me", id: messageId, format: format, }); const { payload, snippet, labelIds } = response.data; const headers = payload.headers; // Extract common headers const subject = headers.find((h: any) => h.name === "Subject")?.value || "(No subject)"; const from = headers.find((h: any) => h.name === "From")?.value || ""; const to = headers.find((h: any) => h.name === "To")?.value || ""; const date = headers.find((h: any) => h.name === "Date")?.value || ""; // Extract message body let body = ""; if (payload.parts) { // Multipart message for (const part of payload.parts) { if (part.mimeType === "text/plain" && part.body.data) { body = Buffer.from(part.body.data, "base64").toString(); break; } else if (part.mimeType === "text/html" && part.body.data) { body = Buffer.from(part.body.data, "base64").toString(); } } } else if (payload.body && payload.body.data) { // Simple message body = Buffer.from(payload.body.data, "base64").toString(); } // Get attachment information const attachments = await this.getEmailAttachments(messageId); // Format the result let result = `Subject: ${subject}\n`; result += `From: ${from}\n`; result += `To: ${to}\n`; result += `Date: ${date}\n`; result += `Labels: ${labelIds.join(", ")}\n\n`; result += `Snippet: ${snippet}\n\n`; if (attachments.length > 0) { result += `Attachments (${attachments.length}):\n`; attachments.forEach((att, index) => { result += ` ${index + 1}. ${att.filename} (${ att.mimeType }, ${FileUtils.formatFileSize(att.size)})\n`; }); result += `\nUse google_gmail_download_attachments to download all attachments.\n\n`; } result += `Body: \n${body.substring(0, 1500)}${ body.length > 1500 ? "... (truncated)" : "" }`; return result; } catch (error) { throw new Error( `Failed to get email: ${ error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error) }` ); } }