create_draft
Create an email draft without sending it. Supports threading headers for replies, enabling you to compose messages in conversation context without sending them. Use to prepare drafts for later review or approval.
Instructions
Create an email draft without sending it. Supports threading headers for replies. IMPORTANT: each call creates a new draft — do not call twice for the same message.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| to | No | Recipient email addresses (optional) | |
| cc | No | CC email addresses (optional) | |
| bcc | No | BCC email addresses (optional) | |
| from | No | Sender email address (optional, defaults to account primary email) | |
| mailboxId | No | Mailbox ID to save the draft to (optional, defaults to Drafts folder) | |
| subject | No | Email subject (optional) | |
| textBody | No | Plain text body (optional) | |
| htmlBody | No | HTML body (optional) | |
| inReplyTo | No | Message-IDs to reply to (optional, for threading) | |
| references | No | Message-IDs for References header (optional, for threading) | |
| replyTo | No | Reply-To email addresses (replies go here instead of to the sender) |
Implementation Reference
- src/index.ts:290-348 (registration)Tool registration for 'create_draft' in the ListToolsRequestSchema handler. Defines the tool name, description, and input schema with optional parameters: to, cc, bcc, from, mailboxId, subject, textBody, htmlBody, inReplyTo, references, replyTo.
{ name: 'create_draft', description: 'Create an email draft without sending it. Supports threading headers for replies. IMPORTANT: each call creates a new draft — do not call twice for the same message.', inputSchema: { type: 'object', properties: { to: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' }, description: 'Recipient email addresses (optional)', }, cc: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' }, description: 'CC email addresses (optional)', }, bcc: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' }, description: 'BCC email addresses (optional)', }, from: { type: 'string', description: 'Sender email address (optional, defaults to account primary email)', }, mailboxId: { type: 'string', description: 'Mailbox ID to save the draft to (optional, defaults to Drafts folder)', }, subject: { type: 'string', description: 'Email subject (optional)', }, textBody: { type: 'string', description: 'Plain text body (optional)', }, htmlBody: { type: 'string', description: 'HTML body (optional)', }, inReplyTo: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' }, description: 'Message-IDs to reply to (optional, for threading)', }, references: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' }, description: 'Message-IDs for References header (optional, for threading)', }, replyTo: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' }, description: 'Reply-To email addresses (replies go here instead of to the sender)', }, }, }, }, - src/index.ts:1154-1190 (handler)Handler for the 'create_draft' tool in the CallToolRequestSchema. Extracts parameters, validates at least one meaningful field is provided, calls client.createDraft(), and returns a summary with the email ID.
case 'create_draft': { const { to, cc, bcc, from, mailboxId, subject, textBody, htmlBody, inReplyTo, references, replyTo } = args as any; if (!to?.length && !subject && !textBody && !htmlBody) { throw new McpError(ErrorCode.InvalidParams, 'At least one of to, subject, textBody, or htmlBody must be provided'); } const emailId = await client.createDraft({ to, cc, bcc, from, mailboxId, subject, textBody, htmlBody, inReplyTo, references, replyTo, }); const summary = [ `Draft created successfully (Email ID: ${emailId}).`, subject ? `Subject: ${subject}` : null, to?.length ? `To: ${to.join(', ')}` : null, cc?.length ? `CC: ${cc.join(', ')}` : null, ].filter(Boolean).join(' '); return { content: [ { type: 'text', text: summary, }, ], }; } - src/jmap-client.ts:379-482 (helper)The core createDraft method on JmapClient. Resolves the from identity, locates the Drafts mailbox, constructs the JMAP Email/set request with $draft keyword, sends it, and returns the created email ID. This is the actual JMAP API call that creates the draft.
async createDraft(email: { to?: string[]; cc?: string[]; bcc?: string[]; subject?: string; textBody?: string; htmlBody?: string; from?: string; mailboxId?: string; inReplyTo?: string[]; references?: string[]; replyTo?: string[]; }): Promise<string> { const session = await this.getSession(); // Validate at least one meaningful field is present if (!email.to?.length && !email.subject && !email.textBody && !email.htmlBody) { throw new Error('At least one of to, subject, textBody, or htmlBody must be provided'); } // Get all identities to resolve from address const identities = await this.getIdentities(); if (!identities || identities.length === 0) { throw new Error('No sending identities found'); } let selectedIdentity; if (email.from) { selectedIdentity = identities.find(id => matchesIdentity(id.email, email.from!)); if (!selectedIdentity) { throw new Error('From address is not verified for sending. Choose one of your verified identities.'); } } else { selectedIdentity = identities.find(id => id.mayDelete === false) || identities[0]; } const fromEmail = email.from || selectedIdentity.email; // Resolve drafts mailbox let draftMailboxId: string; if (email.mailboxId) { draftMailboxId = email.mailboxId; } else { const mailboxes = await this.getMailboxes(); const draftsMailbox = this.findMailboxByRoleOrName(mailboxes, 'drafts', 'draft'); if (!draftsMailbox) { throw new Error('Could not find Drafts mailbox'); } draftMailboxId = draftsMailbox.id; } const mailboxIds: Record<string, boolean> = {}; mailboxIds[draftMailboxId] = true; const emailObject: any = { mailboxIds, keywords: { $draft: true }, from: [{ email: fromEmail }], }; if (email.to?.length) emailObject.to = email.to.map(addr => ({ email: addr })); if (email.cc?.length) emailObject.cc = email.cc.map(addr => ({ email: addr })); if (email.bcc?.length) emailObject.bcc = email.bcc.map(addr => ({ email: addr })); if (email.subject) emailObject.subject = email.subject; if (email.inReplyTo?.length) emailObject.inReplyTo = email.inReplyTo; if (email.references?.length) emailObject.references = email.references; if (email.replyTo?.length) emailObject.replyTo = email.replyTo.map(addr => ({ email: addr })); if (email.textBody) emailObject.textBody = [{ partId: 'text', type: 'text/plain' }]; if (email.htmlBody) emailObject.htmlBody = [{ partId: 'html', type: 'text/html' }]; if (email.textBody || email.htmlBody) { emailObject.bodyValues = { ...(email.textBody && { text: { value: email.textBody } }), ...(email.htmlBody && { html: { value: email.htmlBody } }) }; } const request: JmapRequest = { using: ['urn:ietf:params:jmap:core', 'urn:ietf:params:jmap:mail'], methodCalls: [ ['Email/set', { accountId: session.accountId, create: { draft: emailObject } }, 'createDraft'] ] }; const response = await this.makeRequest(request); const result = this.getMethodResult(response, 0); // Propagate server-provided error details from notCreated if (result.notCreated?.draft) { const err = result.notCreated.draft; throw new Error(`Failed to create draft: ${err.type}${err.description ? ' - ' + err.description : ''}`); } // Throw if created ID is missing instead of returning silently const emailId = result.created?.draft?.id; if (!emailId) { throw new Error('Draft creation returned no email ID'); } return emailId; }