mail-mcp
Provides tools for searching, reading mail, and creating/updating/deleting drafts with HTML and attachments for Thunderbird email workflows.
Click on "Install Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type
@followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@mail-mcpsearch my inbox for recent emails from Alice"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
mail-mcp
Built on davidvornholt/standards.
A draft-only IMAP helper for Thunderbird workflows, exposed to Codex, Claude, and other compatible clients as an MCP server and to you as a mail CLI over one shared Effect core. Through the MCP server it can search and read mail and create, update, or delete drafts with HTML and attachments; the mail CLI covers login, status, folder/search/read, and plain-text draft creation. It cannot send emails: drafts sync into Thunderbird for review and sending.
Layout
apps/mail the application (MCP server + CLI)
src/app entrypoints: server.ts (MCP, stdio), cli.ts (the `mail` bin)
src/features/mail schemas, tagged errors, and Effect services (config, secrets, status, IMAP, draft, login)
src/shared app-local infrastructure (arg parsing, hidden-input terminal prompt)
packages/* canonical shared config synced from the standards templateSee apps/mail/README.md for the tool list, configuration, and secret handling.
Related MCP server: imap-mcp
Setup
bun install
# put the `mail` command on your PATH (one-time; links the app's bin into
# ~/.bun/bin). After this, run `mail …` from anywhere.
bun link --cwd apps/mail
# configure your accounts (non-secret: addresses, IMAP hosts, and ports). The real
# file is git-ignored so your addresses never land in git.
cp apps/mail/accounts.example.toml apps/mail/accounts.toml
# …edit apps/mail/accounts.toml…
# verify each account's password against IMAP, then store it in the OS keyring
# (hidden prompt — nothing is echoed or written to disk). Run this yourself;
# the secret never leaves your machine.
mail login you@example.com
# confirm each account authenticates cleanly (or shows what still needs a login)
mail statusRegister the MCP server with Codex:
codex mcp add mail -- bun run <repo>/apps/mail/src/app/server.ts
codex mcp get mailCodex defers MCP tool definitions until they are relevant, so registering the
server does not eagerly add every mail tool schema to the model context. Restart
Codex after adding it, then use /mcp to inspect the connected server.
For explicit write approvals and more headroom for IMAP operations, edit the
generated entry in ~/.codex/config.toml:
[mcp_servers.mail]
command = "bun"
args = ["run", "<repo>/apps/mail/src/app/server.ts"]
startup_timeout_sec = 15
tool_timeout_sec = 120
default_tools_approval_mode = "writes"
[mcp_servers.mail.tools.delete_draft]
approval_mode = "prompt"For Claude Code (user scope), use:
claude mcp add --scope user mail -- bun run <repo>/apps/mail/src/app/server.tsOnce a password is stored, ask your MCP client to search your mail or compose a draft. You can also drive the review-first CLI yourself:
mail search you@example.com invoiceNot ready to link a global command? Every example also works as bun run apps/mail/src/app/cli.ts <args>.
Requirements
Bun (see
packageManagerinpackage.json).A running, unlocked Secret Service provider (gnome-keyring) for the OS keyring.
Quality gate
bun run check runs the standards drift check, then lint, type-check, tests, build, and a11y across every workspace. It must pass before a change is done.
This server cannot be installed
Maintenance
Resources
Unclaimed servers have limited discoverability.
Looking for Admin?
If you are the server author, to access and configure the admin panel.
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