Skip to main content
Glama
codefuturist

Email MCP Server

by codefuturist

Email MCP Server

standard-readme compliant license npm version npm downloads CI

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server providing comprehensive email capabilities via IMAP and SMTP.

Enables AI assistants to read, search, send, manage, schedule, and analyze emails across multiple accounts. Exposes 47 tools, 7 prompts, and 6 resources over the MCP protocol with OAuth2 support (experimental), email scheduling, calendar extraction, analytics, provider-aware label management, real-time IMAP IDLE watcher with AI-powered triage, customizable presets and static rules, and a guided setup wizard.

Highlights

Feature

email-mcp

Typical MCP email

Multi-account

Send / reply / forward

Drafts & templates

Labels & bulk ops

✅ provider-aware

Schedule future emails

Real-time IMAP IDLE watcher

AI triage with presets

Desktop & webhook alerts

Calendar (ICS) extraction

Email analytics

OAuth2 (Gmail / M365)

experimental

Guided setup wizard

✅ auto-detect

Table of Contents

Security

  • All connections use TLS/STARTTLS encryption

  • Passwords are never logged; audit trail records operations without credentials

  • Token-bucket rate limiter prevents abuse (configurable per account)

  • OAuth2 XOAUTH2 authentication for Gmail and Microsoft 365 (experimental)

  • Attachment downloads capped at 5 MB with base64 encoding

Background

Most MCP email implementations provide only basic read/send. This server aims to be a full-featured email client for AI assistants, covering the entire lifecycle: reading, composing, managing, scheduling, and analyzing email — all from a single MCP server.

Key design decisions:

  • XDG-compliant config — TOML at ~/.config/email-mcp/config.toml

  • Multi-account — Operate across multiple IMAP/SMTP accounts simultaneously

  • Layered services — Business logic is decoupled from MCP wiring for testability

  • Provider auto-detection — Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud, Fastmail, ProtonMail, Zoho, GMX

Install

Requires Node.js ≥ 22.

# Run directly (no install needed)
npx @codefuturist/email-mcp setup
# or
pnpm dlx @codefuturist/email-mcp setup

# Or install globally
npm install -g @codefuturist/email-mcp
# or
pnpm add -g @codefuturist/email-mcp

Docker

No Node.js required — just Docker.

# Latest stable release
docker pull ghcr.io/codefuturist/email-mcp:latest

# Pin to an exact version (immutable)
docker pull ghcr.io/codefuturist/email-mcp:0.2.3

# Auto-update patches within a minor version
docker pull ghcr.io/codefuturist/email-mcp:0.2

# Track a major version (won't cross breaking-change boundary)
docker pull ghcr.io/codefuturist/email-mcp:0

# Pin to an exact git commit (immutable, CI traceability)
docker pull ghcr.io/codefuturist/email-mcp:sha-abc1234

# Or build from source
docker build -t ghcr.io/codefuturist/email-mcp .

Tag convention: Tags follow bare semver (no v prefix), matching Docker ecosystem standards (e.g. node:24, nginx:1.25). The latest tag is only updated on stable releases, never pre-releases.

Note: The server uses stdio transport. Config must be created on the host first (via npx @codefuturist/email-mcp setup or manually) and mounted into the container.

Usage

Setup

# Add an email account interactively (recommended)
email-mcp account add

# Or use the legacy alias
email-mcp setup

# Or create a template config manually
email-mcp config init

The setup wizard auto-detects server settings, tests connections, saves config, and outputs the MCP client config snippet.

Test Connections

email-mcp test            # all accounts
email-mcp test personal   # specific account

Configure Your MCP Client

Recommended — use the guided installer (auto-detects Claude Desktop, VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf):

email-mcp install

Or add manually using the snippets below.

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "email": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Option 1 — Extensions gallery (easiest):

  1. Open the Extensions view (⇧⌘X / Ctrl+Shift+X)

  2. Search @mcp email-mcp

  3. Click Install (user-wide) or right-click → Install in Workspace

Option 2 — Workspace config (.vscode/mcp.json, committed to source control):

{
  "servers": {
    "email": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Option 3 — User config (settings.json, applies to all workspaces):

Open the Command Palette → Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON) and add:

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "email": {
        "type": "stdio",
        "command": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"]
      }
    }
  }
}

Edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "email": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Edit ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "email": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Edit ~/.config/zed/settings.json:

{
  "context_servers": {
    "email": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to ~/.vibe/config.toml:

[[mcp_servers]]
name = "email-mcp"
transport = "stdio"
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"]

To pass credentials directly instead of using a config file, use the env field:

[[mcp_servers]]
name = "email-mcp"
transport = "stdio"
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"]
env = { "EMAIL_ACCOUNTS" = "<your-accounts-json>" }

MCP tools are exposed as email-mcp_<tool_name> (e.g. email-mcp_list_emails). Restart Vibe after editing the config.

Run the server in a container — mount your config directory read-only:

docker run --rm -i \
  -v ~/.config/email-mcp:/home/node/.config/email-mcp:ro \
  ghcr.io/codefuturist/email-mcp

For MCP client configuration (e.g. Claude Desktop):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "email": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "--rm", "-i",
        "-v", "~/.config/email-mcp:/home/node/.config/email-mcp:ro",
        "ghcr.io/codefuturist/email-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "email": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@codefuturist/email-mcp", "stdio"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_EMAIL_ADDRESS": "you@gmail.com",
        "MCP_EMAIL_PASSWORD": "your-app-password",
        "MCP_EMAIL_IMAP_HOST": "imap.gmail.com",
        "MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_HOST": "smtp.gmail.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

CLI Commands

email-mcp [command]

Commands:
  stdio                     Run as MCP server over stdio (default)
  account list              List all configured accounts
  account add               Add a new email account interactively
  account edit [name]       Edit an existing account
  account delete [name]     Remove an account
  setup                     Alias for 'account add'
  test                      Test connections for all or a specific account
  install                   Register email-mcp with MCP clients interactively
  install status            Show registration status for detected clients
  install remove            Unregister email-mcp from MCP clients
  config show               Show config (passwords masked)
  config edit               Edit global settings (rate limit, read-only)
  config path               Print config file path
  config init               Create template config
  scheduler check           Process pending scheduled emails
  scheduler list            Show all scheduled emails
  scheduler install         Install OS-level scheduler (launchd/crontab)
  scheduler uninstall       Remove OS-level scheduler
  scheduler status          Show scheduler installation status
  help                      Show help

Configuration

Located at $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/email-mcp/config.toml (default: ~/.config/email-mcp/config.toml).

[settings]
rate_limit = 10  # max emails per minute per account

[[accounts]]
name = "personal"
email = "you@gmail.com"
full_name = "Your Name"
password = "your-app-password"

[accounts.imap]
host = "imap.gmail.com"
port = 993
tls = true

[accounts.smtp]
host = "smtp.gmail.com"
port = 465
tls = true
starttls = false
verify_ssl = true

[accounts.smtp.pool]
enabled = true
max_connections = 1
max_messages = 100

OAuth2 (experimental)

Note: OAuth2 support is experimental. Token refresh and provider-specific flows may require additional testing in your environment.

[[accounts]]
name = "work"
email = "you@company.com"
full_name = "Your Name"

[accounts.oauth2]
provider = "google"            # or "microsoft"
client_id = "your-client-id"
client_secret = "your-client-secret"
refresh_token = "your-refresh-token"

[accounts.imap]
host = "imap.gmail.com"
port = 993
tls = true

[accounts.smtp]
host = "smtp.gmail.com"
port = 465
tls = true

[accounts.smtp.pool]
enabled = true
max_connections = 1
max_messages = 100

Environment Variables

For single-account setups (overrides config file):

Variable

Default

Description

MCP_EMAIL_ADDRESS

required

Email address

MCP_EMAIL_PASSWORD

required

Password or app password

MCP_EMAIL_IMAP_HOST

required

IMAP server hostname

MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_HOST

required

SMTP server hostname

MCP_EMAIL_ACCOUNT_NAME

default

Account name

MCP_EMAIL_FULL_NAME

Display name

MCP_EMAIL_USERNAME

email

Login username

MCP_EMAIL_IMAP_PORT

993

IMAP port

MCP_EMAIL_IMAP_TLS

true

IMAP TLS

MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_PORT

465

SMTP port

MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_TLS

true

SMTP TLS

MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_STARTTLS

false

SMTP STARTTLS

MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_VERIFY_SSL

true

Verify SSL certificates

MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_POOL_ENABLED

true

Enable SMTP transport pooling

MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_POOL_MAX_CONNECTIONS

1

Max pooled SMTP connections

MCP_EMAIL_SMTP_POOL_MAX_MESSAGES

100

Max messages per pooled connection

MCP_EMAIL_RATE_LIMIT

10

Max sends per minute

Email Scheduling

The scheduler enables future email delivery with a layered architecture:

  1. MCP auto-check — Processes the queue on server startup and every 60 seconds while the MCP server is running

  2. CLIemail-mcp scheduler check for manual or cron-based processing

  3. OS-level daemonemail-mcp scheduler install sets up launchd (macOS) or crontab (Linux) to run every minute, independently of the MCP server

Important — the daemon must be installed for reliable delivery. Without it, scheduled emails only fire while an AI client is actively connected. Your machine also needs to be running at the scheduled time; if it's asleep or off, the daemon will process overdue emails on next wake/startup. Failed sends are retried up to 3 times before being marked failed.

Setting up the daemon

# Install (macOS launchd / Linux crontab — runs every minute)
email-mcp scheduler install

# Verify it's running
email-mcp scheduler status

# View pending / sent / failed scheduled emails
email-mcp scheduler list

# Trigger a manual check immediately
email-mcp scheduler check

# Remove the daemon
email-mcp scheduler uninstall

Scheduled emails are stored as JSON files in ~/.local/state/email-mcp/scheduled/ with status-based locking. Each entry tracks attempts (max 3) and the last error, so you can inspect failures with scheduler list.

Real-time Watcher & AI Hooks

The IMAP IDLE watcher monitors configured mailboxes in real-time using persistent IDLE connections (separate from tool connections). When new emails arrive:

  1. Static rules — Pattern-match on from/to/subject → apply labels, flag, or mark read instantly (no AI)

  2. AI triage — Remaining emails are analyzed via MCP sampling with a customizable preset prompt

  3. Notify mode — Falls back to logging if AI triage is disabled

Configure in config.toml:

[settings.watcher]
enabled = true
folders = ["INBOX"]
idle_timeout = 1740     # 29 minutes (IMAP spec max is 30)

[settings.hooks]
on_new_email = "triage" # "triage" | "notify" | "none"
preset = "inbox-zero"   # "inbox-zero" | "gtd" | "priority-focus" | "notification-only" | "custom"
auto_label = true       # apply AI-suggested labels
auto_flag = true        # flag urgent emails
batch_delay = 5         # seconds to batch before triage

# User context — appended to preset's AI prompt
custom_instructions = """
I'm a software engineer. Emails from @mycompany.com are always high priority.
Newsletters I read: TL;DR, Hacker Newsletter.
"""

# Static rules — run BEFORE AI, skip AI if matched
[[settings.hooks.rules]]
name = "GitHub Notifications"
match = { from = "*@github.com" }
actions = { labels = ["Dev"], mark_read = true }

[[settings.hooks.rules]]
name = "Newsletter Archive"
match = { from = "*@substack.com|*@buttondown.email" }
actions = { labels = ["Newsletter"] }

[[settings.hooks.rules]]
name = "VIP Contacts"
match = { from = "ceo@company.com|cto@company.com" }
actions = { flag = true, labels = ["VIP"] }

Presets

Preset

Focus

Suggested Labels

inbox-zero

Aggressive categorization + archiving

Newsletter, Notification, Updates, Finance, Social, Promo

gtd

Getting Things Done contexts

@Action, @Waiting, @Reference, @Someday, @Delegated

priority-focus

Simple priority classification (default)

(none — just priority + flag)

notification-only

No AI triage, just log

(none)

custom

User defines full system prompt

User-defined

Static Rules

Static rules use glob-style patterns (*@github.com) with | as OR separator (*@github.com|*@gitlab.com). All conditions within a match are AND'd. First matching rule wins.

Available actions: labels (string array), flag (boolean), mark_read (boolean), alert (boolean — forces desktop notification).

Alerts

Urgency-based multi-channel notification routing — grab attention for important emails even when you're not looking at the chat. All channels are opt-in and disabled by default.

Priority

Desktop

Sound

MCP Log Level

Webhook

urgent

✅ Banner

🔊 Alert

alert

high

✅ Banner

🔇 Silent

warning

normal

info

low

debug

[settings.hooks.alerts]
desktop = true              # OS-level notifications (macOS/Linux/Windows)
sound = true                # play sound for urgent emails
urgency_threshold = "high"  # minimum priority to trigger desktop alert
webhook_url = "https://ntfy.sh/my-email-alerts"  # optional: Slack, Discord, ntfy.sh, etc.
webhook_events = ["urgent", "high"]

Supported platforms: macOS (Notification Center via osascript), Linux (notify-send), Windows (PowerShell toast). Zero npm dependencies — uses native OS commands.

Notification setup by platform:

Desktop notifications use osascript (built-in). The terminal app running the MCP server needs notification permission:

  1. Open System Settings → Notifications & Focus

  2. Find your terminal app (Terminal, iTerm2, VS Code, Cursor, etc.)

  3. Enable Allow Notifications and choose Banners or Alerts

  4. Ensure Focus / Do Not Disturb is not blocking notifications

Use check_notification_setup to diagnose and test_notification to verify.

Requires notify-send from libnotify. For sound alerts, paplay is also needed:

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt install libnotify-bin pulseaudio-utils

# Fedora
sudo dnf install libnotify pulseaudio-utils

# Arch
sudo pacman -S libnotify

Desktop notifications require a running display server (X11/Wayland) — they will not work in headless/SSH sessions.

Uses PowerShell toast notifications (built-in):

  1. Open Settings → System → Notifications

  2. Ensure Notifications is turned on

  3. Set Focus Assist to allow notifications

  4. If using Windows Terminal, ensure its notifications are enabled

AI-configurable: The AI can check, test, and configure notifications at runtime:

  • check_notification_setup — diagnose platform support and show setup instructions

  • test_notification — send a test notification to verify everything works

  • configure_alerts — enable/disable desktop, sound, threshold, webhook (with optional persist to config file)

Webhook payload:

{
  "event": "email.urgent",
  "account": "work",
  "sender": { "name": "John CEO", "address": "ceo@company.com" },
  "subject": "Q4 Review Due Today",
  "priority": "urgent",
  "labels": ["VIP"],
  "rule": "VIP Contacts",
  "timestamp": "2026-02-18T11:30:00Z"
}

Static rules can force desktop notifications with alert = true, regardless of urgency threshold:

[[settings.hooks.rules]]
name = "VIP Contacts"
match = { from = "ceo@company.com" }
actions = { flag = true, alert = true, labels = ["VIP"] }

Features:

  • Auto-reconnect — Exponential backoff (1s → 60s) on connection failures

  • Batching — Groups arrivals within a configurable delay to reduce AI calls

  • Rate limiting — Max 10 sampling calls per minute

  • Graceful degradation — Falls back to notify mode if client doesn't support sampling

  • Resource subscriptions — Pushes notifications/resources/updated for unread counts

API

Tools (47)

Read (14)

Tool

Description

list_accounts

List all configured email accounts

list_mailboxes

List folders with unread counts and special-use flags

list_emails

Paginated email listing with date, sender, subject, and flag filters

get_email

Read full email content with attachment metadata

get_emails

Fetch full content of multiple emails in a single call (max 20)

get_email_status

Get read/flag/label state of an email without fetching the body

search_emails

Search by keyword across subject, sender, and body

download_attachment

Download an email attachment by filename

find_email_folder

Discover the real folder(s) an email resides in (resolves virtual folders)

extract_contacts

Extract unique contacts from recent email headers

get_thread

Reconstruct a conversation thread via References/In-Reply-To

list_templates

List available email templates

get_email_stats

Email analytics — volume, top senders, daily trends

check_health

Connection health, latency, quota, and IMAP capabilities

Write (9)

Tool

Description

send_email

Send a new email (plain text or HTML, CC/BCC)

reply_email

Reply with proper threading (In-Reply-To, References)

forward_email

Forward with original content quoted

save_draft

Save an email draft to the Drafts folder

send_draft

Send an existing draft and remove from Drafts

apply_template

Apply a template with variable substitution

schedule_email

Schedule an email for future delivery

list_scheduled

List scheduled emails by status

cancel_scheduled

Cancel a pending scheduled email

Manage (7)

Tool

Description

move_email

Move email between folders

delete_email

Move to Trash or permanently delete

mark_email

Mark as read/unread, flag/unflag

bulk_action

Batch operation on up to 100 emails

create_mailbox

Create a new mailbox folder

rename_mailbox

Rename an existing mailbox folder

delete_mailbox

Permanently delete a mailbox and contents

Labels (5)

Tool

Description

list_labels

Discover available labels (auto-detects provider strategy)

add_label

Add a label to an email (ProtonMail folders, Gmail X-GM-LABELS, or IMAP keywords)

remove_label

Remove a label from an email

create_label

Create a new label

delete_label

Delete a label

Watcher & Alerts (6)

Tool

Description

get_watcher_status

Show IMAP IDLE connections, folders being monitored, and last-seen UIDs

list_presets

List available AI triage presets with descriptions and suggested labels

get_hooks_config

Show current hooks configuration — preset, rules, and custom instructions

configure_alerts

Update alert/notification settings at runtime

check_notification_setup

Diagnose desktop notification support and provide setup instructions

test_notification

Send a test notification to verify OS permissions are configured

Calendar & Reminders (6)

Tool

Description

extract_calendar

Extract ICS/iCalendar events from an email

analyze_email_for_scheduling

Analyze an email to detect events and reminder-worthy content

add_to_calendar

Add an email event to the local calendar (macOS/Linux)

create_reminder

Create a reminder in macOS Reminders.app from an email

list_calendars

List all available local calendars

check_calendar_permissions

Check whether the local calendar is accessible

Prompts (7)

Prompt

Description

triage_inbox

Categorize and prioritize unread emails with suggested actions

summarize_thread

Summarize an email conversation thread

compose_reply

Draft a context-aware reply to an email

draft_from_context

Compose a new email from provided context and instructions

extract_action_items

Extract actionable tasks from email threads

summarize_meetings

Summarize upcoming calendar events from emails

cleanup_inbox

Suggest emails to archive, delete, or unsubscribe from

Resources (6)

Resource

URI

Description

Accounts

email://accounts

List of configured accounts

Mailboxes

email://{account}/mailboxes

Folder tree for an account

Unread

email://{account}/unread

Unread email summary

Templates

email://templates

Available email templates

Stats

email://{account}/stats

Email statistics snapshot

Scheduled

email://scheduled

Pending scheduled emails

Provider Auto-Detection

Provider

Domains

Gmail

gmail.com

Outlook / Hotmail

outlook.com, hotmail.com, live.com

Yahoo Mail

yahoo.com, ymail.com

iCloud

icloud.com, me.com, mac.com

Fastmail

fastmail.com

ProtonMail Bridge

proton.me, protonmail.com

Zoho Mail

zoho.com

GMX

gmx.com, gmx.de, gmx.net

Architecture

src/
├── main.ts                — Entry point and subcommand routing
├── server.ts              — MCP server factory
├── logging.ts             — MCP protocol logging bridge
├── cli/                   — Interactive CLI commands
│   ├── account-commands.ts — Account CRUD (list, add, edit, delete)
│   ├── setup.ts           — Legacy setup alias → account add
│   ├── test.ts            — Connection tester
│   ├── config-commands.ts — Config management (show, edit, path, init)
│   ├── install-commands.ts — MCP client registration (install, status, remove)
│   ├── providers.ts       — Provider auto-detection + OAuth2 endpoints (experimental)
│   └── scheduler.ts       — Scheduler CLI
├── config/                — Configuration layer
│   ├── xdg.ts             — XDG Base Directory paths
│   ├── schema.ts          — Zod validation schemas
│   └── loader.ts          — Config loader (TOML + env vars)
├── connections/
│   └── manager.ts         — Lazy persistent IMAP/SMTP with OAuth2 (experimental)
├── services/              — Business logic
│   ├── imap.service.ts    — IMAP operations
│   ├── label-strategy.ts  — Provider-aware label strategy (ProtonMail/Gmail/IMAP keywords)
│   ├── smtp.service.ts    — SMTP operations
│   ├── template.service.ts — Email template engine
│   ├── oauth.service.ts   — OAuth2 token management (experimental)
│   ├── calendar.service.ts — ICS/iCalendar parsing
│   ├── scheduler.service.ts — Email scheduling queue
│   ├── watcher.service.ts — IMAP IDLE real-time watcher with auto-reconnect
│   ├── hooks.service.ts   — AI triage via MCP sampling + static rules + auto-labeling/flagging
│   ├── notifier.service.ts — Multi-channel notification dispatcher (desktop/sound/webhook)
│   ├── presets.ts         — Built-in hook presets (inbox-zero, gtd, priority-focus, etc.)
│   └── event-bus.ts       — Typed EventEmitter for internal email events
├── tools/                 — MCP tool definitions (42)
├── prompts/               — MCP prompt definitions (7)
├── resources/             — MCP resource definitions (6)
├── safety/                — Audit trail and rate limiter
└── types/                 — Shared TypeScript types

Maintainers

@codefuturist

Contributing

PRs accepted. Please conform to the standard-readme specification when editing this README.

# Development workflow
pnpm install
pnpm typecheck   # type check
pnpm check       # lint and format
pnpm build       # build
pnpm start       # run

License

LGPL-3.0-or-later

A
license - permissive license
-
quality - not tested
D
maintenance

Maintenance

Maintainers
<1hResponse time
2dRelease cycle
2Releases (12mo)
Issues opened vs closed

Resources

Unclaimed servers have limited discoverability.

Looking for Admin?

If you are the server author, to access and configure the admin panel.

Latest Blog Posts

MCP directory API

We provide all the information about MCP servers via our MCP API.

curl -X GET 'https://glama.ai/api/mcp/v1/servers/codefuturist/email-mcp'

If you have feedback or need assistance with the MCP directory API, please join our Discord server