Babushka Email MCP

Full inbox management through Claude Code. Babushka reads your emails, catches phishing, and cleans up your inbox — with your permission.

What You Need

• Claude Code (CLI)

• Python 3.10+

• uv (Python package manager)

• An email account with IMAP access (iCloud, Gmail, or Outlook)

Related MCP server: IMAP MCP Server

Setup

1. Clone and install

git clone https://github.com/sambt94/babushka-email-mcp.git
cd babushka-email-mcp
uv sync

2. Get an app-specific password for your email

You need an app-specific password — your normal login won't work with IMAP.

iCloud:

1. Go to appleid.apple.com → Sign-In and Security → App-Specific Passwords

2. Click "Generate an app-specific password"

3. Name it "Babushka" and copy the password (format: xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx)

Gmail:

1. Go to myaccount.google.com/apppasswords

2. You need 2FA enabled on your Google account

3. Create an app password, name it "Babushka" and copy it

Outlook:

1. Go to account.microsoft.com → Security → Advanced security options

2. Under "App passwords", create a new one

3. Configure your credentials

Run the setup script:

uv run python setup.py

This creates a config.json with your account details (no passwords stored on disk) and outputs the MCP configuration with your passwords as environment variables.

Or set it up manually:

a) Create config.json (account info only, no passwords):

{
  "accounts": [
    {
      "name": "iCloud",
      "provider": "icloud",
      "email": "your@icloud.com"
    },
    {
      "name": "Gmail",
      "provider": "gmail",
      "email": "your@gmail.com"
    }
  ]
}

Provider options: icloud, gmail, outlook. You can add as many accounts as you like.

b) Add the MCP server to ~/.claude/.mcp.json (global) or your project's .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "babushka": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--directory", "/path/to/babushka-email-mcp", "python", "server.py"],
      "env": {
        "BABUSHKA_ICLOUD_PASSWORD": "xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx",
        "BABUSHKA_GMAIL_PASSWORD": "xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Passwords are passed as environment variables (BABUSHKA_<ACCOUNT_NAME>_PASSWORD), not stored in config.json. The env var name is derived from your account name — e.g., an account named "Work Gmail" becomes BABUSHKA_WORK_GMAIL_PASSWORD.

For Claude Desktop, add the same to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json.

5. Open Claude Code and go

cd babushka-god-mode
claude

Then just say: "scan my inbox"

What It Does

• Scans your inbox for phishing, spam, and junk

• Catches sender domain mismatches (the #1 phishing signal)

• Categorises everything: important, newsletters, marketing, suspicious, phishing

• Asks before taking any action — never moves or deletes without permission

• Follows YOUR rules in babushka-rules.md

Available Tools

Skills

Babushka has 6 built-in skills. Just say the trigger phrase and she'll guide you through it.

Customise Your Rules

Edit babushka-rules.md to:

• Add trusted senders (never flagged)

• Change spam aggressiveness

• Set category actions (archive marketing, keep newsletters, etc.)

• Adjust what gets archived vs kept

Multi-Account Support

Babushka manages all your inboxes simultaneously. Add multiple accounts to config.json and she'll scan them all. Target a specific account by saying "check my Gmail" or "scan my iCloud".

Example Session

You: scan my inbox
Babushka: Let me take a look, dear...

🔴 PHISHING (2 emails)
- "DPD Delivery" <notify@parcel-track.xyz> — NOT the real DPD
- "British Gas" <billing@energy-alert.jp> — NOT British Gas

📦 MARKETING (5 emails)
- Fastic — "$89 voucher" pressure tactics
- Raffle House — lottery upsell

✅ IMPORTANT (3 emails)
- Apple — app-specific password created
- Mum — dinner plans

👵 Shall I junk the 2 phishing emails and archive the marketing?

You: yes please
Babushka: Done! Your inbox is looking much tidier now, dear.