Gmail MCP Server

An MCP server that allows Claude Desktop to read unread emails and create draft replies in Gmail.

Features

• get_unread_emails: Fetches unread emails with sender, subject, body, message ID, and thread ID

• create_draft_reply: Creates properly threaded draft replies

Related MCP server: MCP Gmail Server

Requirements

• Python 3.14+

• Gmail account

• Google Cloud Console access

Setup

1. Install Dependencies

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv

# Activate it
source venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Gmail API Configuration

1. Go to Google Cloud Console

2. Create a new project

3. Enable Gmail API

4. Go to "APIs and services" → "Credentials" → "Create Credentials" → "OAuth client ID"

5. Choose "Desktop app" as application type

6. Download the credentials and save as credentials.json in the root directory

7. Add test user with your Gmail address under "Audience"

3. First Run - Authentication

python server.py

This will open a browser for OAuth authentication. token.json will be created in the root directory.

4. Configure Claude Desktop

Edit your Claude Desktop config file:

Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gmail": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/python",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/server.py"]
    }
  }
}

This configuration tells Claude Desktop how to connect to your Gmail MCP server:

• mcpServers - Root object containing all MCP server configurations

• gmail - Unique name for this server (you can choose any name)

• command - Path to the Python executable that will run the server

• args - Arguments passed to the command (the server script path)

What you need to replace:

• /absolute/path/to/python - Full path to your Python interpreter

• /absolute/path/to/server.py - Full path to your server.py file

Restart Claude Desktop.

OAuth Scopes

• gmail.readonly - Read emails

• gmail.compose - Create drafts

Project Structure

• server.py - MCP server implementation

• gmail_client.py - Gmail API wrapper

• credentials.json - OAuth credentials (not in git)

• token.json - OAuth token (auto-generated, not in git)

Troubleshooting

• Authentication fails: Delete token.json and run python server.py again

• Claude can't connect: Check the absolute path in config file

Usage Examples

Get unread emails - Claude

Unread emails - Gmail

Create draft email - Claude

Draft email - Gmail