mcp-email-server
MCP email server over IMAP and SMTP: an agent searches, reads, sorts and sends mail across several mailboxes
- 372 ★ on the repository
- Last commit
- BSD-3-Clause
Broad access
Why this level
- Reads private mail and attachments, and the mailbox password is stored on your machine
- Can send and forward mail in your name, as well as delete and move messages
- The email_command tool runs arbitrary IMAP and SMTP commands when the owner enables it for an account
Install
- Works in
In your terminal, with SkillFoxx CLI
npx skillfoxx add mcp/mcp-email-serverDetects the agents on your machine, shows the access level and pins the version.
Other ways to install
Access and checks
How we reviewBroad accessThe tool can change data, run commands or handle secrets.
- Reads private mail and attachments, and the mailbox password is stored on your machine
- Can send and forward mail in your name, as well as delete and move messages
- The email_command tool runs arbitrary IMAP and SMTP commands when the owner enables it for an account
This is third-party code. Review the repository files before installing.
What it does
mcp-email-server connects an AI agent to mailboxes over IMAP and SMTP. The agent picks an account, searches by subject, sender, date or body text, and gets a list of message IDs. Bodies are fetched in a separate call, so large messages stay out of the context until they are needed. Beyond reading, the server sends and forwards mail, saves drafts and sorts messages into folders and tags. Attachments can be downloaded or read as content. Each permission, from drafts to deletion and sending, is enabled per account. Account settings are stored locally. The command `uvx mcp-email-server@latest ui` opens a management panel on 127.0.0.1, and passwords live in a database table or in the system keyring, depending on the OS.
Who it is for. For people who triage an inbox or draft replies through Claude Code, Cursor, Codex or Claude Desktop across several mailboxes at once.
Good fit when
- The agent has to find invoices from one sender over a quarter and summarize them one by one
- You keep work and personal mailboxes in one client and want to limit which of them the agent may send from
- You want the agent to prepare replies as drafts and send them yourself, so the send permission stays off
- Mail needs sorting into folders and tags by rules you describe to the agent in plain words
- The server has to run in a container: Linux images for amd64 and arm64 are published from version 1.6.2
Not a fit when
- Your mailbox sits with a provider that does not open IMAP and SMTP access: the server speaks only these protocols
- You need bulk mailing to an address database: the server lets an agent work with your mailboxes and has no mailing tools
- The agent must not see message content at all: even with limited permissions it reads the mailbox
- You need a ready mail client with a human interface: this is a program for an agent
Example request
List the connected email accounts, then find messages with attachments from accounting in the inbox over the last two weeksMCP
- Transport
- stdio
- Authentication
- not required
Environment variables
MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_CONFIG_PATH- Path to the legacy-mode settings file when you need a non-default one
Limitations
- From version 1.0.0 settings are stored in a new way. Updating the package does not carry old settings over: they run in legacy mode until you migrate them yourself.
- A message body is cut at 20,000 characters by default.
- The advanced email_command tool is off by default. The owner enables it in the account settings, it cannot be enabled through MCP, and it requires broad permissions, deletion among them.
- Everything goes over IMAP and SMTP only. If a provider requires a special sign-in method, you will need an app password.
- The management panel runs in the foreground and binds to 127.0.0.1 only; there is no remote mode.
How to disable. Remove the mcp-email-server entry from the client configuration and restart the client. Account data stays in local storage. The older settings file lives at ~/.config/mcp-email-server/config.toml; delete it and the keyring entries to erase passwords.
FAQ
How do I connect a mailbox to mcp-email-server?
Run `uvx mcp-email-server@latest ui` and leave the command running. Enter the address and password in the panel: connection settings are filled in from the domain and stay editable. Outgoing mail is optional. After saving, restart the MCP client.
How do I add mcp-email-server to Claude Code or Claude Desktop?
Add a server with command uvx and arguments mcp-email-server@latest and stdio to the client config. For Claude Desktop the repository has an example in dev/claude_desktop_config.json. After editing, restart the client and ask it to list the accounts.
What do the draft, organize, delete, send and append permissions do?
Draft allows save_draft. Organize opens mark-read, flags, tags, move, archive and folder creation. Delete enables delete_emails, send enables send_email and forward_email, and append allows save_to_mailbox. Permissions are assigned per account.
Can I run the server in Docker?
Yes. From version 1.6.2 Linux images for amd64 and arm64 are published at ghcr.io/wh1isper/mcp-email-server. The container instructions are in the documentation under Getting Started.
How do I move old settings from version 0.16.0 and earlier?
You do not have to: the old settings keep working in legacy mode. To move them run `config init`, then `config import-legacy` to preview the plan and `config import-legacy --apply`, confirming by typing IMPORT. The source TOML file stays untouched.
Discussion
No questions or reviews yet.
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Comparison with similar tools
Entries that share the main search query, and how they differ.
| Entry | Official | Authentication | Repository stars | Main difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mcp-email-server (this entry) | no | not required | 372 | |
| email-mcp: an MCP server for IMAP and SMTP mail | no | key is optional | 142 | also mail over IMAP and SMTP, but with a different tool set and its own permission model |
| Yandex Mail MCP | no | not required | 8 | built for Yandex Mail, while this server works with any IMAP and SMTP mailbox |
README in short
The quick start takes three steps: set up a mailbox in the local panel, register the server in the client and check the connection. Separate project docs cover permissions, containers and migration in detail.