MCP Email
** - This server enables users to send emails through various email providers, including Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Sina, Sohu, 126, 163, and QQ Mail. It also supports attaching files from specified directories, making it easy to upload attachments along
What is MCP Email?
MCP Email is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to ** - this server enables users to send emails through various email providers, including gmail, outlook, yahoo, sina, sohu, 126, 163, and qq mail. it also supports attaching files from specified direc...
** - This server enables users to send emails through various email providers, including Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Sina, Sohu, 126, 163, and QQ Mail. It also supports attaching files from specified directories, making it easy to upload attachments along
This server falls under the Communication category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- ** - This server enables users to send emails through variou
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx mcp-email-serverConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use MCP Email
mcp-email-server is a Python-based MCP server that gives AI assistants full IMAP and SMTP email access, supporting Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and any standard IMAP/SMTP provider. It lets AI read, search, and organize mailboxes via IMAP and compose and send email with optional attachments via SMTP — all configured through environment variables or an interactive UI. Teams who want to automate email workflows, triage inboxes, and send notifications from Claude or other AI assistants without writing custom email code use this server.
Prerequisites
- Python 3.11 or higher with uv package manager installed
- An email account with IMAP and SMTP access enabled (Gmail requires an App Password if 2FA is on)
- IMAP and SMTP hostnames, ports, and credentials for your email provider
- An MCP-capable client such as Claude Desktop
Install the server using uvx
The recommended method is uvx, which runs the server in an isolated environment without a permanent install. Alternatively, install with pip: pip install mcp-email-server.
uvx mcp-email-server@latest uiConfigure with the interactive UI
Running the 'ui' subcommand launches a local configuration interface that writes your email credentials to ~/.config/zerolib/mcp_email_server/config.toml. Enter your IMAP host, SMTP host, email address, and password when prompted.
uvx mcp-email-server@latest uiAdd to Claude Desktop using environment variables
Open ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json and add the server with environment variable configuration. Environment variables take precedence over the TOML file.
{
"mcpServers": {
"zerolib-email": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["mcp-email-server@latest", "stdio"],
"env": {
"MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_EMAIL_ADDRESS": "[email protected]",
"MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_PASSWORD": "your_app_password",
"MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_IMAP_HOST": "imap.gmail.com",
"MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_IMAP_PORT": "993",
"MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_SMTP_HOST": "smtp.gmail.com",
"MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_SMTP_PORT": "465"
}
}
}
}Enable attachment downloads (optional)
Attachment downloading is disabled by default for security. To enable it, set the MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_ENABLE_ATTACHMENT_DOWNLOAD environment variable to 'true' in your MCP client config.
Use read-only IMAP mode (optional)
Omit MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_SMTP_HOST to run in read-only mode. In this mode, send_email and save_to_mailbox tools are hidden and only read/search/organize tools are exposed.
MCP Email Examples
Claude Desktop configuration with Gmail
Full JSON block for claude_desktop_config.json using Gmail IMAP/SMTP. Use an App Password (not your Gmail password) if two-factor authentication is enabled.
{
"mcpServers": {
"zerolib-email": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["mcp-email-server@latest", "stdio"],
"env": {
"MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_ACCOUNT_NAME": "gmail",
"MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_EMAIL_ADDRESS": "[email protected]",
"MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_PASSWORD": "abcd efgh ijkl mnop",
"MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_IMAP_HOST": "imap.gmail.com",
"MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_IMAP_PORT": "993",
"MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_SMTP_HOST": "smtp.gmail.com",
"MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_SMTP_PORT": "465"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example prompts for reading email, searching, and sending messages through the MCP server.
- "Show me unread emails from the last 24 hours"
- "Search my inbox for emails about the project proposal"
- "Send an email to [email protected] with subject 'Meeting Notes' and summarize today's discussion"
- "Move all emails from [email protected] to the Archive folder"
- "Download the PDF attachment from the latest email from my accountant"Troubleshooting MCP Email
Authentication failed when connecting to Gmail
Gmail requires an App Password when 2-factor authentication is enabled. Go to myaccount.google.com > Security > App Passwords, generate a new password for 'Mail', and use that 16-character password as MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_PASSWORD instead of your regular Gmail password.
Sent emails do not appear in the Sent folder in my email client
The server auto-saves sent messages but may not detect a non-standard Sent folder name. Set MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_SENT_FOLDER_NAME to the exact folder name your provider uses (e.g., '[Gmail]/Sent Mail' for Gmail or 'INBOX.Sent' for some IMAP servers).
Server starts but the send_email tool is not visible
If MCP_EMAIL_SERVER_SMTP_HOST is not set, the server runs in read-only IMAP mode and hides all send tools. Add the SMTP host and port variables to your configuration to enable sending.
Frequently Asked Questions about MCP Email
What is MCP Email?
MCP Email is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that ** - this server enables users to send emails through various email providers, including gmail, outlook, yahoo, sina, sohu, 126, 163, and qq mail. it also supports attaching files from specified directories, making it easy to upload attachments along It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install MCP Email?
Follow the installation instructions on the MCP Email GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with MCP Email?
MCP Email works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is MCP Email free to use?
Yes, MCP Email is open source and available under the BSD 3-Clause license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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