Thunderbird
Provides a Model Context Protocol interface for Mozilla Thunderbird, allowing AI assistants to manage emails, filters, calendars, and contacts. It exposes 24 tools for tasks like searching messages, drafting replies, and organizing folders through a
What is Thunderbird?
Thunderbird is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to provides a model context protocol interface for mozilla thunderbird, allowing ai assistants to manage emails, filters, calendars, and contacts. it exposes 24 tools for tasks like searching messages, d...
Provides a Model Context Protocol interface for Mozilla Thunderbird, allowing AI assistants to manage emails, filters, calendars, and contacts. It exposes 24 tools for tasks like searching messages, drafting replies, and organizing folders through a
This server falls under the Communication category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Provides a Model Context Protocol interface for Mozilla Thun
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx thunderbird-mcpConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Thunderbird
Thunderbird MCP is a Mozilla Thunderbird extension paired with a Node.js bridge that exposes 36 tools over the Model Context Protocol, giving AI assistants full access to your email, calendar, contacts, and message filters. It operates entirely over localhost using session-scoped bearer tokens, so nothing leaves your machine. Developers and power users can search mail, compose threaded replies, manage folders, create calendar events, and build filter rules—all through natural language without leaving their AI client.
Prerequisites
- Mozilla Thunderbird 102 or later installed and running
- Node.js 18+ installed on your system
- An MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, etc.)
- The thunderbird-mcp repository cloned locally to obtain the .xpi extension file
Clone the repository
Clone the thunderbird-mcp repository to get both the pre-built .xpi extension and the Node.js bridge script.
git clone https://github.com/TKasperczyk/thunderbird-mcp.gitInstall the Thunderbird extension
In Thunderbird, open Tools > Add-ons and Themes, click the gear icon, choose 'Install Add-on From File', and select dist/thunderbird-mcp.xpi from the cloned repository. Restart Thunderbird after installation.
Configure account access (optional)
After Thunderbird restarts, open Tools > Add-ons > Thunderbird MCP > Options to restrict which email accounts are visible to MCP clients and to enable or disable specific tools. You can also toggle 'Block skipReview' to prevent silent email sending.
Configure your MCP client
Add the bridge to your MCP client configuration using the absolute path to mcp-bridge.cjs. The bridge auto-discovers the Thunderbird connection file across native installs, Snap, Flatpak, and macOS temp directories.
{
"mcpServers": {
"thunderbird-mail": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/absolute/path/to/thunderbird-mcp/mcp-bridge.cjs"]
}
}
}Verify the connection
With Thunderbird running and the extension active, connect your MCP client. The bridge discovers the session token and port automatically. If it cannot find the connection file, set THUNDERBIRD_MCP_CONNECTION_FILE explicitly.
# Override connection file path if needed (add to env in MCP config)
THUNDERBIRD_MCP_CONNECTION_FILE=/absolute/path/to/connection.jsonThunderbird Examples
Client configuration
Standard configuration for Claude Desktop or Claude Code pointing at the local bridge script.
{
"mcpServers": {
"thunderbird-mail": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/home/user/thunderbird-mcp/mcp-bridge.cjs"],
"env": {
"THUNDERBIRD_MCP_CONNECTION_FILE": "/tmp/thunderbird-mcp/connection.json"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example natural language prompts that use the 36 exposed tools across mail, calendar, contacts, and filters.
- "Search my inbox for emails from [email protected] in the last 7 days and summarize them"
- "Reply to the latest unread email in my inbox thanking them for the update"
- "Create a filter that moves newsletters tagged [Newsletter] to a Newsletter folder"
- "List my calendar events for next week and identify any scheduling conflicts"
- "Find the contact named Bob Smith and update his email address to [email protected]"Troubleshooting Thunderbird
Bridge reports 'connection refused' or cannot find connection.json
Make sure Thunderbird is running and the extension is enabled. On non-standard installs (Snap, Flatpak, WSL) set THUNDERBIRD_MCP_CONNECTION_FILE to the explicit path shown in the extension options page.
searchBody returns no results for IMAP accounts
IMAP message bodies are only indexed by Thunderbird's Gloda engine when offline sync is enabled. Right-click the folder, choose Properties > Synchronisation, and enable local message caching, then wait for indexing to complete.
Tool not found after updating the extension
Disconnect and reconnect the MCP server in your client (run /mcp in Claude Code or restart the client) so it re-fetches the updated tools/list from the bridge.
Frequently Asked Questions about Thunderbird
What is Thunderbird?
Thunderbird is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides a model context protocol interface for mozilla thunderbird, allowing ai assistants to manage emails, filters, calendars, and contacts. it exposes 24 tools for tasks like searching messages, drafting replies, and organizing folders through a It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Thunderbird?
Follow the installation instructions on the Thunderbird GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with Thunderbird?
Thunderbird works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Thunderbird free to use?
Yes, Thunderbird is open source and available under the NOASSERTION license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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