mail-mcp

MCP server that gives Claude (and other MCP hosts) full access to Mail.app on macOS — search, read, send, reply, flag, move, and more — across every account configured in Mail.app (iCloud, Exchange, IMAP, etc.).

Prerequisites

• macOS (Mail.app required)
• Node.js 20+
• An MCP host: Claude Desktop, Amazon Quick, or any stdio MCP client

Installation

Claude Desktop — one-click install (recommended)

1. Download mail-mcp.mcpb from the latest release
2. Double-click the .mcpb file — Claude Desktop installs it automatically
3. Grant the required macOS permissions (see below)

Manual / Amazon Quick / other hosts

npx @p-l-ta/mail-mcp

Or install globally:

npm install -g @p-l-ta/mail-mcp
mail-mcp

Point your MCP host at the mail-mcp binary (stdio transport). Example config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mail-app": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@p-l-ta/mail-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Required macOS permissions

Grant these to the application that runs the MCP host (Claude Desktop, Amazon Quick, etc.):

Permission	Where to grant
Full Disk Access	System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access
Automation → Mail	System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation

The MCP server process inherits permissions from the host application that launches it.

Tools

Tool	Description
search_emails	Search messages via the Envelope Index database with rich filters
read_email	Read the full body of a message by its RFC message-id
list_accounts_and_mailboxes	List all configured accounts and mailboxes with unread counts
list_recent	List recent messages in a specific mailbox
list_senders	Grouped summary of senders with message and unread counts
send_email	Send a new email from one of the configured accounts
reply_to_email	Reply to an existing message by RFC message-id
set_message_flags	Set read and/or flagged status on a message
move_email	Move a message to a different mailbox
trash_email	Move a message to Deleted Messages
create_mailbox	Create a new mailbox/folder in an account
bulk_mark_read	Mark all messages in a mailbox and/or from a sender as read
get_unsubscribe_link	Extract unsubscribe URLs from a message's headers and body
empty_mailbox	Delete every message in a mailbox at once (Junk, Trash, etc.)

How it works

• Search & read — queries Mail's own Envelope Index SQLite database directly for fast, structured results across all accounts
• Actions (send, reply, flag, move, trash) — driven by AppleScript automation against Mail.app, so they work even for accounts where messages aren't stored as local files

Development

npm install
npm run dev          # tsx watch — live reload
npm test             # vitest unit tests
npm run build        # compile TypeScript → dist/
npm run mcpb         # build Claude Desktop extension → build/mail-mcp.mcpb

Interactive MCP testing:

npm run build
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node dist/server.js

Privacy Policy

mail-mcp is a local MCP server that runs entirely on your Mac. It has no backend, no telemetry, and makes no network requests of its own.

What it accesses:

• Mail.app's Envelope Index database (~/Library/Mail/) — read-only, used for search queries
• Mail.app via AppleScript — to read message bodies, send mail, flag, move, and trash messages

What it does NOT do:

• Collect, store, or transmit any data outside your Mac
• Connect to any external server or API
• Log message content anywhere

All email data stays on your device and is only passed to the MCP host (Claude Desktop or another client) as part of normal tool responses. You control exactly which tools Claude can invoke.

License

MIT