1. Download apple-mail-mcp-v2.2.0.mcpb from Releases
2. Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → MCP Servers → Install from file
3. Select the .mcpb file and grant Mail.app permissions

git clone https://github.com/patrickfreyer/apple-mail-mcp.git
cd apple-mail-mcp/plugin
python3 -m venv venv
venv/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt

claude mcp add apple-mail -- /bin/bash $(pwd)/start_mcp.sh

Tools (22)

Reading & Search

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | get_inbox_overview | Dashboard with unread counts, folders, and recent emails | | list_inbox_emails | List emails with account/read-status filtering and optional content preview | | get_mailbox_unread_counts | Unread counts per mailbox or per-account summary | | list_accounts | List all configured Mail accounts | | search_emails | Unified search — subject, sender, body text, dates, attachments, cross-account | | get_email_thread | Conversation thread view |

Organization

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | list_mailboxes | Folder hierarchy with message counts | | create_mailbox | Create new mailboxes (supports nested paths) | | move_email | Move/archive emails with filters (subject, sender, date, read status, dry-run) | | update_email_status | Mark read/unread, flag/unflag — by filters or message IDs | | manage_trash | Soft delete, permanent delete, empty trash (with dry-run) |

Composition

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | compose_email | Send new emails (plain text or HTML body) | | reply_to_email | Reply or reply-all with optional HTML body | | forward_email | Forward with optional message, CC/BCC | | manage_drafts | Create, list, send, and delete drafts | | create_rich_email_draft | Build a rich HTML .eml draft, open it in Mail, and optionally save it to Drafts |

Attachments

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | list_email_attachments | List attachments with names and sizes | | save_email_attachment | Save attachments to disk |

Smart Inbox

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | get_awaiting_reply | Find sent emails that haven't received a reply | | get_needs_response | Identify emails that likely need your response | | get_top_senders | Analyse most frequent senders by count or domain |

Analytics & Export

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | get_statistics | Email analytics (volume, top senders, read ratios) | | export_emails | Export single emails or mailboxes to TXT/HTML | | inbox_dashboard | Interactive UI dashboard (requires mcp-ui-server) |

Configuration

Read-Only Mode

Pass --read-only to disable tools that send email (compose_email, reply_to_email, forward_email). Draft management remains available (list, create, delete) but sending a draft via manage_drafts is blocked.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apple-mail": {
      "command": "/path/to/venv/bin/python3",
      "args": ["/path/to/apple_mail_mcp.py", "--read-only"]
    }
  }
}

User Preferences (Optional)

Set the USER_EMAIL_PREFERENCES environment variable to give the assistant context about your workflow:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apple-mail": {
      "command": "/path/to/venv/bin/python3",
      "args": ["/path/to/apple_mail_mcp.py"],
      "env": {
        "USER_EMAIL_PREFERENCES": "Default to BCG account, show max 50 emails, prefer Archive and Projects folders"
      }
    }
  }
}

For .mcpb installs, configure this in Claude Desktop under Developer > MCP Servers > Apple Mail MCP.

Safety Limits

Batch operations have conservative defaults to prevent accidental bulk actions:

| Operation | Default Limit | |-----------|---------------| | update_email_status | 10 emails | | manage_trash | 5 emails | | move_email | 1 email |

Override via function parameters when needed.

Usage Examples

Show me an overview of my inbox
Search for emails about "project update" in my Gmail
Reply to the email about "Domain name" with "Thanks for the update!"
Move emails with "invoice" in the subject to my Archive folder
Show me email statistics for the last 30 days
Create a rich HTML draft for a weekly update and open it in Mail

Rich HTML Drafts

Use create_rich_email_draft when you need a visually formatted email, newsletter, or leadership update.

• It generates an unsent .eml file with multipart plain-text + HTML bodies
• It can open the draft directly in Mail for editing
• It can optionally ask Mail to save the opened compose window into Drafts
• It accepts partial details, so you can start with just an account and subject and fill in the rest later

This is more reliable than injecting raw HTML into AppleScript content, which Mail often stores as literal markup.

Email Management Skill

A companion Claude Code Skill is included that teaches Claude expert email workflows (Inbox Zero, daily triage, folder organization). When installed as a plugin, the skill is loaded automatically. For standalone MCP installs, copy it manually:

cp -r plugin/skills/email-management ~/.claude/skills/email-management

Requirements

• macOS with Apple Mail configured
• Python 3.7+
• fastmcp (+ optional mcp-ui-server for dashboard)
• Claude Desktop or any MCP-compatible client
• Mail.app permissions: Automation + Mail Data Access (grant in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation)

Troubleshooting

| Issue | Fix | |-------|-----| | Mail.app not responding | Ensure Mail.app is running; check Automation permissions in System Settings | | Slow searches | Set include_content: false and lower max_results | | Mailbox not found | Use exact folder names; nested folders use / separator (e.g., Projects/Alpha) | | Permission errors | Grant access in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation | | Rich draft shows raw HTML | Use create_rich_email_draft instead of pasting HTML into manage_drafts or AppleScript content |

Project Structure

apple-mail-mcp/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── marketplace.json       # Marketplace manifest (for plugin distribution)
├── plugin/                    # Claude Code plugin
│   ├── .claude-plugin/
│   │   └── plugin.json        # Plugin manifest
│   ├── commands/              # /email-management slash command
│   ├── skills/                # Email Management Expert skill
│   ├── apple_mail_mcp/        # Python MCP server package (24 tools)
│   ├── apple_mail_mcp.py      # Entry point
│   ├── start_mcp.sh           # Startup wrapper (auto-creates venv)
│   └── requirements.txt
├── apple-mail-mcpb/           # MCPB build files (Claude Desktop)
├── LICENSE
└── README.md

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/my-feature)
3. Commit and push
4. Open a Pull Request

License

MIT -- see LICENSE.

Links

• Changelog
• Issues
• Discussions
• FastMCP
• Model Context Protocol