IMAP/SMTP email server for AI agents with multi-account support and auto-discovery.

Better Email MCP

mcp-name: io.github.n24q02m/better-email-mcp

IMAP/SMTP email server for AI agents -- 6 composite tools with multi-account and auto-discovery

Features

Multi-account support -- manage 6+ email accounts (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud, Zoho, ProtonMail, custom IMAP)
App Passwords -- no OAuth2 setup required for most providers; clone and run in 1 minute
6 composite tools with 20 actions -- search, read, send, reply, forward, organize, credential setup in single calls
Auto-discovery -- provider settings detected from email address, custom IMAP host supported
Thread-aware -- reply/forward maintains In-Reply-To and References headers
Tiered token optimization -- compressed descriptions + on-demand help tool + MCP Resources

Setup

With AI Agent -- copy and send this to your AI agent:

Please set up @n24q02m/better-email-mcp for me. Follow this guide: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/n24q02m/better-email-mcp/main/docs/setup-with-agent.md

Manual Setup -- follow docs/setup-manual.md

Tools

Tool	Actions	Description
`messages`	`search`, `read`, `mark_read`, `mark_unread`, `flag`, `unflag`, `move`, `archive`, `trash`	Search, read, and organize emails
`folders`	`list`	List mailbox folders
`attachments`	`list`, `download`	List and download email attachments
`send`	`new`, `reply`, `forward`	Compose, reply, and forward emails
`setup`	`status`, `start`, `reset`, `complete`	Credential setup via browser relay, status check, reset, re-resolve
`help`	-	Get full documentation for any tool

MCP Resources

URI	Description
`email://docs/messages`	Message operations reference
`email://docs/folders`	Folder operations reference
`email://docs/attachments`	Attachment operations reference
`email://docs/send`	Send/compose reference
`email://docs/help`	Full documentation

Zero-Config Setup

No environment variables needed. On first start, the server opens a relay setup page:

Start the server (via plugin, npx, or Docker)
A setup URL appears -- open it in any browser (relay: https://better-email-mcp.n24q02m.com)
Enter your credentials in email:app-password format (comma-separated for multi-account)
Credentials are encrypted and stored locally

Your credentials never leave your machine. The relay server only sees encrypted data.

For CI/automation, you can still use environment variables (see below).

Remote (HTTP Mode)

Run as a multi-user HTTP server with OAuth 2.1 authentication:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "better-email": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://better-email-mcp.n24q02m.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Self-Hosting (HTTP Mode)

docker run -p 8080:8080 \
  -e TRANSPORT_MODE=http \
  -e PUBLIC_URL=https://your-domain.com \
  -e DCR_SERVER_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 32) \
  n24q02m/better-email-mcp:latest

Users provide their own email credentials through the OAuth flow. No server-side EMAIL_CREDENTIALS needed.

Outlook OAuth Device Code

Outlook, Hotmail, and Live accounts use OAuth2 automatically. On first use with an Outlook account:

The server prints a device code and a Microsoft login URL
Open the URL in a browser and enter the code
Sign in and authorize the app
Tokens are saved locally at ~/.better-email-mcp/tokens.json

No App Password is needed for Outlook accounts.

Configuration

Variable	Required	Default	Description
`EMAIL_CREDENTIALS`	Yes (stdio)	-	Email credentials (`[email protected]:app-password`, comma-separated for multi-account)
`TRANSPORT_MODE`	No	`stdio`	Set to `http` for remote mode
`PUBLIC_URL`	Yes (http)	-	Server's public URL for OAuth redirects
`DCR_SERVER_SECRET`	Yes (http)	-	HMAC secret for stateless client registration
`PORT`	No	`8080`	Server port
`OUTLOOK_CLIENT_ID`	No	-	Custom Azure AD client ID for self-hosted Outlook OAuth2

Multiple Accounts

[email protected]:pass1,[email protected]:pass2,[email protected]:pass3

Custom IMAP Host

[email protected]:password:imap.custom.com

Search Query Language

Query	Description
`UNREAD`	Unread emails
`FLAGGED`	Starred emails
`SINCE 2024-01-01`	Emails after date
`FROM [email protected]`	Emails from sender
`SUBJECT meeting`	Emails matching subject
`UNREAD SINCE 2024-06-01`	Compound filter

Supported Providers

Provider	Auth	Save-to-Sent
Gmail	App Password	Auto (skipped)
Yahoo	App Password	Auto (skipped)
iCloud/Me.com	App-Specific Password	Auto (skipped)
Outlook/Hotmail/Live	OAuth2 (Device Code)	IMAP APPEND
Zoho	App Password	IMAP APPEND
ProtonMail	ProtonMail Bridge	IMAP APPEND
Custom	Via `email:pass:imap.host`	IMAP APPEND

Security

Credential sanitization -- Passwords never leaked in error messages
App Passwords -- Uses app-specific passwords, not regular passwords
Token storage -- Outlook OAuth tokens saved with 600 permissions
IMAP validation -- Search queries validated before execution

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/n24q02m/better-email-mcp.git
cd better-email-mcp
bun install
bun run dev

License

MIT -- See LICENSE.