apple-mail-mcp

The only way to give Claude (or any LLM) access to Apple Mail and iCloud.

Gmail and Outlook have APIs. iCloud doesn't. If you're a Mac user whose email lives in Apple Mail — iCloud, iCloud+, or any account synced through it — there's no web API an LLM can call. This server bridges that gap using AppleScript on your local machine.

It gives Claude full control over Apple Mail: read, search, compose, reply, move, flag, and delete messages using natural language, against your real inbox, with no cloud intermediary.

Built on AppleScript via osascript, with an optional MailKit extension for real-time new-mail events.

Tools

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | list_folders | List all accounts and their mailboxes | | list_emails | Paginate messages in a mailbox (newest-first) | | get_email | Read a message's full headers and body | | search_emails | Filter by sender, subject, date range across mailboxes | | compose_email | Create a draft or send a new message immediately | | reply_email | Reply to a message, open as draft or send immediately | | move_email | Move a message to any mailbox | | archive_email | Move to Archive (iCloud) or All Mail (Gmail) | | move_to_junk | Move to Junk (iCloud) or Spam (Gmail) | | flag_email | Set or clear the flag on a message | | mark_read | Mark a message as read or unread | | delete_email | Move to Deleted Messages (iCloud) or Trash (Gmail) | | get_pending_events | Drain real-time new-mail events from the MailKit bridge |

Requirements

• macOS (tested on Sonoma / Sequoia)
• Apple Mail open and configured with at least one account
• Node.js 18+

Installation

npx (recommended)

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apple-mail": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@jdot6/apple-mail-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop, then ask: "What folders do I have in my mail?"

Bootstrap script

Clones the repo, builds it, and patches the Claude config automatically:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jayvee6/apple-mail-mcp/master/install.sh | bash

Manual

git clone https://github.com/jayvee6/apple-mail-mcp.git
cd apple-mail-mcp
npm install && npm run build

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apple-mail": {
      "command": "/opt/homebrew/bin/node",
      "args": ["/path/to/apple-mail-mcp/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Use which node to get the full path to your Node binary. Restart Claude Desktop.

Automation Permission

The first time you use a mail tool, macOS will ask whether to allow node to control Mail. Click Allow. If you accidentally deny it, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation and re-enable it for your terminal or Node.js runtime.

How It Works

Claude ──stdio──▶ MCP server (Node.js)
                      │
                      ├── runScript("list_messages", [...args])
                      │        │
                      │        └── osascript scripts/applescript/list_messages.applescript
                      │                 │
                      │                 └── Apple Mail (AppleScript dictionary)
                      │
                      └── HTTP bridge  ◀── MailKit extension (optional)
                          localhost:27182

Message references are composite keys that uniquely identify a message without a fragile integer index:

{account}::{mailbox}::{RFC 2822 Message-ID}

e.g.  iCloud::INBOX::<[email protected]>

Every list/search result includes a message_ref. Tools that operate on individual messages (get_email, reply_email, move_email, etc.) take this ref as input. The account and mailbox components scope the AppleScript lookup to the right mailbox; the RFC 2822 ID is the stable identifier. Mail's whose predicate makes the per-message lookup O(1).

MailKit Bridge (optional)

The MailKitBridge/ directory contains an Xcode project for a Mail extension that fires a local HTTP POST to localhost:27182/event when new messages arrive. This populates get_pending_events in real time rather than requiring a manual poll.

The MCP server starts the HTTP listener on startup regardless — it's a no-op if the extension isn't installed.

To build and install the extension: open MailKitBridge/MailKitBridge.xcodeproj in Xcode, build the MailKitBridgeApp scheme, run the app once to register the extension, then enable it in Mail → Settings → Extensions.

Development

npm run dev          # run with tsx (no build step)
npm run build        # compile TypeScript → dist/
npm run typecheck    # type-check without emitting

AppleScript files live in scripts/applescript/ and are invoked directly via osascript — no compilation needed. You can test them standalone:

osascript scripts/applescript/list_folders.applescript
osascript scripts/applescript/list_messages.applescript "iCloud" "INBOX" "1" "5"

Security Notes

• The HTTP bridge binds to 127.0.0.1 only — not reachable from outside the machine.
• Script names are validated against path.basename() before use to prevent path traversal.
• Arguments are passed to osascript via execFile (not a shell), so there is no shell-injection surface.
• AppleScript calls time out after 30 seconds to prevent hangs if Mail is frozen or showing a permission prompt.

License

MIT