Is there an MCP server for Apple Mail?

Yes. LMCP is a free, native macOS MCP server that exposes Mail.app to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and any MCP client, including iCloud, Gmail, Outlook and Exchange accounts. It runs locally with no API keys.

Does the Apple Mail MCP server work with iCloud Mail?

Yes. Any account configured in Mail.app — including iCloud — is automatically available, because LMCP reads from Mail.app rather than each provider API.

Does it send my email to the cloud?

No. LMCP runs on localhost on your Mac and reads Mail.app via native macOS APIs. Email goes straight from Mail.app to your AI client; nothing is stored or logged on a server.

Apple Mail MCP Server — Give Your AI Access to Mac Mail (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor)

Name: LMCP
Rating: 5 (3 reviews)

What is an Apple Mail MCP server?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the open standard AI clients like Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Cursor and VS Code use to talk to tools on your computer. An Apple Mail MCP server exposes the email in Mail.app on your Mac to those AI clients — so your assistant can read, search, send and reply to messages by asking in plain English.

LMCP is a free, native Mac Mail MCP server. Because it talks to Mail.app through macOS's own APIs, every account you already have set up — iCloud Mail, Gmail, Outlook, Exchange or any IMAP provider — is instantly available to your AI. No API keys, no Google or Microsoft OAuth, no cloud copy of your inbox.

What you will need

macOS 12 (Monterey) or later — Apple Silicon or Intel
Any MCP-compatible AI client: Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code (Copilot), Windsurf or Zed
Mail.app with at least one email account configured

Step 1: Install the Apple Mail MCP server

Download LMCP and install it:

Open the downloaded .dmg from your Downloads folder
Drag Local MCP to your Applications folder
Open it — it appears in your menu bar and auto-configures your AI clients

On first use, macOS asks permission for LMCP to control Mail. Click Allow — that is what lets your AI read and send through Mail.app. Takes about 30 seconds.

Step 2: Restart your AI client

Fully quit your AI client (Cmd+Q) and reopen it so it discovers the new MCP server.

Claude Desktop — look for the tools icon in the chat input
Cursor — MCP tools appear automatically in the composer
VS Code — check the MCP panel in Copilot settings
ChatGPT — add https://www.local-mcp.com/mcp as a custom connector (Developer mode), then approve from the LMCP menu-bar app

Step 3: Try it with Apple Mail

Start a new conversation and try:

“Summarize my unread Apple Mail” — reads your inbox across every account and gives a quick overview.
“Find the email from my landlord about the lease” — searches by sender, subject and content across all mailboxes.
“Reply to Sarah's last email saying I'll be there at 3pm” — drafts and sends from your iCloud or Gmail account.
“Save the invoice attachment to my Desktop” — extracts attachments to your Mac.

Your AI always shows a preview before sending or moving anything, so you confirm first.

Which mail accounts work?

If it is in Mail.app, the Apple Mail MCP server can reach it — LMCP reads from Mail.app, not from each provider's API:

iCloud Mail — Apple's @icloud.com / @me.com accounts
Gmail — personal and Google Workspace
Outlook.com / Microsoft 365 / Exchange — work and consumer
Any IMAP provider — Fastmail, Yahoo, ProtonMail Bridge, custom domains

Have several accounts? Your AI searches across all of them, and you can target one: “send from my iCloud address…”.

What your AI can do with Mac Mail

List — browse the inbox, Sent, or any mailbox
Read — full message content, including HTML
Search — by sender, subject, date range or body text
Send — compose new messages from any account
Reply — reply or reply-all to a thread
Move — organize into folders or Trash
Save attachments — download files from any message

Sending and moving are preview-gated — your AI asks before it acts.

Why a local Apple Mail MCP server?

Most “AI for email” tools copy your inbox to a cloud server to process it. An on-device MCP server does not:

LMCP runs as a local server on localhost:8765
It reads Mail.app through native macOS APIs — no provider tokens
Email goes straight from Mail.app to your AI client; no intermediate server stores or logs it
GDPR and CCPA compliant by architecture — nothing leaves your Mac

Troubleshooting

AI shows no Apple Mail messages

Confirm Mail.app has the account configured and synced, then grant access in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation — LMCP needs permission to control Mail.

MCP tools not visible

Fully quit and restart your AI client. For Claude Desktop the config is at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json; for Cursor, ~/.cursor/mcp.json.

What else can LMCP do?

Apple Mail is one of 150+ tools. LMCP also connects your AI to Calendar, iMessage, Microsoft Teams, Contacts, Reminders, OneDrive and local files. See the full list of guides.

Apple Mail MCP Server: Connect Your AI to Mac Mail