Connect Claude to Thunderbird Email, No IMAP Setup

To connect Claude to Thunderbird, install LMCP: it reads the mail Thunderbird keeps on your computer and lets Claude list, search and read it. LMCP is a local MCP server for Mac and Windows. Reading works with the Thunderbird profile as it is: no IMAP settings to copy, no tokens, no add-on, and Thunderbird does not need to be running.

What Claude Can Do with Thunderbird

See your accounts and folders — every mail account of the profile, with its folders (thunderbird_list_accounts)
List the newest messages of a folder (thunderbird_list_emails)
Search by subject, sender, recipients and body text, in one folder or all of them (thunderbird_search_emails)
Read a message — body as plain text and the names of its attachments (thunderbird_read_email)
Find a contact in Thunderbird's address books (thunderbird_search_contacts)
Send a plain-text message from one of your accounts — you see a preview first, and it sends only when you confirm (thunderbird_send_email)

Only messages stored on this computer are seen: for an IMAP account, that is what Thunderbird has downloaded. LMCP executes local tools on your device. Cloud AI providers can receive the messages you ask about; their terms apply.

How to Install

Download LMCP for your computer:

Mac — open LMCP-Installer.dmg and double-click LMCP Installer inside it
Windows — run LMCP-Setup.exe; no admin rights needed

Then quit Claude Desktop completely and open it again, so it picks up the new tools. Reading your Thunderbird mail works from here.

Sending from Thunderbird

To send, LMCP uses the account's own outgoing mail server. You type that account's password into LMCP’s own window on your computer (LMCP's icon → My apps → open Thunderbird's row → that account's ⋯ menu → Reconnect), so it never goes through the AI, and Thunderbird's saved passwords are never read. Ask Claude “which of my Thunderbird accounts can send?” and thunderbird_connect answers per account. Accounts that sign in through their provider (Google, Microsoft and others) cannot send this way unless the provider gives you an app password. On Windows, to send with an app password from such an account, first set its outgoing server's authentication to “Normal password” in Thunderbird.

Example Prompts

“What came into my Thunderbird inbox today? Summarize it”
“Find the invoice from Acme in my Thunderbird mail”
“Read the last message from Ana and list what she is asking for”
“What is Marco's email address in my Thunderbird contacts?”
“Email Ana from my work account that Friday works” — you see the preview first

Claude on the Web and ChatGPT

The Thunderbird tools also answer web AI apps that you connect to LMCP, such as Claude.ai and ChatGPT: connect ChatGPT and other web AI apps. The mail stays in Thunderbird's profile on your computer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Thunderbird have an MCP server?

LMCP is a local MCP server with tools for Thunderbird. It reads the Thunderbird profile on your computer directly, so there is no add-on to install in Thunderbird and nothing to change in its settings.

Do I need to set up IMAP or an API key?

Not to read. LMCP reads the mail Thunderbird already keeps on this computer, so there are no server settings, tokens or API keys to enter. To send, you type the account’s password once into LMCP’s own window, never into the chat.

Does Thunderbird need to be open?

No. LMCP reads the profile’s mail files, and nothing in the profile is changed.

Can Claude see mail that is still on the server?

No. Only messages stored on this computer are seen: for an IMAP account, that is what Thunderbird has downloaded, not everything on the server.

Can it send from my Gmail or Outlook.com account in Thunderbird?

Accounts that sign in through their provider (Google, Microsoft and others) cannot send this way unless the provider gives you an app password. Reading their mail works either way.

Connect Claude to Thunderbird — Read, Search and Send Your Email