How do I connect Perplexity to my Mac apps?

Install LMCP on your Mac (free .dmg), turn on Cloud Relay + Cloud Data Forwarding in the menu-bar app, copy the connector token, then add a custom MCP connector in Perplexity pointing to https://www.local-mcp.com/mcp and paste the token. Perplexity then reaches Mail, Calendar, Teams, OneDrive and 130+ Mac tools — all running locally.

Does my data leave my Mac?

No. The relay only passes the request through to your Mac, which runs the tool locally and returns the result. Cloud Data Forwarding is opt-in and off by default; nothing is stored by the relay or by Perplexity.

How to Connect Perplexity to Your Mac (Mail, Calendar, Teams)

What This Lets You Do

Perplexity runs in the cloud, but your email, calendar, and Teams chats live on your Mac. With LMCP plus the Cloud Relay, Perplexity can call tools that run directly on your Mac through the Model Context Protocol. Ask it:

“Summarize my unread emails from this week”
“What’s on my calendar tomorrow?”
“Find the Teams message where Marco mentioned the API migration”
“Draft a reply to Sarah’s email about the budget”

Perplexity sends the request to the LMCP backend, the backend forwards it through an encrypted WebSocket tunnel to your Mac, your Mac runs the tool, and the result comes back — usually in under 2 seconds.

Privacy Story

Cloud Data Forwarding is off by default and opt-in per machine. When off, the connector's tools/list advertises only setup_install — data tools are not listed until you enable forwarding. When you turn it on, your data still comes from your Mac: the relay only passes the request through, it never stores your email, messages, or files.

Step 1: Install LMCP on Your Mac

Download the LMCP installer (.dmg, macOS 12+).
Open the .dmg, drag Local MCP to Applications, and open it from Applications.
macOS may ask you to confirm opening an app from the internet — click Open.

LMCP starts automatically and puts an icon in your menu bar. Setup takes about 30 seconds.

Step 2: Turn On Cloud Relay

Click the LMCP icon in your menu bar (top-right) and find the Web AIs · Via Cloud Relay section:

Cloud Relay shows Connected (green) once LMCP is running — no email or login needed; the connection is authenticated by a token.
Toggle Cloud Data Forwarding to ON (off by default for privacy).
Click Copy next to the Connector token — you’ll need it in the next step.

Step 3: Add the LMCP Connector in Perplexity

Perplexity supports custom MCP connectors. In Perplexity’s Settings → Connectors (or Integrations), add a new custom MCP server:

Name: LMCP
Server URL: https://www.local-mcp.com/mcp
Authentication: paste your Connector token from Step 2 (the connector also supports OAuth, where Perplexity auto-discovers our endpoints and you approve once with the same token).

The token identifies your specific Mac — it’s the secure, unambiguous way to grant access (no email, so it can’t collide with another machine). Perplexity’s MCP connector UI is new and the exact menu may vary by version; the two things that matter are the server URL https://www.local-mcp.com/mcp and your token.

With Cloud Data Forwarding ON, Perplexity then discovers the full catalog (typically 150+ tools: Mail, Calendar, Teams, OneDrive, Notes, Reminders, Office files, and more).

Step 4: Try It

Start a new thread in Perplexity and ask:

“List my email accounts”
“What meetings do I have today?”
“Search my emails for ‘invoice’ this month”

Perplexity routes the request through the Cloud Relay to your Mac, which runs the tool and returns the result.

What Tools Are Available?

Mail (Mail.app + Outlook): list, read, search, send, reply, move, save attachments
Calendar & Reminders: list, create, delete, complete
Contacts: search, list, get details
Microsoft Teams & Slack: list chats, read messages, channel messages
OneDrive: list, read, write, move, delete, search files
Notes, Messages, OmniFocus: list, search, create, complete
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF: read and create
Finder & Safari: search files (Spotlight), list folders, bookmarks

FAQ

Does Perplexity support MCP connectors?

Yes — Perplexity ships an MCP client (it connects to remote MCP servers like LMCP). LMCP exposes a standard MCP server at https://www.local-mcp.com/mcp, so you add it as a custom connector and authenticate with your token.

Does my data go to Perplexity’s servers or LMCP’s?

Neither stores it. The request passes through the LMCP relay to your Mac, which runs the tool locally and returns only the result. Cloud Data Forwarding is opt-in and off by default.

Do I need an API key or a paid plan?

No API keys. LMCP is free, and the connector is authenticated by your per-machine token — nothing to buy.