bytemail
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Email MCP for Claude desktop app

Connect Claude to your email.

One click in bytemail installs its extension in Claude's desktop app. Then Claude can search, read and tidy every account in bytemail — Gmail, iCloud, Outlook, Yahoo or IMAP — and draft the replies for you to send.

Set it up Try bytemail free
Gmail iCloud Outlook Microsoft 365 Yahoo Fastmail any IMAP server
Set up

4 steps, a minute or two.

You need bytemail 1.5.5 or later on your Mac. Settings › AI in bytemail has the same commands and config, with the exact path for your copy filled in.

  1. 1

    Turn on bytemail MCP

    In bytemail, open Settings › AI, switch on Turn on bytemail MCP and pick the accounts Claude may see. It stays off until you do.

  2. 2

    Click Add to Claude

    In the same pane, click Add to Claude. Claude's desktop app opens the bytemail extension and shows its install sheet.

  3. 3

    Install the extension

    Click Install in Claude. Claude warns about every extension installed from a file, because it runs on your Mac as you; bytemail's only reads its own mail store and your mail servers.

  4. 4

    Ask Claude about your mail

    Start a new chat and ask. The first time Claude uses a bytemail tool it asks for permission: choose Allow always or Allow once.

Prefer to add it by hand?

In Claude, open Settings › Developer › Edit Config, add bytemail to claude_desktop_config.json, save and restart Claude. 

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bytemail": {
      "command": "/Applications/ByteMail.app/Contents/MacOS/ByteMail",
      "args": ["--mcp"]
    }
  }
}
Then just ask

Try asking Claude.

You stay in charge

Claude does the busywork. You make the calls.

Big changes wait for you Sending, sending later, a new rule, removing a label, unsubscribing or blocking: bytemail shows you exactly what's proposed and asks — in bytemail, not in the AI app.
Everything else can be undone Settings › AI › Activity lists what each AI app did, with Undo. Anything touching more than 25 conversations at once asks first.
Only the accounts you pick Share your work account and keep your personal one to yourself. Spam and Trash are never visible, and AI apps can't delete mail.
All 27 tools and safeguards →
Questions

Good to know

Does it work on claude.ai or the Claude iPhone app?

Not yet. The MCP server runs on your Mac next to bytemail, so it works with Claude's desktop app on that Mac.

Claude isn't installed yet.

bytemail offers to save the extension instead. Install Claude for Mac, then open the saved file with Claude, or use Settings › Extensions › Install Extension there.

What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol is the open standard AI apps use to talk to other software. bytemail includes an MCP server, so any app that speaks MCP can work with your mail through it.

Does it cost extra?

No. It is part of bytemail on every plan, the free trial included — every tool, not just reading.

Does my mail go to bytemail's servers?

No — that hasn't changed. What an AI app reads goes to that app, and to its provider if the model runs in the cloud. Use a local model, in LM Studio for example, and nothing leaves your Mac.

Can it send email without me?

Not unless you say so. Every send asks you in bytemail first; the only exception is addresses you chose to trust for that session.

Can it delete my mail?

No. AI apps can archive, move, mark, flag, snooze and mute — never delete, and never touch Spam or Trash. Removing a label moves its mail back to your inbox; only if you ask does it go to Trash, where you can restore it.

Other AI apps

Bring Claude to every inbox.

Try bytemail free for 7 days — the MCP server included — then $3.99 a month, or pay once and keep it.

Choose a plan

Mac + iPhone, one licencebytemail for iPhone is in App Store review, coming soon. Included free.

  • 5 devices, one licence
  • Cancel anytime
  • No charge for 7 days
  • Instant key delivery

Claude and Claude Code are trademarks of Anthropic. Codex is a trademark of OpenAI. VS Code and GitHub Copilot are trademarks of Microsoft. Cursor, LM Studio and Windsurf are trademarks of their owners. bytemail isn't affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.

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