Better Email MCP

IMAP/SMTP email for AI agents -- read, send, organize folders, and manage attachments across multiple accounts, with auto-discovery. Its 7 documented tools cluster into config, run & execute, messages, folders. It runs locally over stdio via the published package.

People who work with email, imap and smtp and want it reachable from Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in TypeScript.

NO LONGER MAINTAINED

LAST COMMIT 2026-09-13 · ★ 34 · VERIFIED 2026-09-18

Apache-2.0 · TypeScript servers · how we verify → /methodology

01 · Install Better Email MCP

before you install - you'll need

Set EMAIL_CREDENTIALS, CREDENTIAL_SECRET, OUTLOOK_TENANT, OUTLOOK_EXTRA_DOMAINS, PUBLIC_URL, MCP_STORAGE_BACKEND before connecting.

Claude Code

claude mcp add n24q02m-better-email-mcp -- npx -y @n24q02m/better-email-mcp

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n24q02m-better-email-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@n24q02m/better-email-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Same JSON for Cursor. For VS Code, rename the top-level key from `mcpServers` to `servers`.

Using another client? Same JSON, different key

Claude Desktop · mcpServers

Cursor · mcpServers

VS Code · servers

Windsurf · mcpServers

Zed · context_servers

Cline · mcpServers

Roo Code · mcpServers

Continue · mcpServers

LibreChat · mcpServers

Gemini CLI · mcpServers

Codex CLI · mcp_servers

Full setup guides: every client.

02 · Evidence

Security posture

What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.

runs as local process (stdio) - runs on your machine with your user's permissions · container (OCI image) - can be sandboxed away from your filesystem

repository archived on GitHub - read-only; no future fixes, security or otherwise

license Apache-2.0 - declared in the repository

npm package @n24q02m/better-email-mcp - published under the repo owner's npm scope (@n24q02m)

registry namespace io.github.n24q02m is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner

03 · What Better Email MCP can do

Prose above is summarized from the project's README and registry record - no invented capabilities.

What you can build

With this server connected, an agent can search, read, mark_read, mark_unread, flag, unflag, move, archive, trash, new, reply, forward, list, status, and list, download.

Capability map

Tools grouped from the project's README - what Better Email MCP lets an agent do.

Config

2 tools - e.g. status, setup_status, setup_start, setup_reset, setup_complete, set, cache_clear; -

config · config__open_relay

run & execute

1 tool - e.g. messages (action: new \

send

Messages

1 tool - e.g. search, read, mark_read, mark_unread, flag, unflag, move, archive, trash, new, reply, forward

messages

Folders

1 tool - e.g. list, status

folders

Attachments

1 tool - e.g. list, download

attachments

Help

1 tool - e.g. -

help

Latest releases

v1.41.5 · 2026-09-13

v1.41.5 (2026-09-13) · Bump mcp-core to 1.24.1 (#1188, 0814393) · --- · Detailed Changes: v1.41.4...v1.41.5

v1.41.4 · 2026-09-12

v1.41.4 (2026-09-12) · Update mcp-core stable pin to 1.24.0 (#1185, 8f99f92) · Update minor dependencies (#1185, 8f99f92) · Fix stale two-branch comment (single-main lane) · --- · Detailed Changes: v1.41.3...v1.41.4

v1.41.3 · 2026-09-12

v1.41.3 (2026-09-12) · Update wrangler to ^4.129.0 (#1186, 16dc4d9) · Single-main release lane (staging branch retired) · Align IaC with repo-bootstrap template · Align IaC with repo-bootstrap template · --- · Detailed…

04 · Who maintains Better Email MCP

better-email-mcp is maintained by n24q02m. We track 9 MCP servers from n24q02m - 3 actively maintained, 219 combined GitHub stars, oldest repo from Dec 2025. Full record: all servers from n24q02m.

05 · Facts

repository: github.com/n24q02m/better-email-mcp
category: email - dead as of 2026-09-18.
release cadence: 9 releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-09-13)
registry: io.github.n24q02m/better-email-mcp (active, first published 2026-03-06 · 67 versions)
packages: npm:@n24q02m/better-email-mcp · oci:docker.io/n24q02m/better-email-mcp:latest

06 · Better Email MCP FAQ

Is Better Email MCP still maintained?

Its last commit was 2026-09-13 (as of 2026-09-18) - we classify it as dead.

What can Better Email MCP do?

With this server connected, an agent can search, read, mark_read, mark_unread, flag, unflag, move, archive, trash, new, reply, forward, list, status, and list, download.

How do I install Better Email MCP?

Run `npx -y @n24q02m/better-email-mcp`. The README documents 6 environment variables (EMAIL_CREDENTIALS, CREDENTIAL_SECRET, OUTLOOK_TENANT…) to set first. Set EMAIL_CREDENTIALS, CREDENTIAL_SECRET, OUTLOOK_TENANT, OUTLOOK_EXTRA_DOMAINS, PUBLIC_URL, MCP_STORAGE_BACKEND before connecting. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Better Email MCP run locally?

Yes - it's a stdio server: it runs on your machine (via npx) with your user's permissions. Your data stays local unless the server itself calls external APIs.

07 · Alternatives to Better Email MCP

Alternatives to Better Email MCP

Maintained email servers if Better Email MCP isn't the fit.