Install

Up and running in five minutes.

MailGlass needs Node 22.13+ and one config file. There is no cloud setup and no OAuth application to register.

1. Prerequisites

• Node.js 22.13+ (uses the built-in node:sqlite for the local index).
• Gmail: 2-Step Verification enabled, an app password created at myaccount.google.com/apppasswords, and IMAP enabled in Gmail settings. How to create one.
• Or any IMAP server: host, port, TLS mode, username and password.

2. Install

npm install -g mailglass-email-mcp
mailglass --version

Or run the container:

docker run -i --rm \
  -v "$PWD/config.json:/cfg/config.json:ro" \
  -e MAILGLASS_CONFIG=/cfg/config.json \
  anantanandgupta/mailglass-email-mcp

There are no ports: it is an MCP stdio server, so -i is required.

3. Write the config

One JSON file, at ~/.config/mailglass/config.json (or anywhere, via MAILGLASS_CONFIG). Secrets are references, never literals.

{
  "defaultAccount": "work",
  "accounts": [
    {
      "id": "work",
      "provider": "gmail",
      "email": "you@gmail.com",
      "auth": { "password": { "file": "~/.secrets/gmail_app_password" } }
    }
  ]
}

Save the app password as the only content of that file, then chmod 600 it. The full schema is in the configuration reference. If you do not have an app password yet, see Create a Gmail app password.

4. Connect your host

opencode, for example:

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "mailglass": {
        "type": "local",
        "command": ["mailglass"],
        "environment": {
          "MAILGLASS_CONFIG": "/Users/you/.config/mailglass/config.json"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Only the config path is passed, so no credential ever reaches a process environment.

5. Verify

mailglass --check

✓ config        /Users/you/.config/mailglass/config.json
✓ work (gmail)  y***@gmail.com  readOnly: true
✓ connect + auth imap.gmail.com:993
✓ folders       16
✓ capabilities  X-GM-EXT-1

Exit codes