GhostPaw Email MCP¶
An assistant that can read a mailbox is useful. An assistant that re-reads ten thousand messages from the server every time you ask a question is not.
Server type: Local (stdio)
Install: npx -y @ghostpaw/email mcp
Package: @ghostpaw/email 0.5.10, MIT
Runtime: Node.js 24 or newer
Protocols: IMAP for reading, SMTP for sending
Cache: local SQLite with threading, full-text search, folder sync
Dependencies: none at runtime
Tools: mail_read, mail_search, mail_compose, mail_organize, mail_sync
Why This Matters for Operators¶
Standards-based email is the least fashionable and most portable option in this catalogue. Every hosted email connector here depends on one vendor's API, its quotas and its continued goodwill. IMAP and SMTP have been the same for decades and work against whatever mailbox a business already pays for, including a tired shared inbox that nobody wants to migrate.
The design decision worth recording is the local cache. The server keeps a SQLite copy with threading, full-text search and folder synchronisation, so a question about last year's correspondence is answered from disk rather than by crawling the server. mail_search can search the local cache or the server, and mail_sync is the tool that reconciles the two.
The engine is written with no runtime dependencies, which for a component that sits next to credentials is a meaningful property rather than a stylistic one: there is no dependency tree to audit.
The Five Tools¶
mail_readshows folders, the message queue, threads and single messages.mail_searchsearches the local cache or the server, which is the difference between a fast answer and a slow one.mail_composesends new mail, replies and forwards, and saves drafts.mail_organizemarks, moves, labels, archives or trashes messages.mail_syncmanages the IMAP connection and keeps local state in step with the server.
The same five tools power the stdio server, the ghostpaw-email command-line tool, an Agent Skill and a TypeScript library, so behaviour is one implementation rather than four.
What Was Verified¶
The npm registry entry for @ghostpaw/email resolved on 29 October 2026 at version 0.5.10, licence MIT, repository github.com/GhostPawJS/email, with two bins, email and ghostpaw-email. The description states the shape directly: a standalone IMAP/SMTP email engine for Node.js with a SQLite local cache, threading, sync and zero dependencies, with a built-in LLM tool facade. Author is Maximilian Stroh, and the official registry entry is io.github.GhostPawJS/email.
Limits Worth Recording¶
IMAP and SMTP are credentials, not OAuth grants, on most providers. Nothing in this server changes the fact that an app password usually has to be issued, and that the password grants whatever the mailbox grants. Scope it at the provider where the provider allows it.
A local cache is a local copy of correspondence. It sits on the machine running the server, under the operator's control, and that is a retention question someone should answer deliberately.
There is no hosted endpoint. Browser chat clients cannot reach a stdio server, so this works in Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and similar local clients.
FAQ¶
Does it work with any email provider?¶
Any provider that offers IMAP and SMTP, which is most of them including self-hosted and shared hosting accounts.
Why keep a local cache?¶
So search and threading are fast and cheap. mail_search can read the cache, and mail_sync reconciles it with the server, so a question does not cost a full traversal of the mailbox.
Can the agent send mail?¶
Yes, through mail_compose, which sends new mail, replies and forwards, and can save a draft instead of sending.
What are the runtime requirements?¶
Node.js 24 or newer. The engine itself has no runtime dependencies.
Can I use it from the ChatGPT or Claude web app?¶
No. It is a local stdio server, so it needs a desktop or local client.
Integration with CorpusIQ¶
CorpusIQ is the connector layer that lets AI assistants read the systems a business already runs on - accounting, payments, CRM, email, files and analytics - and answer with the source named. It is read-only by design: it retrieves data and never writes to, or acts in, a connected system, which is what makes it safe to point at live accounts.
This page is part of the CorpusIQ directory, the reference we maintain for the MCP server and agent-skill ecosystem. Run alongside CorpusIQ, a third-party server like this one can be combined with a company's own business data in a single answer.