Gmail MCP server: official, Claude, ChatGPT and open source

A Gmail MCP server lets an AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT search and read your Gmail, and sometimes label, draft or send email. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the standard way these assistants connect to other apps. There's an official Google server, connectors inside Claude and ChatGPT, and dozens of GitHub projects. They differ a lot in setup and in what they let an agent do. For other providers, see email MCP servers compared.

Gmail MCP options compared

Checked on 27 October 2026, from Google's, Anthropic's and OpenAI's help pages, MailTag's documentation and the GitHub projects.

? = not documented. Claude asks before each send by default. ChatGPT sends on paid plans, on the web, after you choose to send its draft. Open-source and IMAP servers vary; over IMAP, labels are folders. MailTag sees only email it labeled in the last 30 days; relabeling, drafts and sending stay off until you allow them.

Google's official Gmail MCP server

Google lists an official Gmail server (Google for Developers, updated 12 October 2026). It can search and read threads, list labels, add or remove labels, and write drafts. It can't send: the agent leaves a draft and you send it from Gmail.

The catch is the setup. The server is part of Google's Workspace Developer Preview Program, which asks for a Google Workspace account to join. Then you set up your own Google Cloud project and paste its keys into Claude as a custom connector. For Claude, Google asks for a Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise plan. It has been a public preview since 1 May 2026 (Workspace Updates), and still is. Google doesn't say whether personal @gmail.com accounts work.

Claude's Gmail connector

Claude includes a Gmail connector for all users (Anthropic). Turn it on from the + menu in a chat under Connectors, or in Customize → Connectors, and sign in with Google. It searches, reads, drafts, sends, replies and forwards, asking for your approval before each send by default. It manages labels and threads, and sees attachment names but not their content.

Anthropic says connector data is stored with the chat and deleted with it, and that it doesn't train on Gmail connector data. On Team and Enterprise plans, an owner has to enable the connector first, and can let members skip the approval step.

ChatGPT's Gmail app

You connect Gmail in ChatGPT under Settings → Plugins (OpenAI). Since 8 June 2026 it can also draft and send email from a chat: ChatGPT writes the draft and you choose to send it (OpenAI release notes). Sending works on the web, on the Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise plans. OpenAI says it doesn't train its models on data from connected Google apps (Google app data FAQ).

Open-source Gmail MCP servers

Open-source servers usually cover Gmail and the rest of Google Workspace: sending, filters, attachments, Drive and Calendar. Some have a read-only mode. The price is the setup: you create your own Google Cloud project. With a personal Gmail account, until Google verifies that project you have to sign in again every week. One that many older guides still link to, GongRzhe's Gmail-MCP-Server, is archived and no longer maintained.

There's also the IMAP route, IMAP being the standard way mail apps reach a mailbox. You use a generic IMAP MCP server with a Gmail app password. It's quick, but the app password opens the whole mailbox, deleting included.

Risks to keep in mind

• The agent sees everything. Every option above except MailTag reaches the whole mailbox. Google's own page tells you to avoid untrusted emails, which can carry hidden instructions for the agent. See email prompt injection.
• Sending without a check. Many community servers send as soon as the agent asks. Start with drafts.
• Where the access lives. A server on your computer keeps the access on your disk. Revoke it in your Google account when you stop.

For developers

• Google's server: https://gmailmcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1. Tools: search_threads, get_thread, create_draft, list_drafts, list_labels, label_thread, unlabel_thread, label_message and unlabel_message. Scopes: gmail.readonly and gmail.compose.
• Setup: enable the Gmail API and the Gmail MCP API, configure the OAuth consent screen, create a "Web application" OAuth client marked "for an AI-powered agent", paste its ID and secret into Claude.
• A Cloud project with an external user type left in "Testing" gets refresh tokens that expire after 7 days (Google OAuth 2.0). Publishing it means Gmail scope verification. Workspace accounts can use an internal app instead.
• ChatGPT's Gmail app asks for the gmail.modify scope.
• google_workspace_mcp: MIT, --read-only mode and per-service permissions, tool tiers, local or remote, personal and Workspace accounts.
• Gmail-MCP-Server: archived.

Gmail and MailTag's MCP server

MailTag connects to Gmail or Google Workspace with an app password and sorts each new email into your own categories as Gmail labels. It also offers its own MCP server at https://mailtag.app/mcp. Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor sign in with your MailTag account; scripts use a key.

What changes is how much the agent gets. For each one you choose the mailboxes, the categories or saved views, and how far back (30 days, 7 days, today or from now on). You also choose whether it sees the sender, the subject, the email's text and its attachments.

Then what it may do: move emails between categories, edit categories and saved views, and write drafts (replies, reply-all, forwards or new email) that you send from your mailbox's Drafts. Sending is a separate switch: replies only or new email too, only to people you've replied to or anyone, up to 10, 50 or 200 a day. All of this is off until you turn it on. It can never delete email or move it out of your mailbox.

It isn't a full Gmail search: it sees only email MailTag labeled in the last 30 days. For an agent that answers "what needs a reply today?", that is usually the point. Details in the MCP docs and in connect Claude or ChatGPT to email.

FAQ

Does Google have an official Gmail MCP server?

Yes, in developer preview. You need to join Google's preview program and set up your own Google Cloud project.

Can the Gmail MCP server send email?

Google's server can't: it writes drafts that you send from Gmail. Claude's Gmail connector can send, reply and forward, asking you first by default.

Why do I have to sign in to my Gmail MCP server every week?

If your own Google Cloud project is for external users and still in testing mode, Google makes the sign-in expire after 7 days. Publishing the project fixes it, but then Google has to verify it.

Can I give an agent read-only access to Gmail?

Google's server can read and draft but not send, and some open-source servers have a read-only mode. Claude's connector asks before sending, but the permission you give Google still includes sending.

Does Gmail MCP work with Google Workspace accounts?

Yes. Workspace admins control third-party access in the Admin console, and may need to mark Claude's connector as trusted.