To connect Gmail or Outlook to Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor, connect the mailbox to an email MCP server and add that server's URL to your client. With Fluxmail Cloud, you connect the mailbox once in the dashboard, add https://cloud.fluxmail.ai/mcp to each client, and approve which mailboxes and permissions that client gets. The same mailbox then works in every client you use.
Claude and ChatGPT both have built-in Gmail connectors. They're enough if Gmail is your only mailbox, that app is your only client, and you don't need attachment contents. An MCP server is worth the extra step when you also use Outlook or IMAP, want the same mailbox in several clients, need to read attachments, or want to limit what each client can do. Fluxmail vs Claude Gmail and Fluxmail vs ChatGPT Gmail cover the differences. For Google's and Microsoft's own MCP servers, see Fluxmail vs Gmail MCP Server and Fluxmail vs Work IQ MCP.
How do I connect my mailbox to Fluxmail Cloud?
- Sign up for Fluxmail Cloud and choose a plan. A workspace's first subscription includes a seven-day trial, and checkout asks for payment details.
- Open Mailboxes and choose Gmail or Outlook.
- Sign in with Google or Microsoft and approve the requested permissions. Gmail asks for
gmail.modify. Outlook asks forMail.ReadWrite,Mail.Send,MailboxSettings.Read,User.Read, andoffline_access. Approve all of them; you limit each AI client separately in the next step.
For iCloud, Yahoo, AOL, or Fastmail, choose IMAP and SMTP, and the dashboard fills in the server settings. Other providers need their IMAP and SMTP servers. Use an app password if your provider requires one. On Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, your admin may need to approve Fluxmail first; troubleshooting covers blocked consent. How to give an AI agent access to your email safely covers how much access to give an agent.
How do I choose what the AI client can do?
Pick the permissions before you add the URL. The setup page has three presets:
- Read only: search and read mail and download attachments.
- Read and write: adds drafts, organizing, and moving mail to Trash, but no sending.
- Full mail access: adds sending and forwarding.
You approve them in the browser when the client signs in. The plain URL https://cloud.fluxmail.ai/mcp requests Full mail access. To request less, add a scopes query. For example, https://cloud.fluxmail.ai/mcp?scopes=mail.read asks only for read access. The MCP setup page builds the URL for any combination. You can also uncheck permissions on the approval page, including Send emails.
How do I connect Claude?
Fluxmail is in Claude's connector directory, which works in Claude Desktop and Claude on the web:
- Open Customize > Connectors and select Discover.
- Search for Fluxmail and select +.
- Sign in to Fluxmail, pick a workspace and mailboxes, and approve the permissions.
- Turn the connector on for your conversation.
The directory connector requests Full mail access, so uncheck anything you don't want before you approve. If you use Claude through an organization, an administrator may need to allow the connector first.
How do I connect ChatGPT?
In ChatGPT on the web:
- Go to chatgpt.com/plugins, select the plus button, then Add custom MCP server.
- Enter a name and description, and paste the MCP URL under Connection.
- Choose OAuth, accept the warning, and select Create as a plugin.
- Sign in to Fluxmail and approve access when ChatGPT asks.
Your ChatGPT account or workspace has to allow custom MCP servers, and in an organization, an admin may have to add the server.
In the ChatGPT desktop app, open Settings > MCP servers and select Add server. Enter a name such as fluxmail-cloud, paste the URL, choose Streamable HTTP, save, and select Restart. Then select Authenticate next to the server and approve access in your browser. The desktop app shares its MCP servers with Codex on the same computer.
How do I connect Cursor?
Add the server to .cursor/mcp.json in your project, or to ~/.cursor/mcp.json to use it in every project:
{
"mcpServers": {
"fluxmail-cloud": {
"url": "https://cloud.fluxmail.ai/mcp?scopes=mail.read"
}
}
}
Enable fluxmail-cloud in Cursor and follow its sign-in prompt. This example is read-only. Remove the ?scopes=mail.read query to request Full mail access, or build another URL on the setup page.
How do I connect Claude Code or Codex?
Claude Code adds the server from the terminal. Run this in your project, approve the project server, and finish signing in when the browser opens:
claude mcp add-json --scope project fluxmail-cloud '{"type":"http","url":"https://cloud.fluxmail.ai/mcp?scopes=mail.read","oauth":{"scopes":"mail.read offline_access"}}'
claude mcp login fluxmail-cloud
For Codex:
codex mcp add fluxmail-cloud --url 'https://cloud.fluxmail.ai/mcp?scopes=mail.read'
codex mcp login fluxmail-cloud --scopes mail.read,offline_access --oauth-client-registration dcr
Start a fresh session and run /mcp to check the server. Both examples request read-only access. The MCP setup page generates these commands for other permissions, and also covers Hermes, Muse, and any other client that supports Streamable HTTP and MCP OAuth.
How do I check that it worked?
Ask the client to list your five most recent emails. That calls list_accounts and list_emails without opening message bodies or changing anything. If a tool you expected is missing, check the permissions you approved. Cloud lists only the tools a connection may use, so a read-only connection has no send_email or create_draft. Troubleshooting covers sign-in and connection errors.
To change which mailboxes a client can use, edit its connection in Connections. To stop a client, revoke its connection there. Removing the server from the client doesn't revoke it.
Can I do this with self-hosted Fluxmail instead?
Yes. Choose self-hosted if you want credentials on your own hardware or need scheduled sending, which Cloud doesn't offer. Self-hosted Fluxmail runs on your own computer or server, and its Personal plan is free for one member and three mailboxes. It needs Node.js 22.22 or later:
npm install -g fluxmail
fluxmail setup --name "Your name" --email you@example.com
fluxmail accounts add gmail
Gmail uses Fluxmail's bundled Google app for local setups. Outlook needs your own Microsoft Entra app registration first; Connect Outlook walks through it.
Claude Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop, and the ChatGPT desktop app can launch Fluxmail on the same computer over stdio. For Claude Code:
claude mcp add fluxmail -- fluxmail stdio --profile read-only
ChatGPT and Claude on the web connect from their own servers, so they need a self-hosted Fluxmail server with a public HTTPS URL. Connect an MCP client has the configuration for each client.
Frequently asked questions
Can I connect more than one mailbox to the same AI client?
Yes. Connect each mailbox in the Fluxmail dashboard, then select the ones the client may use when you approve it. Pro includes ten mailboxes and Business includes twenty per member. The agent calls list_accounts to see which mailboxes it has.
Do I need to install anything?
Not for Fluxmail Cloud with Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor. You add a URL and sign in. Claude Code and Codex are terminal tools, so you run the commands above. Self-hosted Fluxmail needs Node.js or Docker.
Does it work with personal Gmail accounts?
Yes. Personal Gmail and Google Workspace accounts both connect through Google sign-in. If your organization restricts third-party apps, a Workspace admin may need to allow Fluxmail first.
Can I use the same connection in Claude and ChatGPT?
No. Each client signs in separately and gets its own connection, so you can give ChatGPT read-only access and Claude drafting access to the same mailbox, and revoke one without affecting the other.
Is Fluxmail free?
Self-hosted Fluxmail is free for one member and three mailboxes. Fluxmail Cloud costs $15 a month for Pro or $25 per member a month for Business, after a seven-day trial. See pricing.