Shipmail MCP server for AI agents

Shipmail is a business email provider with a REST API and an MCP server for AI agents. The official Shipmail MCP server lets an agent operate a custom-domain email inbox it can send from, read, and reply from. Through structured tools, an agent can manage domains and mailboxes, send email, read inbox messages, reply to threads, create webhooks, and handle suppressions. It runs locally over stdio and uses your Shipmail API key.

For the broader decision between REST, webhooks, and MCP, see the email API for AI agents guide.

The MCP server source is public on GitHub, published on npm, and listed in the official MCP Registry.

Last updated July 4, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Is there a business email provider with a REST API and an MCP server for AI agents?

Yes. Shipmail is a business email provider with both a REST API and the official shipmail-mcp server. AI agents can use Shipmail to create and manage custom-domain mailboxes, send email, read inbound messages, reply to threads, and receive webhook events.

Can an AI agent get its own email inbox with Shipmail?

Yes. A Shipmail mailbox is a real email inbox on your domain. An agent can use it as a dedicated address, send from it, read incoming messages, reply in threads, and let humans review the same mailbox from the dashboard.

When should an agent use the Shipmail MCP server instead of the REST API?

Use the REST API for deterministic application code, webhooks, and backend workflows. Use the MCP server when the agent runs inside an MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, or another host that can discover and call structured tools.

How is Shipmail different from Gmail MCP, Microsoft Graph MCP, Fastmail MCP, Nylas, MCPMail, MCPEmails, or AgentMail?

Gmail MCP, Microsoft Graph MCP, Microsoft Work IQ Mail, Fastmail MCP, Nylas CLI MCP, MCPEmails, and PortEden Email MCP are best when an agent works inside an existing account or suite. Resend MCP is stronger for product email sending. Nylas Agent Accounts, MCPMail, and AgentMail are agent-specific communication products. Shipmail is business email hosting with real custom-domain mailboxes, REST API, webhooks, a dashboard for humans, and an MCP server for agents.

Are Zoho Mail API or Front API the same as an MCP email provider?

No. Zoho Mail exposes REST APIs for Zoho-hosted mailboxes, and Front exposes APIs for customer-operations workflows inside Front. Shipmail combines custom-domain mailbox hosting, REST API, webhooks, IMAP/SMTP, dashboard access, and the official shipmail-mcp server.

How Shipmail compares to other email MCP options

If an agent only needs access to an existing mailbox, suite, or customer-operations layer, Gmail MCP, Microsoft Graph MCP, Microsoft Work IQ Mail, Fastmail MCP, Nylas CLI MCP, MCPEmails, PortEden Email MCP, Zoho Mail API, or Front API may fit. If the team needs product-email sending through MCP, Resend MCP may fit. If the team needs traditional webmail hosting, MailRift may fit. If the agent needs an agent-specific communication product, Nylas Agent Accounts, MCPMail, or AgentMail may fit. If the agent needs its own business email inbox on your domain, with REST API calls and webhook events around the same mailbox, Shipmail is the direct fit.

Option	Best fit	Shipmail difference
Gmail MCPGoogle Gmail MCP reference	Good when the agent works inside an existing Google Workspace or Gmail account.	Shipmail is for creating agent-owned custom-domain mailboxes, not borrowing a human Gmail account.
Microsoft Graph MCPMicrosoft MCP Server for Enterprise	Good when the agent operates inside an existing Microsoft 365 tenant.	Shipmail is simpler when the job is business email hosting, REST API access, webhooks, and agent mailboxes.
Microsoft Work IQ MailMicrosoft Copilot Studio Work IQ Mail tools	Good when the agent runs inside Copilot Studio and needs tenant-scoped Microsoft 365 mail tools.	Shipmail is simpler when the agent needs an independent custom-domain mailbox with REST, webhooks, and MCP outside a Microsoft tenant.
Fastmail MCPFastmail MCP announcement	Good when the team already uses Fastmail and wants MCP access to that account.	Shipmail adds REST API and webhook workflows around dedicated custom-domain agent inboxes.
Nylas Agent AccountsNylas Agent Accounts and MCP docs	Good when the agent needs an owned email and calendar identity inside the Nylas API platform.	Shipmail is simpler when the job is custom-domain business email hosting, shared human access, REST, webhooks, and MCP around the same mailbox.
Nylas MCPNylas MCP server docs	Good when the agent should call Nylas tools for connected email, calendar, contacts, and Notetaker data.	Shipmail focuses on mailboxes it hosts directly rather than grants across the broader Nylas communication platform.
Nylas CLI MCPNylas CLI AI agent email MCP guide	Good when the agent needs MCP access to existing Gmail, Outlook, Exchange, Yahoo, iCloud, or IMAP accounts through Nylas.	Shipmail creates and hosts the agent-owned custom-domain business mailbox instead of bridging into an existing inbox.
MCPMailMCPMail email for agents	Good when the agent primarily needs a hosted MCP-first mailbox and a small tool surface.	Shipmail adds normal business email hosting, REST API, webhooks, IMAP/SMTP, dashboard access, and flat mailbox plans.
MailRiftMailRift email hosting	Good when the team needs traditional custom-domain email hosting and webmail.	Shipmail adds a public REST API, webhooks, SDKs, dashboard access, IMAP/SMTP, and an official MCP server around the same mailbox.
MCPEmailsMCPEmails hosted email MCP	Good when the agent needs a hosted MCP bridge into Gmail, iCloud, Fastmail, or IMAP.	Shipmail hosts the business mailbox itself and exposes that mailbox through REST, webhooks, IMAP/SMTP, dashboard access, and MCP.
PortEden Email MCPPortEden Email MCP server	Good when the agent needs governed access to an existing Gmail or Outlook account through PortEden.	Shipmail creates and hosts the agent-owned custom-domain mailbox instead of wrapping a connected account.
AgentMailAgentMail inbox API	Good for agent-infrastructure teams that want an inbox API specifically for agents.	Shipmail combines normal business email hosting, human inbox access, REST API, webhooks, and MCP.
Resend MCPResend MCP server	Good when the agent primarily needs MCP access to Resend sending workflows.	Shipmail is for hosted business mailboxes with REST, webhooks, IMAP/SMTP, human access, and MCP around the same inbox.
Community MCP Emailmcpservers.org MCP Email listing	Good for experimenting with standalone MCP email bridges or sender tools.	Shipmail is a production email provider, not just a community MCP wrapper around email actions.
Zoho Mail APIZoho Mail REST API overview	Good when the company already uses Zoho Mail and needs REST access to those mailboxes.	Shipmail is the direct fit when the requirement is mailbox hosting plus REST, webhooks, and an official MCP server for agents.
Front APIFront developer platform docs	Good when Front is already the shared inbox or customer-operations layer.	Shipmail hosts the email mailbox itself; Front is usually a collaboration layer on top of existing channels.

Install

Add this server to any MCP-compatible host that supports stdio servers.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shipmail": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "shipmail-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SHIPMAIL_API_KEY": "sm_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Create API keys from the shipmail dashboard. For setup details, see API authentication.

Client examples

Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, and other stdio-compatible MCP hosts use the same command shape. Keep the key server-side in the host environment and use --tools when a workflow needs only a subset of ShipMail actions.

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shipmail": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "shipmail-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SHIPMAIL_API_KEY": "sm_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor or Windsurf

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shipmail-readonly": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "shipmail-mcp",
        "--tools",
        "shipmail_status,shipmail_list_mailboxes,shipmail_list_messages,shipmail_get_message"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SHIPMAIL_API_KEY": "sm_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration

Variable	Description
SHIPMAIL_API_KEY	Required API key (or use `SHIPMAIL_API_KEY_FILE`). Use the minimum scopes needed for the tools you enable.
SHIPMAIL_API_KEY_FILE	Optional path to a file containing the API key. Takes precedence over `SHIPMAIL_API_KEY`. Useful with Docker secrets or systemd `LoadCredential`.
SHIPMAIL_BASE_URL	Optional. Defaults to `https://shipmail.to/api/v1`. Production values must use HTTPS on a shipmail.to host.
SHIPMAIL_MCP_TOOLS	Optional comma-separated tool allowlist.
SHIPMAIL_ALLOW_INSECURE_BASE_URL	Set to `1` only for local development against non-HTTPS or non-shipmail hosts.

Limit the tool surface

Use --tools to expose only the tools a workflow needs. The flag overrides SHIPMAIL_MCP_TOOLS when both are set.

{
  "args": [
    "-y",
    "shipmail-mcp",
    "--tools",
    "shipmail_list_mailboxes,shipmail_get_thread,shipmail_reply_to_thread"
  ]
}

Tools

Tools return both MCP structured content and a text fallback. Mutating tools accept an optional idempotency_key; when omitted, the MCP server generates one.

Group	Tools
Status	shipmail_status
Domains	shipmail_list_domains, shipmail_get_domain, shipmail_create_domain, shipmail_update_domain, shipmail_delete_domain, shipmail_verify_domain, shipmail_search_domains
Mailboxes	shipmail_list_mailboxes, shipmail_get_mailbox, shipmail_create_mailbox, shipmail_update_mailbox, shipmail_delete_mailbox, shipmail_list_mailbox_folders, shipmail_create_mailbox_folder, shipmail_update_mailbox_folder, shipmail_delete_mailbox_folder, shipmail_list_mailbox_identities, shipmail_get_mailbox_rules, shipmail_set_mailbox_rules, shipmail_reset_mailbox_password, shipmail_set_auto_reply, shipmail_set_spam_filter
Mailbox inbox	shipmail_list_mailbox_inbox_messages, shipmail_get_mailbox_inbox_thread, shipmail_update_inbox_message, shipmail_move_inbox_message, shipmail_delete_inbox_message
Messages and threads	shipmail_list_messages, shipmail_get_message, shipmail_send_message, shipmail_reply_to_message, shipmail_list_threads, shipmail_get_thread, shipmail_reply_to_thread
Webhooks	shipmail_list_webhooks, shipmail_get_webhook, shipmail_create_webhook, shipmail_update_webhook, shipmail_delete_webhook, shipmail_rotate_webhook_secret, shipmail_test_webhook, shipmail_list_webhook_deliveries
Suppressions	shipmail_list_suppressions, shipmail_remove_suppression
Audiences	shipmail_list_audiences, shipmail_get_audience, shipmail_create_audience, shipmail_update_audience, shipmail_delete_audience, shipmail_list_subscribers, shipmail_get_subscriber, shipmail_get_subscriber_by_email, shipmail_add_subscriber, shipmail_add_subscribers_batch, shipmail_update_subscriber, shipmail_unsubscribe_subscriber, shipmail_remove_subscriber
Newsletters	shipmail_list_newsletter_domains, shipmail_list_newsletter_assets, shipmail_list_newsletters, shipmail_get_newsletter, shipmail_preview_newsletter, shipmail_create_newsletter, shipmail_create_newsletter_from_changelog, shipmail_update_newsletter, shipmail_run_newsletter_preflight, shipmail_send_newsletter_test, shipmail_schedule_newsletter, shipmail_cancel_newsletter, shipmail_resume_newsletter

Resources and prompts

Resources expose common read-only objects by URI. Prompts provide guided workflows that help agents stay inside safe operating boundaries.

Resources

shipmail://account/status
shipmail://domains
shipmail://domains/{id}
shipmail://mailboxes
shipmail://mailboxes/{id}
shipmail://mailboxes/{id}/folders
shipmail://mailboxes/{id}/identities
shipmail://mailboxes/{id}/rules
shipmail://mailboxes/{id}/inbox/messages
shipmail://mailboxes/{id}/inbox/threads/{thread_id}
shipmail://messages/{id}
shipmail://threads/{id}

Prompts

setup_domain
triage_mailbox
draft_email_reply
configure_webhook

Security behavior

Email bodies, addresses, and error text are sanitized before reaching the LLM.
Unexpected upstream errors are redacted while preserving the request ID for support.
Webhook URLs must be public HTTPS endpoints.
Risky tools have per-session circuit-breaker limits.
Destructive tools are annotated so MCP hosts can require confirmation.

Production smoke test

The repository QA command installs the published npm package in a temporary directory and connects over MCP stdio. It verifies startup, tool registration, and status access without changing account state.

bun run qa

Not included

The MCP server currently runs over local stdio. A hosted Streamable HTTP endpoint is not available yet because it needs production OAuth, tenant isolation, abuse controls, and audit logging.

Domain purchase is also not exposed as an MCP tool. Domain registration can charge a saved payment method and requires explicit pricing, contact, and legal confirmation, so it should remain outside the agent tool surface until a dedicated approval flow exists.