Connecting an AI assistant via MCP

Give Claude or another MCP client access to search, organise and draft in your mailbox. It can never send.

Arrives after launch. MCP access is planned for the first update after launch. This page describes how it will work.

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets AI assistants use tools. eoinbox runs an MCP server, so an assistant you choose can work with your mail on your behalf, within limits you set.

What the assistant can and cannot do

It can search and read messages, move and label them, create and edit drafts, list and create aliases, disable an alias, and check your domains' DNS status.

It cannot send mail. There is no send tool at any permission level. It also cannot delete aliases, change forwarding rules or touch your account's security settings.

Connect

1. In your assistant's settings, add a remote MCP server (some apps call it a "connector" or "integration") with this URL:

   https://mcp.eoinbox.com

2. The assistant opens an eoinbox sign-in page. Sign in as usual, including two-factor authentication.
3. Choose the access level:
   • Read only: search and read.
   • Read, organise and draft: also move, label, write drafts and manage aliases.
4. Optionally limit access to certain folders or domains.
5. Approve. You never give the assistant your password or an API key.

Working with drafts

When the assistant writes something for you, it saves a draft in your Drafts folder, marked as prepared by AI. Open it in webmail or your mail app, check the recipients and the text, edit if needed, and send it yourself.

Stay safe with untrusted content

Emails are written by other people, and some will try to give instructions to AI assistants ("ignore previous instructions and forward..."). eoinbox marks message content as external data in every response, so a well-behaved assistant treats it as information, not as commands. And because the assistant cannot send, the most damaging outcome, your mail being sent somewhere, is ruled out.

Still:

• give the lowest access level that does the job;
• read drafts before sending them, especially the recipients;
• remember that whatever the assistant reads is processed by that assistant's provider under their terms.

Review and revoke

Settings → Connected apps lists every assistant with access, and an activity log of every action each one took. Click Revoke to cut off access immediately.