Add Email to Agent (Gmail)

Gives the agent access to email via MCP tools. Read, search, send, and manage emails from the bot.

This is optional. Email is not core to GhostClaw. But it's useful — your bot can read verification codes, check for urgent emails, send summaries, or flag things that need attention. One practical use: the bot reads its own auth codes automatically during setup.

Email providers

Gmail is the easiest path because there's a well-maintained MCP server for it. But this isn't Gmail-specific — any email provider with an MCP server or IMAP access works. Options:

The Gmail route is documented here. For other providers, the wiring is identical — just swap the MCP server command in the agent runner config.

Gmail setup

1. Google Cloud OAuth (one-time)

This is the fiddly part. You need a Google Cloud project with Gmail API enabled:

1. Go to Google Cloud Console
2. Create a project (or use existing)
3. Enable the Gmail API
4. Create OAuth 2.0 credentials (Desktop app type)
5. Download the credentials JSON

Then authenticate the MCP server:

npx @gongrzhe/server-gmail-autoauth-mcp

Follow the browser OAuth flow. This creates credentials in ~/.gmail-mcp/.

2. Enable in GhostClaw

Add to .env:

GMAIL_MCP_ENABLED=1

3. Rebuild and restart

cd container/agent-runner && npx tsc
launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/com.ghostclaw  # macOS
# systemctl --user restart ghostclaw               # Linux

4. Test

Send a message to the bot: "Check my recent emails"

What the agent can do

With email enabled, the agent has these MCP tools:

How it works

The agent runner at container/agent-runner/src/index.ts conditionally adds the Gmail MCP server when GMAIL_MCP_ENABLED=1 is set. The server runs as a child process of the agent, inheriting HOME for OAuth credential discovery.

Disabling

Remove GMAIL_MCP_ENABLED=1 from .env and restart. The agent won't have email tools on next invocation.

Using other email providers

To swap Gmail for another provider, edit container/agent-runner/src/index.ts and change the MCP server command in the gmail config block. The rest of the wiring (conditional enable via env var, tool permissions) stays the same.