Is there an official Gmail MCP server?
No. Google publishes the Gmail API; there is no MCP server from Google. Most Gmail MCP servers are self-hosted wrappers on that API, which means a Google Cloud project, an OAuth consent screen, a client id and secret in a config file, and a re-authorization every time the token expires. That is a lot of setup for one mailbox, and it stops at Gmail. Nilyo is hosted: you sign in with Google once and the mailbox is connected.
One URL, OAuth, about two minutes
The server is at https://nilyo.com/mcp over streamable HTTP. Add it as a connector in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client and choose OAuth: the client registers itself, opens a browser once, and you sign in and authorize the accounts the agent may reach. No key to generate, nothing to paste into a config file.
Labels are not folders
Gmail organizes by labels, and one message can carry several, which is why an assistant that treats labels as folders reports the same email three times. The tools return the identifiers to reuse and the listing to call again when one is stale, rather than guessing from a display name. An app password is only needed if you connect Gmail over IMAP instead of the Google sign-in, and that is the usual cause of a refused password on a two-factor account.
“What came into my Gmail this morning that actually needs an answer?”
Since yesterday means since yesterday
Asking for the last twelve hours has to return twelve hours. Date filtering is exact rather than rounded to the day, so a morning digest does not quietly re-include yesterday’s mail and a report of what arrived overnight is really overnight. It is the kind of detail nobody checks and everybody is misled by.
“Summarize what arrived in the last twelve hours, grouped by sender.”
Drafts first, sending second
An assistant that writes well still should not send on its own while you are learning how it writes. Creating a draft leaves the message in your own Gmail drafts, where you read it and press send yourself; attachments can be read first, so the answer is based on the PDF quote rather than on its filename. Sending exists, as an explicit action, when you want it.
“Draft an answer to this thread and leave it in my drafts.”
Gmail is rarely the only mailbox
Most people also have a work Outlook, a shared support box or a client mailbox on another host. Because the same tools cover all of them, one question can cross the lot — and that is the difference with a Gmail-only MCP server, which forces you to ask the same thing three times in three places.
“Did anyone answer about the September order, in any of my mailboxes?”
Common questions
Is there an official Gmail MCP server?
No. Google publishes the Gmail API, not an MCP server. Nilyo is a hosted MCP server that connects your Gmail with a normal Google sign-in — no Google Cloud project, no client secret in a config file — and reaches your other mailboxes with the same tools.
Do I need a Google Cloud project or an API key?
No. That is what self-hosted Gmail MCP servers require. Here you sign in with Google once, through a hosted flow, and the mailbox is connected.
Why is my Gmail password refused?
If you connected over IMAP on a two-factor account, Google expects an application-specific password rather than your account password. Using the Google sign-in avoids the question entirely.
Can it read attachments?
Yes, attachments come back as files, so a PDF quote or a scanned document can be read and used in the answer rather than merely mentioned.
Does it work with a Google Workspace account?
Yes, the same way as a personal Gmail. And the same tools reach an Outlook mailbox or a generic IMAP one, so a mixed setup is one connection each, not one integration each.
How Email works with Nilyo
Connection. Gmail and Microsoft 365/Outlook through their official sign-in (the “Unipile” name appears on the consent screen: Unipile SAS operates the connection). Any other mailbox through IMAP/SMTP: OVH, Zoho, iCloud, IONOS, Infomaniak, Fastmail, Yahoo, GMX and self-hosted servers.
What your agent can do. Folders and labels, listing and searching messages, reading with attachments, drafts, sending and true replies, moving and labelling, contacts on Gmail and Microsoft.
Pacing and safety. No local budget; provider limits apply. IMAP mailboxes are read live, so listings are paged (50 messages max per page).
- “How many emails today” uses the folder counts of the mailbox; “today” is a date filter, never a guess.
- On IMAP a message id changes after a move; Nilyo returns the new id so the agent keeps working on the right message.
All Email guides
Related guides
Give Nilyo to your agent.
Paste one setup link. Your agent can guide OAuth, account connection and the first useful action.