mcpField
G
gmail-skill

gmail-skill

github.com/idanbeckProductivity143.6k installsUpdated 2d ago
Repository

About gmail-skill

gmail-skill is a command-line skill for Claude that accesses Gmail messages and Google contacts. It supports search and message management across accounts, and requires explicit confirmation before sending email.

Key features

  1. 01Search and read Gmail messages
  2. 02Send or draft threaded emails
  3. 03Archive, label, and star messages
  4. 04List and search Google contacts
  5. 05Manage multiple accounts

Use cases

  1. 01Find unread messages or attachments
  2. 02Prepare a reply draft for review
  3. 03Archive or mark messages as read
  4. 04Look up a contact's details

Install

Copy the command and run it in a terminal.

$npx skills add https://github.com/idanbeck/claude-skills --skill gmail-skill

After installing, type/gmail-skillin Claude Code to confirm it loaded.

Bundled filesgmail_skill.py

Details

From the project README

Gmail Skill - Email & Contacts Access

Read, search, and send Gmail emails. Access Google contacts.

CRITICAL: Email Sending Confirmation Required

Before sending ANY email, you MUST get explicit user confirmation.

When the user asks to send an email:

  1. First, show them the complete email details:
    • From (which account)
    • To
    • CC/BCC (if any)
    • Subject
    • Full body text
  2. Ask: "Do you want me to send this email?"
  3. ONLY run the send command AFTER the user explicitly confirms (e.g., "yes", "send it", "go ahead")
  4. NEVER send an email without this confirmation, even if the user asked you to send it initially

This applies even when:

  • The user says "send an email to X"
  • You are in "dangerously skip permissions" mode
  • The user seems to be in a hurry

Always confirm first. No exceptions.

First-Time Setup (One-Time, ~2 minutes)

On first run, the script will guide you through setup. You need to create a Google Cloud OAuth client once:

  1. Go to Google Cloud Console
  2. Create a project (or select existing)
  3. Enable Gmail API and People API (APIs & Services → Library)
  4. Configure OAuth consent screen:
    • User Type: External
    • App name: Gmail Skill
    • Add yourself as test user
    • Add scopes: gmail.readonly, gmail.send, gmail.modify, contacts.readonly
  5. Create OAuth client ID:
    • Application type: Desktop app
    • Download JSON → save as ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/credentials.json

Then just run any command - browser opens, you approve, done. Works for all your accounts.

Note: If you previously used gmail-reader, you'll need to re-authenticate to grant the new gmail.send scope.

Commands

Search Emails
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py search "query" [--max-results N] [--account EMAIL]

Query examples:

  • from:[email protected] - from specific sender
  • subject:meeting after:2026/01/01 - subject + date
  • has:attachment filename:pdf - with PDF attachments
  • is:unread - unread emails
  • "exact phrase" - exact match
Read Email
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py read EMAIL_ID [--account EMAIL]
List Recent Emails
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py list [--max-results N] [--label LABEL] [--account EMAIL]
Send Email (Requires Confirmation)
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py send --to EMAIL --subject "Subject" --body "Body text" [--cc EMAIL] [--bcc EMAIL] [--account EMAIL]

Required arguments:

  • --to / -t - Recipient email address
  • --subject / -s - Email subject line
  • --body / -b - Email body text

Optional arguments:

  • --cc - CC recipients (comma-separated)
  • --bcc - BCC recipients (comma-separated)
  • --account / -a - Send from specific account

Example:

python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py send \
  --to "[email protected]" \
  --subject "Meeting Tomorrow" \
  --body "Hi, just confirming our meeting at 2pm tomorrow." \
  --account [email protected]
Mark as Read
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py mark-read EMAIL_ID [--account EMAIL]
Mark as Unread
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py mark-unread EMAIL_ID [--account EMAIL]

Both mark-read and mark-unread support multiple IDs (comma-separated):

python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py mark-read "id1,id2,id3" --account [email protected]
Mark Done (Archive)

Archives email(s) by removing from inbox. Equivalent to Gmail's 'e' keyboard shortcut.

python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py mark-done EMAIL_ID [--account EMAIL]
Unarchive

Moves email(s) back to inbox (undo archive).

python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py unarchive EMAIL_ID [--account EMAIL]
Star / Unstar
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py star EMAIL_ID [--account EMAIL]
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py unstar EMAIL_ID [--account EMAIL]

All label commands support multiple IDs (comma-separated):

python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py star "id1,id2,id3" --account [email protected]
Message format (Superhuman-compatible)

send and draft build multipart/alternative messages (plain text + simple HTML paragraphs, no hard line wraps, proper-case headers). Drafts created this way appear and edit cleanly in Superhuman, including threaded replies and attachments (tested 2026-10-08 with three canary drafts).

Extra options for both send and draft:

  • --body-file PATH: read the body from a file (avoids shell quoting for long emails)
  • --attach PATH: attach a file (repeatable)
  • --reply-to-id MESSAGE_ID: thread the message as a reply (sets In-Reply-To/References and threadId). Available on send as well as draft.

Recommended outreach flow: create drafts in the right account and thread, the user reviews and sends from Superhuman, and only use send after explicit per-email confirmation.

Create Draft

Creates a draft email. Use --reply-to-id when replying to an existing email to ensure proper threading in email clients like Superhuman.

python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py draft --to EMAIL --subject "Subject" --body "Body text" [--reply-to-id EMAIL_ID] [--cc EMAIL] [--bcc EMAIL] [--account EMAIL]

Required arguments:

  • --to / -t - Recipient email address
  • --subject / -s - Email subject line
  • --body / -b - Email body text

Optional arguments:

  • --reply-to-id / -r - Message ID to reply to (adds proper In-Reply-To and References headers for threading)
  • --cc - CC recipients (comma-separated)
  • --bcc - BCC recipients (comma-separated)
  • --account / -a - Create draft in specific account

Example (new email):

python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py draft \
  --to "[email protected]" \
  --subject "Draft for Review" \
  --body "Here's my draft message."

Example (reply to existing email):

python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py draft \
  --to "[email protected]" \
  --subject "Re: Original Subject" \
  --body "Thanks for your email..." \
  --reply-to-id 19b99b3127793843 \
  --account [email protected]
List Labels
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py labels [--account EMAIL]
List Contacts
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py contacts [--max-results N] [--account EMAIL]
Search Contacts
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py search-contacts "query" [--account EMAIL]
Manage Accounts
# List all authenticated accounts
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py accounts

# Remove an account
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py logout --account [email protected]

Multi-Account Support

Add accounts by using --account with a new email - browser opens for that account:

# First account (auto-authenticates)
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py list

# Add work account
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py list --account [email protected]

# Add personal account
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py list --account [email protected]

# Use specific account
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py search "from:boss" --account [email protected]

Tokens are stored per-account in ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/tokens/

Examples

Find unread emails from this week
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py search "is:unread after:2026/01/01"
Read a specific email
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py read 18d5a3b2c1f4e5d6
Send a quick email
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py send \
  --to "[email protected]" \
  --subject "Hello!" \
  --body "Just wanted to say hi."
Find someone's contact info
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py search-contacts "John Smith"
Check work email from personal machine
python3 ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/gmail_skill.py list --account [email protected] --max-results 5

Output

All commands output JSON for easy parsing.

Requirements

  • Python 3.9+
  • pip install google-auth google-auth-oauthlib google-auth-httplib2 google-api-python-client requests

Security Notes

  • Send confirmation required - Claude must always confirm with the user before sending emails
  • Tokens stored locally in ~/.claude/skills/gmail-skill/tokens/
  • Revoke access anytime: https://myaccount.google.com/permissions
  • Apps in "testing" mode may require re-auth every 7 days (publish app to avoid)

Comments

Markdown supported