Gmail MCP server for Claude (and ChatGPT Business): official, open source or hosted

Short answer: there are several ways to connect Gmail to Claude. Claude's built-in Gmail connector is the easiest start for one Google account: it can search, read, draft and send with your approval. Google's own Gmail MCP server can search and draft but not send, and you create the Google Cloud OAuth client yourself. A hosted connector such as Fezola handles the Google sign-in for you, puts several mailboxes behind one URL, saves drafts by default and reads attachments. Facts below come from Google, Anthropic and OpenAI documentation checked on 9 November 2026: they change fast, so check the links.

Route 1: the built-in connectors

Claude. According to Anthropic's help article on Google Workspace connectors, the Gmail connector is available for all users on Claude and Claude Desktop. You connect it in Customize, Connectors, sign in to Google, and turn it on per conversation. It can search and read email, draft, list drafts, and send, reply to and forward: by default Claude asks for your approval before each send, reply or forward, and on Team and Enterprise plans owners decide whether members can let these run without asking. Attachment content is not accessible (metadata only). The article describes the Google account you connected; Anthropic has been rolling out support for several accounts, so check the live page. (An older Anthropic documentation page described a read-only connector on paid plans, so check which page is current.)

ChatGPT. ChatGPT has a Gmail plugin you connect from Settings, Plugins. OpenAI's help page on connected accounts says some apps support more than one connected account, with a Connect another account option where available, and that actions depend on the app, your account and workspace controls. OpenAI lists the Gmail plugin as write-capable: check what your plan allows.

This is the right choice if you have one Google account and want the shortest setup. It does not cover iCloud, your own domain or Google Chat, and it cannot read attachment content.

Route 2: Google's own Gmail MCP server

Google offers an official remote server in Developer Preview, documented on Google for Developers:

• Endpoint: https://gmailmcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1 (Streamable HTTP).
• Tools: search_threads, get_thread, create_draft, list_drafts, list_labels, and label and unlabel tools for messages and threads.
• Scopes: gmail.readonly and gmail.compose.
• No send tool. create_draft puts the email in your Drafts folder, and you review and send it from Gmail.
• Setup is yours: a Google Cloud project, the Gmail API and Gmail MCP API enabled, an OAuth consent screen, and an OAuth client of type Web application with the option Use this client for an AI-powered agent selected. You add the redirect URI of your assistant.
• Assistants: Google lists Claude.ai and Claude Desktop (Enterprise, Pro, Max or Team plans) as a custom connector, Google Antigravity, and any app that supports remote MCP servers with OAuth.
• Multiple accounts: not stated.

It is a strong option if you are comfortable in Google Cloud and want Gmail drafts straight from Google. Expect an hour of setup, and a Preview label.

Route 3: open-source servers you run yourself

Many community servers exist. They run on your computer and use OAuth credentials you create in your own Google Cloud project. One of the best known, GongRzhe/Gmail-MCP-Server, offers a send_email tool and a draft tool, runs locally, and is MIT licensed. Its repository was archived by its owner on 3 March 2026 and is read-only, so check the maintenance status of whichever server you pick, and its send tool before you give an assistant access.

Route 4: a hosted connector

Fezola is a hosted MCP connector. For Gmail it asks Google for access through Continue with Google, so you do not create a Google Cloud project, and it uses Gmail over IMAP with OAuth. What it does, verified in its code:

• One search across mailboxes. search_messages queries one mailbox or all at once, and every result names its account.
• Drafts by default. reply_draft and create_draft save drafts in the mailbox that received the message. Direct sending is off by default: the send_message tool is only offered if you switch it on for a mailbox, flags addresses the mailbox has never written to, and each send is listed in your Fezola sent log.
• Same URL for others. The same connector holds iCloud, any IMAP mailbox, Google Chat and Telegram (read-only).

Honest limits:

• Full Gmail scope. To use IMAP with OAuth, Google requires the restricted https://mail.google.com/ scope, so Fezola asks for full access to the mailbox. It only acts on request, and you can revoke it at any time.
• A cap while Google verifies Fezola. An app that Google has not verified can be authorized by only 100 Google accounts, for life. Fezola stops at 95 and closes its Google buttons rather than send you into a Google refusal; past the cap, Gmail connects with a Gmail app password instead. The app tells you whether beta spots are open, and we promise nothing about when Google's verification will finish.
• A warning screen. While the app is unverified, Google shows a warning screen at sign-in.

Comparison

	Claude built-in	Google's server	Open source	Fezola
Setup	One click	Your own Google Cloud client	Your own Google Cloud client and install	Continue with Google, or an app password
Can create drafts	Yes	Yes	Varies	Yes
Can send	Yes, with your approval	No send tool	Some can	Opt-in, per mailbox
Several accounts	Check Anthropic's page	Not stated	Varies	Yes, plus iCloud and IMAP
Reads attachments	Metadata only	Not stated	Varies	PDF, Word, text, images
Where it runs	Anthropic's cloud	Google's endpoint	Your computer	Fezola's cloud
Status	Generally available	Developer Preview	Check maintenance	Google beta cap, see above

Connect Gmail with Fezola, step by step

1. Create a free Fezola account. The free plan includes 2 sources.
2. In Sources, add a mailbox, choose Gmail and select Continue with Google. If beta spots are full, create a Gmail app password and use it instead.
3. Add Fezola to Claude: Customize, Connectors, + Add, Add custom connector, paste https://api.fezola.com/mcp, then approve the access. See how to add a custom connector to Claude for every menu.
4. Ask: "What needs an answer in my Gmail today?" Claude calls search_messages or list_recent and each result names its account.

In ChatGPT, custom MCP servers are available on Business and Enterprise/Edu plans (Pro read-only): see how to add an MCP server to ChatGPT.

Security: scope and revocation

Whichever route you choose, check three things. The scope: read-only, compose, or full access. The send tool: can the assistant send without you? And revocation: you can remove any app's access in your Google Account permissions, and in Fezola you can see connected assistants and revoke them (list_connected_assistants, revoke_assistant). More in is it safe to connect your email to an AI?.

For several Gmail accounts together, see Gmail, iCloud and IMAP inboxes together, and for a broader comparison, best email MCP servers. New to MCP? What is an email MCP server.