forwardemail-mcp

forwardemail-mcp is an MCP server for Forward Email workflows. It exposes mail, calendar, and contacts tools over local stdio for development and Streamable HTTP for remote clients such as Notion Custom Agents.

The default configuration targets the public Forward Email service. If you run a self-hosted setup, override the service URLs in your environment.

Versioning:

• Releases use semver tags and GitHub Releases.
• The current public release is v0.1.2.

Auth model:

• FE_ALIAS_USER + FE_ALIAS_PASS + DAV URLs power mailbox, calendar, and contacts tools.
• FE_API_KEY is used for API-key-only actions such as sending mail.
• MCP_AUTH_TOKEN protects the public /mcp endpoint when you deploy remotely.

What It Does

• Read and search inbox messages with bounded metadata responses.
• Read individual messages and list folders.
• Send mail through the provider API.
• List, create, update, and delete calendar events.
• List, search, read, and create contacts.

Local Stdio Quickstart

1. To pin the current public release:

git checkout v0.1.2

1. Use Node 20.18.1 or newer. The repo pins 20.18.1 in .nvmrc and requires at least that version in package.json.

nvm use

1. Install dependencies:

npm install

1. Create local config from the example and fill in real values:

cp .env.example .env

1. Build the server:

npm run build

1. Point your MCP client at the built entrypoint. Example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "forwardemail": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/forwardemail-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_TRANSPORT": "stdio",
        "LOG_LEVEL": "info",
        "FE_API_URL": "https://api.forwardemail.net",
        "FE_API_KEY": "replace-with-api-key",
        "FE_CALDAV_URL": "https://caldav.forwardemail.net",
        "FE_CARDDAV_URL": "https://carddav.forwardemail.net",
        "FE_ALIAS_USER": "[email protected]",
        "FE_ALIAS_PASS": "replace-with-alias-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

MCP_TRANSPORT=stdio is the default, so npm run dev also works for local iteration.

Optional: 1Password SDK Mode

The runtime also supports resolving secrets directly from 1Password via the 1Password SDK.

1. Set AUTH_MODE=1password-sdk.
2. Export OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN.
3. Replace credential values with op://vault/item/field or op://vault/item/section/field references.

Example:

AUTH_MODE=1password-sdk
OP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN=ops_xxx
FE_API_URL=op://vault/forwardemail/api-url
FE_API_KEY=op://vault/forwardemail/api-key
FE_CALDAV_URL=op://vault/forwardemail/caldav-url
FE_CARDDAV_URL=op://vault/forwardemail/carddav-url
FE_ALIAS_USER=op://vault/forwardemail/alias-user
FE_ALIAS_PASS=op://vault/forwardemail/alias-pass

If AUTH_MODE=env, the server reads the plain environment variables instead.

Cloudflare Workers Deploy

1. Use Node 20.18.1 or newer before packaging or deploying the worker.

nvm use

1. Build the worker bundle:

npm run build

1. Set worker secrets:

wrangler secret put FE_API_URL
wrangler secret put FE_API_KEY
wrangler secret put FE_CALDAV_URL
wrangler secret put FE_CARDDAV_URL
wrangler secret put FE_ALIAS_USER
wrangler secret put FE_ALIAS_PASS
wrangler secret put MCP_AUTH_TOKEN

1. Optionally verify the Cloudflare bundle locally without deploying:

npm run cf:deploy:dry

1. Deploy:

npm run cf:deploy

1. Use the deployed MCP endpoint at your worker URL plus /mcp. GET /health can stay public; /mcp should stay behind a bearer token.

Connect to Notion Custom Agent

As of March 8, 2026, Notion documents custom MCP connections for Custom Agents on Business and Enterprise plans only, with workspace-admin enablement for custom MCP servers.

1. Ask a workspace admin to enable custom MCP servers in Settings -> Notion AI -> AI connectors.
2. Open the Custom Agent, then go to Settings -> Tools & Access.
3. Choose Add connection -> Custom MCP server.
4. Paste your public MCP URL ending in /mcp.
5. Set any display name you want.
6. Add header-based auth:

Authorization: Bearer <MCP_AUTH_TOKEN>

1. Save the connection, then enable the tools you want.
2. Keep write tools on Always ask unless you explicitly want automatic writes.

Each Custom Agent needs its own MCP connection.

Troubleshooting

• 401 Unauthorized: the bearer token sent by the client does not match MCP_AUTH_TOKEN.
• 404 Not found: use the /mcp path for MCP traffic, not the worker root URL.
• No tools show up in Notion: refresh the agent settings page, confirm the server is reachable, and reconnect if needed.
• Calendar or contacts fail: verify FE_ALIAS_USER, FE_ALIAS_PASS, FE_CALDAV_URL, and FE_CARDDAV_URL.
• Mail search feels too large: email_list_inbox and email_search intentionally clamp results and return metadata-only summaries.