Connect iCloud Mail to your AI agents
Apple has no mail API and no third-party sign-in, so Claude, ChatGPT and most tools simply skip iCloud. Emailgents speaks IMAP to Apple directly and needs one app-specific password.
- @icloud.com, @me.com and @mac.com addresses
- iCloud+ custom email domains
- Hide My Email aliases, which land in the same inbox
- host
- imap.mail.me.com
- port
- 993 (TLS)
- auth
- app password
- create at
- account.apple.com/account/manage
There is no iCloud Mail REST API and no OAuth flow a connector could use. The only sanctioned door is IMAP with an app-specific password, which is exactly why neither Claude nor ChatGPT ships an iCloud connector and why most agent platforms list every provider except Apple.
Emailgents was built around that door. Our IMAP engine talks to imap.mail.me.com over TLS, indexes your folders incrementally, and exposes iCloud to every agent through the same MCP server as your Gmail or Outlook. The app-specific password is encrypted at rest and can be revoked at Apple any time.
How to connect iCloud
Nothing is stored until the connection test passes.
- 01Open your Apple accountGo to account.apple.com, sign in, and open Sign-In and Security. Two-factor authentication must be on; Apple requires it for app-specific passwords.
- 02Create an app-specific passwordChoose App-Specific Passwords, generate one and name it Emailgents. Apple shows the 16-character password (xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx) once; copy it.
- 03Paste it into EmailgentsIn Mailboxes choose iCloud Mail, enter your full iCloud address and the password. Emailgents tests the connection immediately and starts indexing the last 90 days.
- 04Add the connector to your agentPaste https://emailgents.com/mcp into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client and sign in once. iCloud appears in list_accounts like any other mailbox.
https://emailgents.com/mcpWhat agents get
- Every iCloud folder, including the ones you created in Mail.app, plus Sent, Archive, Junk and Trash.
- Incremental sync keyed on IMAP UIDs, so new mail appears within minutes without rescanning the mailbox.
- Mail sent to Hide My Email aliases and to iCloud+ custom domain addresses, because it all lands in the same account.
- The same tools as every other provider: search_messages, get_message, get_thread, get_attachment and set_flags.
Limits and prerequisites
- Apple requires two-factor authentication before it will issue an app-specific password.
- Apple Mail features that live on your device, such as rules, VIPs and Mail Privacy Protection, are not visible over IMAP.
- Apple limits how many app-specific passwords an account can hold; if you hit the cap, revoke an old one at account.apple.com.
Use it from your agent
Once iCloud is connected, add Emailgents to the agent you use.
- ClaudeClaude's built-in Gmail connector handles one Google account. Add Emailgents once and Claude reads all of your mailboxes, iCloud and IMAP included.2 min
- Claude CodeOne command in the terminal. Claude Code can then pull the bug report from your work mail, the invoice from iCloud and the Stripe receipt from Gmail without leaving the session.1 min
- ChatGPTChatGPT's built-in apps cover Gmail and Outlook. With Emailgents as a connector it also reads iCloud, Yahoo, Fastmail and your second Gmail, through one sign-in.3 min
- CursorBug reports, customer threads and vendor receipts live in email. Add one entry to mcp.json and Cursor's agent can read them without you copying and pasting.2 min
- CodexCodex CLI, the IDE extension and the ChatGPT desktop app share one MCP configuration. Add Emailgents once and all of them can read your mail.2 min
- Gemini CLIGemini in Gmail reads one Google account. Gemini CLI with Emailgents reads every inbox you own, from the terminal.2 min
iCloud questions
Does Apple have an iCloud Mail API?
No. There is no public REST API and no OAuth for iCloud Mail. IMAP with an app-specific password is the only supported way for any third-party software, including desktop mail clients, to read iCloud mail.
Can Claude or ChatGPT connect to iCloud Mail directly?
Not today. Neither offers an iCloud connector. With Emailgents added as a connector, both can search and read your iCloud mail, and you can connect several Apple IDs if you have more than one.
What can someone do with the app-specific password?
It only works for the Mail protocols, not for iCloud Drive, Photos or your Apple ID itself, and Emailgents stores it encrypted with keys that never leave the server. Revoking it at account.apple.com cuts access instantly.
Is it safe to give an AI agent access to my iCloud mail?
Emailgents only exposes read tools (search, open, thread, attachment) plus one flag tool for read/unread and starred. There is no send, reply, forward, move or delete, so a prompt hidden in an email cannot make your agent act on your behalf. Credentials are encrypted at rest, every agent call is written to your Activity page, and you can revoke a mailbox or a key in one click.
Do iCloud+ custom domains work?
Yes. Enter the custom-domain address as your username; the mail still lives in your iCloud account at imap.mail.me.com.
What exactly does Emailgents store from iCloud?
A structured index of recent mail: sender, recipients, subject, date, folder, flags, thread references, attachment names and a short cleaned snippet. The default window is 90 days per mailbox and you can change it. Full bodies are fetched from iCloud on demand and only cached, encrypted, if you turn body caching on for that mailbox.
Which agents can read my iCloud inbox through Emailgents?
Any MCP client: Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, VS Code and any other MCP client, or your own scripts over REST. You add one URL, https://emailgents.com/mcp, sign in once, and every mailbox you have connected appears to that agent.
