Agent Email vs Cv MCP Server
A side-by-side look at the Agent Email and Cv MCP Server MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Agent Email for communication work as a local process; choose Cv MCP Server for communication as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Agent Email when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Communication domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
list_emails, read_email, search_emails.
Choose Cv MCP Server when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Communication domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: other.
- You have the keys it needs:
CARBON_VOICE_API_KEY, LOG_LEVEL, LOG_DIR. - You want tools like
list_messages, get_message, get_recent_messages.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Communication | Communication |
| Quality signal | 63/100 · Good | 64/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | other |
| Pricing | Not declared | BYOK (pay the provider) |
| Required env vars | None listed | CARBON_VOICE_API_KEYLOG_LEVELLOG_DIR |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 6 | 10 |
| Directory activity | 3 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 5 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 27 | 42 |
| Full listing | View Agent Email | View Cv MCP Server |
Tools & capabilities
Agent Email tools 27
list_emailsList recent emails with filtering by unread status, folder, sender, and limit. Use offset for pagination. A row with `isDraft: true` is an unsent draft — it has NOT been sent, and its `receivedAt` is provider-supplied metadata, not evidence of delivery. Never describe such a row as a sent, delivered, or received email.read_emailRead the full content of an email by ID, transformed to token-efficient markdown. When the response has `isDraft: true` the message is an unsent draft — it has NOT been sent, and `receivedAt` is provider-supplied metadata, not evidence of delivery; never describe it as a sent, delivered, or received email. Set format to 'html' to get the raw body HTML instead of markdown — use this when you need to preserve inline styling (colour, background-colour, underline, strikethrough) that the markdown conversion discards, e.g. to change one sentence of a formatted body and leave the rest alone. Raw HTML costs far more tokens than markdown, so leave the default alone unless you need the styling; check `bodyFormat` (`text` means the message had no HTML part, so do not send it as HTML) before writing a body back, and never write one back with `bodyTruncated: true` — you do not have the whole body. strip_quoted_history and strip_signatures are markdown-shaped text transforms and are NOT applied when format is 'html'; the HTML is returned verbatim. To write it back, call create_draft/update_draft with format: 'html' AND force_black: false — force_black defaults to true and wraps your HTML in a force-black div, so leaving it on nests another wrapper on every round trip. Set strip_quoted_history to true to drop the terminal "On … wrote:" / Outlook-header / `>`-prefix reply chain and replace it with a short marker. Set strip_signatures to true to remove detected signatures and legal disclaimers; it defaults to false here for MCP compatibility even though the core action defaults to true.search_emailsSearch emails using full-text query across one or all mailboxes. Use offset for pagination. Results include unsent drafts: a row with `isDraft: true` has NOT been sent — its `receivedAt` is provider-supplied metadata, not evidence of delivery. Never describe such a row as a sent, delivered, or received email.get_mailbox_statusGet mailbox connection status, unread count, and warningslist_mailboxesList every configured mailbox: its logical `name` (pass this as the `mailbox` argument to other tools), its `emailAddress`, provider, connection status, and which one is the default. Reports mailboxes that failed to authenticate too, so it stays useful for diagnosing a broken setup.get_threadRetrieve all messages in a conversation thread by message ID. A thread can end with an unsent draft reply: a message with `isDraft: true` has NOT been sent, so it is not a sent reply — though earlier sent replies from the same author may exist elsewhere in the thread. Never describe such a message as a sent, delivered, or received email.send_emailCompose and send a new email. Gated by send allowlist. Draft mode bypasses allowlist. If a send fails with SEND_STATUS_UNKNOWN, the message may already have been delivered; do not resend without checking Sent Items. An identical send repeated within the duplicate window is refused with a DUPLICATE_SEND_* code instead of delivering twice; pass allow_duplicate: true only when a human has decided to send the same message again.reply_to_emailReply to an email within an existing thread. Default reply_all=true cc's the original thread; pass reply_all=false to reply only to the sender. Send path validates all effective recipients against the send allowlist; draft path bypasses. If a send fails with SEND_STATUS_UNKNOWN, the message may already have been delivered; do not resend without checking Sent Items. An identical reply repeated within the duplicate window is refused with a DUPLICATE_SEND_* code instead of delivering twice; pass allow_duplicate: true only when a human has decided to send the same reply again.create_draftCreate an email draft with to/cc/bcc recipients. Supports body_file with YAML frontmatter (to, cc, bcc, subject, reply_to, format). Use reply_to for threaded reply drafts, where to and subject are derived from the parent message and may be omitted; pass reply_all=false with reply_to to draft a sender-only reply.send_draftSend a previously created draft. Enforces send allowlist before sending. Rate-limited. If a send fails with SEND_STATUS_UNKNOWN, the message may already have been delivered; do not resend without checking Sent Items. Sending the same draft id twice within the duplicate window is refused with a DUPLICATE_SEND_* code instead of delivering twice; pass allow_duplicate: true only when a human has decided to send it again.update_draftUpdate a draft email. Body edits are refused for reply drafts; non-reply body edits require replace_body=true and replace the body wholesale. Subject, recipients (to/cc/bcc), and attachments remain editable. Allowlist is enforced at send_draft time, not here.cancel_scheduled_sendCancel a pending provider-held scheduled send. Only verified scheduled drafts can be cancelled.- +15 more on the listing page
Cv MCP Server tools 42
list_messagesList messages with filtering by date, conversation, folder, workspace, creator or language. USE WHEN: The general-purpose message reader; full bodies incl. transcript and AI summary. Max date span 183 days. `user_ids` filters by SENDER — for messages exchanged WITH someone, pass `conversation_id` from `list_conversations`. Use presigned URLs as-is. USE INSTEAD: `get_recent_messages` for a quick look at the latest few (hard-capped at 10, no paging). `search_message_ids` for filters this cannot express — notified state, mentions or labels. FIRST: `workspace_id` comes from `get_workspaces_basic_info` (field `id`) — call it first if you don't have one. EXAMPLE: {"workspace_id":"ws-abc","start_date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00Z","size":25} RETURNS: `{page, size, sort_direction, total, results_count, has_next_page, filters, results: [{id, transcript?, ai_summary?, audio_url?, creator_id, conversation_id?, duration_ms, reply_count, status, type, created_at, ...}]}`. Page on `has_next_page`/`total` — do not guess. NARROW: pass response_fields ["total","has_next_page","results.id","results.transcript","results.created_at"] unless you need more — the full payload is much larger.get_messageGet one message by ID, optionally expanded with related records. USE WHEN: You have a message ID. `fields` ADDS related data (`conversation`, `creator`, `labels`) — it does not narrow the response. Use `response_fields` to narrow. USE INSTEAD: `list_messages` when you do not have an ID, or need several messages — it already returns full bodies, so fetching each one again is wasted. FIRST: `id` comes from `list_messages` (field `results[].id`) — call it first if you don't have one. EXAMPLE: {"id":"msg-abc","fields":"creator"} RETURNS: `{message: {id, transcript?, ai_summary?, audio_url?, creator_id, duration_ms, status, type, attachments?, created_at, ...}}`.get_recent_messagesGet up to 10 of the most recent messages, each with its conversation, creator and labels. USE WHEN: A quick "what just happened" glance. Pre-joined, so no follow-up calls for creator or conversation names. USE INSTEAD: `list_messages` whenever you need more than 10, any date range, paging, or a filter other than conversation and language — this tool supports none of those. EXAMPLE: {"conversation_id":"conv-abc"} RETURNS: `{results: [{message: {...}, conversation: {...}, creator: {...}, labels: [...]}]}`. No total and no paging: the cap of 10 is the whole answer.create_conversation_messagePost a message into an existing conversation, or reply in a thread. USE WHEN: You have a `conversation_id`. Pass `parent_id` (a message ID) to reply as a thread. Either `transcript` or `links` is required — the schema marks neither individually, so both param descriptions say so. USE INSTEAD: `create_direct_message` to reach people who are not already in a conversation. `create_voicememo_message` for a standalone memo. FIRST: `id` comes from `list_conversations` (field `results[].id`) — call it first if you don't have one. EXAMPLE: {"id":"conv-abc","transcript":"Agreed, shipping Friday."} RETURNS: `{message: {id, link, transcript?, status, type, conversation_id, created_at, ...}}`. ERROR BAD_REQUEST: Neither `transcript` nor `links` was provided. — Pass at least one of them.create_direct_messageSend a direct message to one or more people, by user ID or email. USE WHEN: Reaching people outside an existing conversation. Address it with `to.user_ids` or `to.emails`. Requires `transcript` or `links`. USE INSTEAD: `create_conversation_message` when a conversation already exists — a DM starts a separate thread rather than joining it. FIRST: `to.user_ids` comes from `search_users` (field `id`) — call it first if you don't have one. EXAMPLE: {"to":{"user_ids":["user-abc"]},"transcript":"Quick question about the deck."} RETURNS: `{message: {id, link, transcript?, status, conversation_id, created_at, ...}}`. ERROR BAD_REQUEST: A user ID is invalid, or neither `transcript` nor `links` was provided. — Resolve people with `search_users` — never pass a display name as a user ID — and include a transcript or links.create_voicememo_messageCreate a voice memo, either from text (spoken via text-to-speech) or from an audio file at a URL. USE WHEN: Pass `transcript` (2-5000 chars) to have Carbon Voice speak the text, or an https `audio_url` to upload audio, which wins over `transcript`. File it with `folder_id`, whose type must match, or a `workspace_id`. USE INSTEAD: `create_conversation_message` to post into an existing conversation, or `create_direct_message` to send to specific people. A voice memo is standalone and lives in a folder or workspace. EXAMPLE: {"transcript":"Reminder to review the pricing deck before Friday."} RETURNS: `{message: {id, link, transcript?, audio_url?, duration_ms, status, type, created_at, ...}}`. `status` is often `processing` at first. ERROR INVALID_AUDIO_URL: `audio_url` is not https, unreachable, too large, timed out, embeds credentials, or resolves to a private address. — The message gives the reason. Use a public https URL, or pass `transcript` instead. ERROR BAD_REQUEST: None of `transcript`, `audio_url` or `links` was provided, or the transcript is outside 2-5000 characters. — Provide one of the three, and keep the transcript within the length limits.add_attachments_to_messageAttach one or more link URLs to an existing message. USE WHEN: Adding external links to a message that already exists. USE INSTEAD: `create_message_share_link` to share a Carbon Voice message outward — that produces a link, this consumes them. FIRST: `id` comes from `list_messages` (field `results[].id`) — call it first if you don't have one. EXAMPLE: {"id":"msg-abc","links":["https://example.com/spec"]} RETURNS: `{...}` confirmation with the resulting attachments.get_userGet a user's full profile by ID — names, languages, voice settings, workspace roles. USE WHEN: You already have a user ID and need complete details. USE INSTEAD: `search_user` / `search_users` to FIND someone by email, phone or name. `get_current_user` for the caller — this tool needs an explicit ID and will not default to you. FIRST: `id` comes from `search_users` (field `id`) — call it first if you don't have one. EXAMPLE: {"id":"user-abc"} RETURNS: `{id, first_name, last_name?, languages, voice_gender, workspace_ids, workspace_roles, user_type, created_at, ...}`. NARROW: pass response_fields ["id","first_name","last_name","workspace_ids"] unless you need more — the full payload is much larger.search_userFind a single user by email, phone or name. USE WHEN: Resolving ONE person. Supply exactly one of `email`, `phone` or `name`. Name search only matches your own contacts. USE INSTEAD: `search_users` for several people in one call — it takes arrays and saves a round trip per person. `get_user` when you already have the ID. EXAMPLE: {"email":"someone@example.com"} RETURNS: `{id, full_name, first_name, last_name?, link, image_url?, languages?, ...}`. Use `id` wherever another tool asks for a user ID. ERROR NOT_FOUND: Nobody matched, or a name search hit a non-contact. — Try an email or phone instead of a name; name search is limited to your contacts.search_usersResolve several users at once by emails, phones, IDs or names. USE WHEN: Turning a list of people into user IDs in one call — the right first step before any tool that takes user IDs. Name search only matches your contacts. USE INSTEAD: `search_user` for a single lookup. `get_user` for a full profile once you have the ID. EXAMPLE: {"names":["Brett"]} RETURNS: Array of `{id, full_name, first_name, last_name?, link, languages?, ...}`. If a name returns more than one candidate, ask which person was meant rather than guessing. NARROW: pass response_fields ["id","full_name"] unless you need more — the full payload is much larger.get_current_userGet the calling user's own identity, workspaces and settings. USE WHEN: Establishing who you are acting as, or finding the caller’s workspace IDs before a workspace-scoped call. Takes no arguments. USE INSTEAD: `get_user` for somebody else (it requires an explicit ID). `get_workspaces_basic_info` if you only need workspace IDs and names — it is far smaller than this response. EXAMPLE: {} RETURNS: `{success, user: {user_guid, first_name, last_name?, email_txt?, phone_txt?, workspace_guids, identities, entries, environments, lifecycle_events, notification_settings, settings, ...}, settings: {...}}`. This payload is LARGE — several unbounded arrays and an open settings map. NARROW: pass response_fields ["user.user_guid","user.first_name","user.email_txt","user.workspace_guids"] unless you need more — the full payload is much larger.list_conversationsList your conversations from the last 6 months, optionally filtered by participants, type and name. USE WHEN: Finding a `conversation_id`. Filter with `user_ids` plus `match`, `types` and `name` — YOUR DM with someone is `user_ids: ["<their id>"], types: ["directMessage"]`. You are always an implicit participant, so never pass your own ID. Filters AND together; if several match, ask which was meant. USE INSTEAD: `get_conversation` when you already have an ID and want full detail — this returns only id, name, workspace_id and type. EXAMPLE: {"user_ids":["user-abc"],"types":["directMessage"]} RETURNS: `{results_count, results: [{id, name, workspace_id, type}]}` where type is `directMessage` | `customerConversation` | `namedConversation` | `asyncMeeting`. No paging: `results_count` is what is returned, after filtering. `name` adds `unfiltered_count`: rows the name was matched against, AFTER `user_ids`/`types`. ALWAYS check it before saying no such conversation exists. 0 of 47 means none matched that string (misspelt, or >6 months old); 0 of 0 means your other filters left nothing — not that the caller has none. Widen the filters or ask; never report it does not exist.- +30 more on the listing page
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Agent Email
{
"mcpServers": {
"agent-email": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"email-agent-mcp"
]
}
}
}
Cv MCP Server
{
"mcpServers": {
"phononx-cv-mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@carbonvoice/cv-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"CARBON_VOICE_API_KEY": "YOUR_CARBON_VOICE_API_KEY_HERE",
"LOG_LEVEL": "YOUR_LOG_LEVEL_HERE",
"LOG_DIR": "YOUR_LOG_DIR_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Agent Email is categorized under Communication and uses a local stdio subprocess. Cv MCP Server belongs to Communication and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Agent Email for communication work and Cv MCP Server for communication.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Agent Email has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Cv MCP Server is bring-your-own-key: usage is billed by the API provider you supply a key for. Auth: other. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add agent-email and phononx-cv-mcp-server as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Agent Email has a quality signal of 63/100 (Good) with 3 views, 0 installs and 6 GitHub stars. Cv MCP Server has 64/100 (Good) with 5 views, 0 installs and 10 GitHub stars.