Maildev MCP

MailDev MCP server. Manage Docker containers and inspect emails from your AI editor or MCP client.

Quick Install

Automated & IDE Setup

Copy the AI prompt to install this server into Claude Code, Cursor, or another agent — or use 1-click editor setup below.

Add to Cursor Add to VS Code

Manual Client & Custom JSON ConfigExpand JSON ▾

Client Config & Setup

Choose your client or environment

Target File:~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "maildev-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "maildev-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

💡 Paste the JSON block into your client's configuration file under mcpServers, then restart the application.

Capabilities & Tool Schemas (12)Self-reported

Inspect callable tools, capabilities, and parameters exposed to AI agents by Maildev MCP.

StartMaildev

Start the MailDev Docker container with configurable SMTP port, API port, authentication, and TLS

StopMaildev

Stop and remove the MailDev Docker container

MaildevStatus

Check the running status of MailDev

ListEmails

Retrieve the list of received emails

GetEmail

Get the details of an email by ID, including attachment information

GetEmailHtml

Get the HTML body of an email by ID

Documentation Overview

MailDevMcp

English | 日本語

mcp-name: io.github.pierre3/maildev-mcp

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for MailDev.
Manage MailDev Docker containers and inspect received emails directly from your AI-powered editor or MCP client.

This server is intended for local development and test automation scenarios where an MCP client needs to:

start or stop a MailDev container
inspect inbox contents
wait for emails after triggering application behavior
inspect HTML bodies and attachments
verify attachment integrity byte-for-byte

Installation

Install as a global .NET tool:

dotnet tool install -g MailDevMcp

After installation, the maildev-mcp command becomes available.

MCP Client Configuration

Add the following to your MCP client settings (e.g. Claude Desktop, VS Code, etc.):

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "maildev-mcp": {
      "command": "maildev-mcp",
      "env": {
        "MAILDEV_API_PORT": "1080"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
`MAILDEV_API_PORT`	`1080`	Port number for the MailDev REST API

Typical Workflow

Call StartMaildev to launch a local MailDev container
Trigger your application to send an email
Call WaitForEmail if delivery is asynchronous
Use ListEmails, SearchEmails, or GetEmail to inspect the result
Use GetEmailHtml, GetAttachmentContent, or VerifyAttachment when deeper validation is needed
Clean up with DeleteEmail, DeleteAllEmails, or StopMaildev

Available Tools

Tool	Description
`StartMaildev`	Start the MailDev Docker container with configurable SMTP port, API port, authentication, and TLS
`StopMaildev`	Stop and remove the MailDev Docker container
`MaildevStatus`	Check the running status of MailDev
`ListEmails`	Retrieve the list of received emails
`GetEmail`	Get the details of an email by ID, including attachment information
`GetEmailHtml`	Get the HTML body of an email by ID
`SearchEmails`	Search received emails by subject, sender, or recipient
`DeleteEmail`	Delete a single email by ID
`DeleteAllEmails`	Delete all received emails
`WaitForEmail`	Wait until a new email matching given criteria arrives (useful for test automation)
`GetAttachmentContent`	Get the raw Base64-encoded content of an email attachment
`VerifyAttachment`	Verify that an email attachment matches the original data by byte-by-byte comparison

Tool Behavior Notes

StartMaildev
- Supports custom SMTP and API ports
- Supports optional SMTP authentication
- Treats empty or whitespace-only credentials as authentication disabled
- Supports TLS with a generated self-signed certificate
GetEmail and ListEmails
- Render missing or empty subjects as (no subject)
- Render missing address lists as (none)
WaitForEmail
- Polls MailDev until a matching email arrives or the timeout is reached
- Reports transient MailDev connection failures in the returned message when they occur during polling
VerifyAttachment
- Accepts a Base64-encoded original payload
- Compares the received attachment byte-by-byte
- Reports either exact match, size mismatch, or content mismatch

Requirements and Assumptions

Docker must be installed and available on the same machine where this MCP server runs
MailDev is accessed through its HTTP API on localhost
The configured API port in the MCP client must match the MailDev API port exposed by Docker

Prerequisites

.NET 10 SDK or later
Docker (for running the MailDev container)

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/pierre3/MailDevMcp.git
cd MailDevMcp
dotnet pack -c Release
dotnet tool install -g --add-source ./bin/Release MailDevMcp

License

MIT

Read the full README →View source on GitHub →

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Adoption & maintenance

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Last commit

5mo ago

Most recent push to the default branch.

Tools exposed

Callable tools this server registers over MCP.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Maildev MCP

Add the following block to your claude_desktop_config.json under mcpServers: "mcpServers": { "maildev-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "maildev-mcp"] } }

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