Email, calendar, and contacts from your terminal.
Pipe-friendly, headless-first. Give any agent email, calendar, and contacts in one command.
Nylas CLI is a free, open-source command-line tool that provides unified access to email, calendar, and contacts across Gmail, Microsoft 365, Exchange, Yahoo, iCloud, and IMAP providers. It includes a built-in MCP server for AI agents, GPG encryption, webhook management, and 72+ commands for scripting and automation.
Features
Agent-native
Built-in MCP server lets Claude, Cursor, and VS Code read and send email in one command. Typed tools across email, calendar, and contacts — no API keys or middleware required.
Runs anywhere
Works over SSH, inside containers, and in CI pipelines. No GUI, no browser, no display server. Pipe JSON output to jq, scripts, or other CLI tools.
Unified email
One interface for Gmail, Outlook, Exchange, Yahoo, iCloud, and any IMAP server. Send, search, list, and read email across 6 providers with a single command.
Calendar
List, create, update, and delete events. AI scheduling with natural language, DST-aware timezone handling, and free/busy availability checks.
Contacts
Search and sync contacts across every connected provider. List contact groups, look up by name or email, and export as JSON for automation.
Sandboxed
OAuth tokens stored in your OS keyring. GPG signing and encryption keep messages private. Your credentials and keys never leave your machine.
Guides
Learn by doing
Calendar CLI Tools Compared
Compare gcalcli, Google Workspace CLI, khal, calcurse, and Nylas CLI for terminal calendar management. Feature matrix, provider coverage, and setup benchmarks.
AgentMail vs Nylas vs Cloudflare Email
Compare AgentMail, Cloudflare Email for Agents, and Nylas Agent Accounts. Feature matrix, pricing, MCP support, and a decision guide for AI agent email in 2026.
Cron Job Email Without Postfix
Send email alerts from cron jobs without Postfix, msmtp, or ssmtp. One CLI command replaces MAILTO plus a local MTA daemon. Disk, backup, and schedule examples.
Send Email with Attachments from CLI
Send files from the command line without MIME encoding, Postfix, or mutt config. One command attaches PDFs, CSVs, logs, and images across Gmail and Outlook.
Email Prompt Injection Defense
Defend AI email agents against prompt injection attacks. Input separation, capability sandboxing, human-in-the-loop approvals, and audit logging patterns.
MCP vs API for AI Agents
Compare MCP, direct API, and skills for AI agent integrations. Benchmarks show 33% token efficiency gaps and 30x batch speed differences. Decision matrix.
Install
One install. Then pipe it to anything.
brew install nylas/nylas-cli/nylasThen run guided setup
- 1.Run
nylas init— log in, create or choose an app, generate an API key, and sync grants. - 2.Prefer manual setup? Sign up at dashboard-v3.nylas.com.
- 3.Start using commands — the same setup works across email, calendar, contacts, and MCP.
nylas init