Command
nylas mcp serve
Start the Nylas MCP server for AI assistant integration.
Written by Qasim Muhammad Staff SRE
What does nylas mcp serve do?
The nylas mcp serve command starts a Model Context Protocol server that proxies the official Nylas MCP server, exposing email, calendar, and contacts tools to AI assistants such as Claude Code, Cursor, and VS Code. It communicates over STDIO, injects your grant ID automatically, and handles credentials via the system keyring. Run nylas auth login first, or use nylas mcp install to wire it into a client.
Usage
nylas mcp serveFlags
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| --json | Output as JSON |
| --no-color | Disable color output |
| --verbose(-v) | Enable verbose output |
| --config | Custom config file path |
| --help(-h) | Show help for the command |
| --limit | Limit results (most list commands) |
| --yes(-y) | Skip confirmations |
Examples
The nylas mcp serve command starts a Model Context Protocol server that proxies the official Nylas MCP server, exposing email, calendar, and contacts tools to AI assistants such as Claude Code, Cursor, and VS Code.
Start the MCP server (STDIO)
nylas mcp serveAuto-configure an AI assistant instead of running manually
nylas mcp installExample output
Starting Nylas MCP server (STDIO)...
Upstream: Nylas MCP server
Tools discovered: email, calendar, contacts
Server ready. Waiting for client requests on stdin/stdout.Troubleshooting
MCP server exits immediately
Run nylas auth login first. The MCP server needs valid credentials to register tools.
AI assistant doesn't see the Nylas tools
Confirm the client's MCP config runs `nylas mcp serve` over STDIO. Use nylas mcp status to check the installation, or nylas mcp install to (re)configure it.
Recommended guides
Build a Strands Email Agent
Give a Strands Agents SDK agent email access using the Nylas CLI as a @tool. One function reaches Gmail, Outlook, and 4 more providers — no OAuth code needed.
Cloudflare Agents Email Tools
Use the Cloudflare Agents SDK to build a stateful email agent on Workers — connect to the Nylas MCP server over HTTP and call email tools in TypeScript.
AI Calendar Assistant from the Terminal
Use nylas calendar schedule ai and calendar ai for natural-language scheduling, focus-time protection, conflict resolution, and meeting-context extraction.
Set Up an MCP Calendar Server
Expose calendar tools to an AI client over MCP. Install nylas mcp, configure your assistant, and let it check availability and create events.
Give an AI Agent Calendar Access
Wrap nylas calendar availability and events as agent tools: read-only by default, draft-before-create for writes, and an OAuth scope the agent can't widen.
Set Up an MCP Contacts Server
Expose contact search and read tools to an AI client over MCP with nylas mcp install. Configure, verify, and call address-book tools.
Run nylas mcp serve --help for full help output.