| name | AgentMail |
| skill_id | agentmail |
| description | Give the agent its own dedicated email inbox via AgentMail. Send, receive, and manage email autonomously using agent-owned email addresses (e.g. elephant-agent@agentmail.to). |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| source_kind | elephant-builtin |
| category | email |
| default_enabled | false |
AgentMail — Agent-Owned Email Inboxes
Requirements
- AgentMail API key (required) — sign up at https://console.agentmail.to (free tier: 3 inboxes, 3,000 emails/month; paid plans from $20/mo)
- Node.js 18+ (for the MCP server)
When to Use
Use this skill when you need to:
- Give the agent its own dedicated email address
- Send emails autonomously on behalf of the agent
- Receive and read incoming emails
- Manage email threads and conversations
- Sign up for services or authenticate via email
- Communicate with other agents or humans via email
This is NOT for reading the user's personal email (use himalaya or Gmail for that).
AgentMail gives the agent its own identity and inbox.
Setup
1. Get an API Key
2. Configure MCP Server
Add to ~/.elephant/config.yaml (paste your actual key — MCP env vars are not expanded from .env):
mcp_servers:
agentmail:
command: "npx"
args: ["-y", "agentmail-mcp"]
env:
AGENTMAIL_API_KEY: "am_your_key_here"
3. Restart Elephant Agent
elephant
All 11 AgentMail tools are now available automatically.
Available Tools (via MCP)
| Tool | Description |
|---|
list_inboxes | List all agent inboxes |
get_inbox | Get details of a specific inbox |
create_inbox | Create a new inbox (gets a real email address) |
delete_inbox | Delete an inbox |
list_threads | List email threads in an inbox |
get_thread | Get a specific email thread |
send_message | Send a new email |
reply_to_message | Reply to an existing email |
forward_message | Forward an email |
update_message | Update message labels/status |
get_attachment | Download an email attachment |
Procedure
Create an inbox and send an email
- Create a dedicated inbox:
- Use
create_inbox with a username (e.g. elephant-agent)
- The agent gets address:
elephant-agent@agentmail.to
- Send an email:
- Use
send_message with inbox_id, to, subject, text
- Check for replies:
- Use
list_threads to see incoming conversations
- Use
get_thread to read a specific thread
Check incoming email
- Use
list_inboxes to find your inbox ID
- Use
list_threads with the inbox ID to see conversations
- Use
get_thread to read a thread and its messages
Reply to an email
- Get the thread with
get_thread
- Use
reply_to_message with the message ID and your reply text
Example Workflows
Sign up for a service:
1. create_inbox (username: "signup-bot")
2. Use the inbox address to register on the service
3. list_threads to check for verification email
4. get_thread to read the verification code
Agent-to-human outreach:
1. create_inbox (username: "elephant-outreach")
2. send_message (to: user@example.com, subject: "Hello", text: "...")
3. list_threads to check for replies
Pitfalls
- Free tier limited to 3 inboxes and 3,000 emails/month
- Emails come from
@agentmail.to domain on free tier (custom domains on paid plans)
- Node.js (18+) is required for the MCP server (
npx -y agentmail-mcp)
- The
mcp Python package must be installed: pip install mcp
- Real-time inbound email (webhooks) requires a public server — use
list_threads polling via cronjob instead for personal use
Verification
After setup, test with:
elephant --toolsets mcp -q "Create an AgentMail inbox called test-agent and tell me its email address"
You should see the new inbox address returned.
References
