Metadata-Version: 2.5
Name: outlook-graph-mcp
Version: 1.27.0
Summary: MCP server for Microsoft Outlook via Microsoft Graph API
Project-URL: Homepage, https://github.com/mpalermiti/outlook-mcp
Project-URL: Repository, https://github.com/mpalermiti/outlook-mcp
Project-URL: Issues, https://github.com/mpalermiti/outlook-mcp/issues
Author: Michael Palermiti
License-Expression: MIT
License-File: LICENSE
Keywords: calendar,email,mcp,microsoft-graph,openclaw,outlook
Classifier: Development Status :: 5 - Production/Stable
Classifier: License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13
Classifier: Topic :: Communications :: Email
Classifier: Topic :: Office/Business
Requires-Python: >=3.10
Requires-Dist: azure-identity>=1.25
Requires-Dist: certifi>=2026.10.19
Requires-Dist: mcp[cli]>=2
Requires-Dist: msgraph-core>=1.5.2
Requires-Dist: msgraph-sdk>=1.55
Requires-Dist: pydantic>=2.0
Requires-Dist: tzdata
Provides-Extra: dev
Requires-Dist: pytest-asyncio>=0.24; extra == 'dev'
Requires-Dist: pytest-cov>=5.0; extra == 'dev'
Requires-Dist: pytest>=8.0; extra == 'dev'
Requires-Dist: ruff<0.17,>=0.15.10; extra == 'dev'
Description-Content-Type: text/markdown

<!-- mcp-name: io.github.mpalermiti/outlook-mcp -->

# outlook-mcp

MCP server for Microsoft Outlook personal accounts via Microsoft Graph API.

[![PyPI](https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/outlook-graph-mcp.svg)](https://pypi.org/project/outlook-graph-mcp/)
[![Python](https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/outlook-graph-mcp.svg)](https://pypi.org/project/outlook-graph-mcp/)
[![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-blue.svg)](LICENSE)
[![MCP Registry](https://img.shields.io/badge/MCP_Registry-listed-green)](https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0/servers?search=mpalermiti)

> **Personal Microsoft accounts only** — `@outlook.com`, `@hotmail.com`, `@live.com`. Work/school accounts (Entra ID) are not supported: the server is built and tested on personal accounts. Fixes that make a tool behave on a work account, without changing what a personal account sees, are welcome.

> **Disclaimer:** Independent open-source project. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by Microsoft Corporation. "Outlook" and "Microsoft Graph" are trademarks of Microsoft.

---

## Who this is for

You'll like this if you're:

- An **agent builder** wiring Outlook into your own infra (OpenClaw, Claude Code, Cursor, custom MCP host) and want a typed tool surface — not stdout you have to parse
- Building on **personal Microsoft accounts** (Outlook.com / Hotmail / Live) and want full control: BYO Azure app, no enterprise consent flow, no shared client ID
- Looking for **real coverage** — mail, calendar, contacts, to-do, drafts, folders, batch ops, threading — instead of a mail-only or calendar-only wrapper
- Security-conscious: tokens in the OS keyring (Keychain on macOS, libsecret on Linux -- never cleartext unless you opt in), granular `allow_categories`, optional `read_only` mode, zero telemetry

This **isn't for you** if you need work/school M365 accounts (use Microsoft's official tooling — Entra ID auth and admin-consent flows are out of scope here), or if a basic mail-only client would suffice (this has 68 tools — way more than you need for "read my inbox").

### How it differs from other Outlook tools you'll find

This is the only **first-class MCP server** in the personal-Outlook space — most alternatives are bash scripts or skill-shaped CLI wrappers the agent shells out to. That distinction matters: the agent gets typed tool schemas with structured args/returns, not stdout it has to parse. Other things you won't find elsewhere: `/$batch`-optimized triage (10-20× faster on bulk ops), recursive folder ops with name resolution, granular per-category permissions, multiple mailboxes (one server per account via `OUTLOOK_MCP_CONFIG_DIR`), and full attachment write paths including >3MB upload sessions for drafts.

---

## What This Enables

Give your AI agent full Outlook access. Example prompts that just work:

- *"Summarize my unread email from the past 24 hours and flag anything time-sensitive."*
- *"What's in my Focused Inbox right now? Anything in Other that looks like it belongs up top?"*
- *"Any shipping updates in my inbox? Track what I'm waiting on and when it's supposed to arrive."*
- *"Scan my email for upcoming subscription renewals — what's about to auto-charge in the next two weeks?"*
- *"I've got a trip to Seattle next week — check my calendar for the itinerary and create a To Do task with a packing checklist."*
- *"Draft a reply to the last message from my sister saying I'll call her this weekend."*
- *"Move all newsletter and promotional email from this week to a 'Read Later' folder — batch 20 at a time."*

The server exposes 68 discrete tools so the agent can compose its own workflow — read, triage, write, schedule, track tasks — without hardcoded macros.

## Works With

- **[OpenClaw](https://openclaw.ai)** — native MCP support, available via [ClawHub](https://clawhub.ai/skills?q=outlook-mcp)
- **[Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)** — add to `~/.claude/settings.json` under `mcpServers`
- **[Cursor](https://cursor.com)** — MCP-compatible
- **Any MCP client** — it's a standard stdio MCP server

Listed on the [official MCP Registry](https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0/servers?search=mpalermiti) as `io.github.mpalermiti/outlook-mcp`.

---

## Features

**68 tools** across 13 categories:

- **Auth (1)** -- auth status check (login is via CLI)
- **Mail Read (7)** -- list inbox (with Focused Inbox and uncategorized filters), read message, bulk read by ID via `$batch`, search (KQL), list folders, delta-sync inbox changes, composed "since last call" digest across mail/events/contacts
- **Mail Write (3)** -- send, reply/reply-all, forward
- **Mail Triage (9)** -- move, delete (soft by default), flag, categorize, mark read/unread, reclassify (Focused Inbox), list/set/delete per-sender Focused Inbox overrides
- **Calendar Read (3)** -- list events (with recurring expansion), get event details, delta-sync event changes
- **Calendar Write (4)** -- create, update, delete, RSVP (accept/decline/tentative)
- **Contacts (7)** -- list, search, get, create, update, delete, delta-sync changes
- **To Do (14)** -- task lists, tasks (list/get/create/update/complete/delete), checklist items (add/update/delete), task attachments (list/download/upload/delete)
- **Drafts (5)** -- list, create (new, or a reply, reply-all or forward in the message's thread), update, send, delete
- **Attachments (5)** -- list, download, send-with-attachments, attach-to-draft, remove-draft-attachment
- **Folder Management (3)** -- create, rename, delete mail folders
- **Threading and Batch (3)** -- list thread, copy message, batch triage
- **User and Admin (4)** -- whoami, list calendars, list categories, mail tips

**Design principles:**

- **BYOID** -- Bring Your Own ID. You register your own Azure AD app. No shared client ID.
- **Zero telemetry** -- no analytics, no local caching, no third-party calls.
- **Token storage** -- OS keyring via `azure-identity` (macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Store, Linux Secret Service).
- **Input validation** -- all inputs validated (email, Graph IDs, OData, KQL, datetimes) before any API call.
- **Read-only mode** -- set `read_only: true` in config to block all write operations. Note this limits the *tools*, not the *token* -- see [What `read_only` does and does not do](#what-read_only-does-and-does-not-do).
- **Soft delete** -- delete moves to Deleted Items by default. Hard delete requires explicit `permanent: true`.
- **Timezone-aware** -- calendar operations respect your configured IANA timezone.
- **Relative dates** -- every datetime parameter takes ISO 8601 or an offset: `7d` is seven days ago, `+7d` is seven days from now, `now` is this moment. Units: `m`, `h`, `d`, `w`.
- **Bounded attachments** -- attachment reads and writes are confined to `attachments_dir`, so a message that asks an agent to mail a file elsewhere on disk cannot be obeyed.
- **Bounded delta cursors** -- a `delta_token` is caller-held state, so it is untrusted input. Every URL that would carry a Graph bearer token is parsed and required to be https on `graph.microsoft.com`, which is what stops a poisoned cursor from redirecting your mailbox token to someone else. Its path must also be the delta endpoint of the tool it was handed to, so a cursor cannot point a delta tool at some other part of the mailbox.
- **Workflow prompts** -- `morning_brief`, `triage_folder` and `catch_up` ship as MCP prompts, so the common sequences do not have to be reconstructed call by call.

### Agent-friendly shape (1.8.0)

Two pure-code upgrades that make the tools cheaper and more recoverable for AI agents:

- **Concise mode** — pass `concise=True` to the six high-volume read tools (`outlook_list_inbox`, `outlook_read_message`, `outlook_read_messages`, `outlook_search_mail`, `outlook_list_events`, `outlook_list_thread`) to drop bulky fields: full message bodies, quoted prior-message text in threads, body previews and categories on inbox listings — typical payload reduction ~10×. On `outlook_list_events` the trade is different and smaller: the attendee list becomes a count, and `organizer`, `response_status`, `type` and `show_as` come off, so a concise scan cannot tell a recurring occurrence from a one-off. Default `concise=False` preserves the existing response shape — strict backward compat.

- **Structured Graph errors** — every tool turns msgraph SDK exceptions into a tool error whose text carries Graph's message and a recovery hint: re-auth on 401, a link to the repo's [ROADMAP dead-ends list](https://github.com/mpalermiti/outlook-mcp/blob/main/ROADMAP.md#investigated-and-not-viable) on 403/`ErrorAccessDenied`, re-list on 404/`ErrorItemNotFound`, back-off on 429, retry on 503 — except on the tools that can email someone (mail, invitations, event updates, RSVPs), where a 5xx says the write may already have gone through and where to check, because those writes are never re-sent after one. `OutlookMCPError` subclasses and validation errors pass through unchanged.

---

## Azure AD App Registration

You need to register a free Azure AD app to get a client ID.

### Prerequisites (Personal Microsoft Accounts)

Microsoft has deprecated app registration for personal accounts without an Azure AD tenant. You need to create a free Azure account first:

1. Go to [azure.microsoft.com/free](https://azure.microsoft.com/free) and sign up with your personal `@outlook.com` account. Requires a credit card for identity verification but **won't charge you**. This creates a proper Azure AD tenant.

### Register the App

1. Go to [App Registrations](https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2083908) and sign in with your `@outlook.com` account.

2. Click **"+ New registration"** and fill in:
   - **Name:** anything except Microsoft-branded terms (e.g. `mp-outlook-mcp` — names like "Outlook MCP" will be rejected)
   - **Supported account types:** select **"Personal Microsoft accounts only"**
   - **Redirect URI:** leave blank

3. Click **Register**. Copy the **Application (client) ID** from the overview page.

4. Go to **Authentication (Preview)** → **Settings** tab → toggle **"Allow public client flows"** to **Yes** → **Save**.

5. Go to **API permissions** → **Add a permission** → **Microsoft Graph** → **Delegated permissions** → add:
   - `Mail.ReadWrite`, `Mail.Send`
   - `Calendars.ReadWrite`
   - `Contacts.ReadWrite`, `Tasks.ReadWrite`
   - `MailboxSettings.Read`
   - `User.Read`, `offline_access`

No client secret is needed. The device code flow uses public client auth.

---

## Quick Start

### Install

**Option A — from PyPI (recommended):**

```bash
uv tool install outlook-graph-mcp
# or: pipx install outlook-graph-mcp
# or: pip install outlook-graph-mcp
```

**Option B — from source:**

```bash
git clone https://github.com/mpalermiti/outlook-mcp.git
cd outlook-mcp
uv sync
```

### Configure

Create `~/.outlook-mcp/config.json`:

```json
{
  "client_id": "YOUR_APPLICATION_CLIENT_ID",
  "tenant_id": "consumers",
  "timezone": "America/Los_Angeles",
  "read_only": true,
  "attachments_dir": "~/.outlook-mcp/attachments"
}
```

The only required field is `client_id`. Everything else has sensible defaults. Start with `read_only: true` — flip to `false` when you're comfortable.

### Register with your MCP client

**If installed from PyPI:**

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "outlook": {
      "command": "outlook-mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

**If installed from source:**

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "outlook": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["--directory", "/path/to/outlook-mcp", "run", "outlook-mcp"]
    }
  }
}
```

**For OpenClaw**, use the `openclaw mcp` CLI — it writes to `mcp.servers` in `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json` for you:

```bash
# If installed from PyPI:
openclaw mcp set outlook '{"command":"outlook-mcp"}'

# If installed from source:
openclaw mcp set outlook '{"command":"uv","args":["--directory","/path/to/outlook-mcp","run","outlook-mcp"]}'

# Verify:
openclaw mcp list
openclaw mcp show outlook --json
```

Restart the OpenClaw gateway after registering. See the [OpenClaw MCP docs](https://docs.openclaw.ai/cli/mcp) for SSE/HTTP transport variants.

### Authenticate

Run this once on the machine where the MCP server will run:

```bash
uv run outlook-mcp auth
```

You'll get a URL and a code. Open the URL in any browser, enter the code, and sign in with your Microsoft account. Tokens are cached in the OS keyring — the MCP server picks them up automatically.

The consent screen lists the full read-write set (`Mail.ReadWrite`, `Mail.Send`, `Calendars.ReadWrite`, `Contacts.ReadWrite`, `Tasks.ReadWrite`, `MailboxSettings.Read`, `User.Read`) — even when the config starts with `read_only: true`, because `read_only` gates the tools, not the token (see [What `read_only` does and does not do](#what-read_only-does-and-does-not-do)), and the scopes a first consent leaves out can never be granted later without logging in again. (The one exception is `read_only_consent: true`, which asks for the read permissions only; it exists for a separate read-only app, described under the same heading.) Every request afterwards — silent refresh and each Graph call — uses the `.default` scope, which on an already-consented account means exactly "the set you granted". That ordering is deliberate: on personal accounts a first consent asking only for `.default` can land a session with no delegated permissions, which then can't be redeemed (`AADSTS70000`) without logging in again ([#82](https://github.com/mpalermiti/outlook-mcp/issues/82)).

Other CLI commands:

```bash
uv run outlook-mcp status   # Check auth status
uv run outlook-mcp logout   # Clear credentials
uv run outlook-mcp serve    # Start MCP server (default, used by OpenClaw/Claude)
```

---

## Troubleshooting

### `me-token-to-replace is invalid` on every call

You're on 1.22.0 installed after 2026-09-18. A fresh install of that version resolves `microsoft-kiota-*` 1.13 or later, which `msgraph-core` 1.5.1 doesn't handle, so every `/me` request reaches Graph as `/users/me-token-to-replace`. Fixed in 1.22.1, which caps kiota below 1.13 ([#80](https://github.com/mpalermiti/outlook-mcp/issues/80)). In 1.26.0 that cap is replaced by a `msgraph-core>=1.5.2` floor, which carries the fix and works with kiota 1.13+:

```bash
uv tool upgrade outlook-graph-mcp
# or: pipx upgrade outlook-graph-mcp
# or: pip install --upgrade outlook-graph-mcp
```

Your config and sign-in are untouched; no re-auth needed.

### `SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED` on Linux

If auth fails with `[SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed: unable to get local issuer certificate`, your Python environment can't find the system CA bundle. This is common on minimal/container Linux images and with the isolated venv from `uv tool install`.

Point Python at your system CA bundle. Set **both** variables — auth (via `azure-identity` → `requests`) reads `REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE`, while the delta/`$batch` paths (via `httpx`) read `SSL_CERT_FILE`:

```bash
export SSL_CERT_FILE=/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt      # httpx + Python ssl
export REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE=/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt  # azure-identity auth
```

The path varies by distro: Debian/Ubuntu use `/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt`; RHEL/Fedora use `/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt`. If the file is missing, install your distro's CA package (`ca-certificates`). Set these in the same environment your MCP client launches the server from so they apply at runtime, not just to the one-time `auth` command.

### Token cache stored unencrypted (Linux)

A one-time startup warning about the token cache falling back to plaintext means `libsecret`/PyGObject isn't importable — see [Privacy and Security](#privacy-and-security) for the fix.

---

## Tool Reference

**Dates.** Every datetime parameter (`after`, `before`, `start`, `end`, `due`,
`deferred_send_datetime`) accepts ISO 8601 — `2026-10-22` or `2026-10-22T14:30:00Z` — or a
relative offset: `7d` is seven days **ago**, `+7d` is seven days **from now**, and `now` is
this moment. Units are `m`, `h`, `d`, `w`. Bare means *ago*, matching the usual CLI
convention, so a due date in the future needs the `+`. Zone-less input is interpreted in your
configured `timezone`; responses are always UTC.

### Auth

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `outlook_auth_status` | Check if authenticated and whether read-only mode is active. |

> **Note:** Authentication is handled via the CLI (`outlook-mcp auth`), not through MCP tools. See [Authenticate](#authenticate) above.

### Mail Read

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `outlook_list_inbox` | List messages in a folder. `folder` accepts display names, well-known names, or Graph IDs. Filter by read status, sender, date range, Focused Inbox classification. Pagination via `skip`. |
| `outlook_read_message` | Get full message by ID, or by its Message-ID header value (`<abc@example.com>`, matched exactly; the response's `id` is the Graph ID the other tools take). Format: `text`, `html`, or `full` (both). Pass `include_deferred_send=True` to also surface the draft's scheduled delivery time. |
| `outlook_read_messages` | Bulk read up to 20 messages by ID via Graph `$batch` in one round-trip. Per-message shape matches `outlook_read_message` byte-for-byte for the same `(format, concise, include_deferred_send)`. Partial-failure tolerant: 404s on some IDs surface in `failures[]` without failing the whole call. Use NOT N `outlook_read_message` calls. |
| `outlook_search_mail` | Search mail using KQL query. Optionally scope to a folder by name or ID. A `cursor` continues the search in the folder it started in. |
| `outlook_list_folders` | List mail folders with counts, `parent_id`, and `child_count`. Pass `recursive=true` to walk the full folder tree (subfolders included). |
| `outlook_list_inbox_delta` | List only inbox changes since the last call. First call returns a full snapshot plus a `delta_token`; subsequent calls (token passed back) return only added/updated/deleted items. Deletes come back as `{id, is_deleted: True}`. Cursor is stateless — agent persists and replays. |
| `outlook_changes_since` | One structured "since last call" digest composing mail/events/contacts deltas. Returns counts + `urgent_flagged` mail + top-5 `by_sender` + new/cancelled events. Each resource has an independent `delta_token`; stale-token recovery (HTTP 410) auto-resyncs that resource and surfaces `_meta.resync`. First-call snapshot is filtered to `fallback_window_hours` (default 24). Designed for recurring agent loops. |

### Mail Write

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `outlook_send_message` | Send email. Supports TO/CC/BCC, HTML or Markdown body, importance level. |
| `outlook_reply` | Reply or reply-all to a message, the text above the quoted original. Plain text keeps its paragraphs, line breaks and `- ` lists; a plain-text thread gets a plain-text reply. |
| `outlook_forward` | Forward a message to one or more recipients with optional comment, which keeps its line breaks like a reply's text. |

Bodies are plain text unless `is_html=True` (HTML, sent as written) or `is_markdown=True`. Markdown is converted to HTML for a safe subset: paragraphs, line breaks, `-`/`*`/`+` and numbered lists, `**bold**`, `*italic*`, `` `code` ``, and `[text](url)` links to `https:` and `mailto:` addresses only. An image, `![alt](url)`, becomes a link to it, never an embedded picture. Everything else, raw HTML included, is shown as written. `outlook_send_message`, `outlook_reply`, `outlook_forward` (its `comment`), `outlook_create_draft` and `outlook_update_draft` take it; on a plain-text thread a Markdown reply is sent as written, as plain text.

### Mail Triage

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `outlook_move_message` | Move a message to a folder by name or ID. |
| `outlook_delete_message` | Delete a message. Soft delete (Deleted Items) by default. `permanent: true` for hard delete. |
| `outlook_flag_message` | Set follow-up flag: `flagged`, `complete`, or `notFlagged`. |
| `outlook_categorize_message` | Set categories on a message. |
| `outlook_mark_read` | Mark a message as read or unread. |
| `outlook_reclassify_message` | Move a message between Focused Inbox and Other (`focused` / `other`). |
| `outlook_list_inbox_overrides` | List Focused Inbox per-sender override rules. |
| `outlook_set_inbox_override` | Upsert a per-sender Focused Inbox override (`focused` / `other`). Case-insensitive sender matching; PATCH-if-exists, else POST. |
| `outlook_delete_inbox_override` | Delete a Focused Inbox override by ID. |

### Calendar Read

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `outlook_list_events` | List events in a date range. Expands recurring events. Each event carries `type` — `occurrence` or `exception` for an instance of a series, `singleInstance` for a one-off — so a listing tells recurring work apart without a second call. A `seriesMaster` never appears here: `calendarView` returns expanded instances, so use `outlook_get_event` to see a master. Each event also carries `show_as`, the free/busy status Outlook labels "Show as". Configurable via `days`, `after`, `before`. `calendar` selects which calendar to read: omit (or `"primary"`) for the default, otherwise a display name (case-insensitive; not-found and ambiguous errors name what exists) or an ID from `outlook_list_calendars`. A `cursor` continues the listing it came from, so later pages need neither `calendar` nor a second lookup. `concise=True` omits `type` and `show_as`. |
| `outlook_get_event` | Get full event details: attendees, body, online meeting URL, recurrence, `type` (`singleInstance` / `seriesMaster` / `occurrence` / `exception`), `show_as`. |
| `outlook_list_events_delta` | List only event changes inside a window since the last call. `start` and `end` (ISO 8601) required on the first call (Graph constraint — no whole-calendar sync). Each changed event carries every field the **default** `outlook_list_events` listing returns, `type` and `show_as` included, plus `is_deleted` (`concise=True` has its own narrower shape, which the delta tool does not mirror). Unlike the listing, this endpoint *does* return `seriesMaster` items, so a caller seeding from `outlook_list_events` should expect ids here that the seed never held. Deletes come back as `{id, is_deleted: True}` and nothing else. Cursor is stateless. |

### Calendar Write

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `outlook_create_event` | Create event with location and attendees. (`is_online` has no effect on personal accounts — Graph ignores `isOnlineMeeting` for consumer mailboxes.) Pass `recurrence` to create a **series**: a shorthand (`daily`, `weekdays`, `weekly`, `monthly`, `yearly`, anchored on `start`) or a full [Graph recurrence object](https://learn.microsoft.com/graph/api/resources/patternedrecurrence) for anything else. `range.startDate` defaults to the event's start date. `show_as` sets the free/busy status Outlook labels "Show as" — `free`, `tentative`, `busy`, `oof` (out of office), `workingElsewhere`, or `unknown`; omit it and Graph applies its own default of `busy`. `calendar` creates it in another calendar, resolved as `outlook_list_events` resolves it: omit (or `"primary"`) for the default, otherwise a display name or an ID from `outlook_list_calendars`. A calendar Graph lists as read-only (`canEdit: false`) is refused before anything is sent. The tools that take an event ID need no `calendar`: an ID reaches an event on any of your own calendars. |
| `outlook_update_event` | Update event fields (subject, time, location, body, attendees, all-day, `show_as`). Only patches changed fields. Pass `recurrence` to turn a single event into a series, or `remove_recurrence=True` to turn a series back into a single event. `attendees` **replaces** the whole guest list and emails invitations/cancellations; `is_all_day` needs `start`+`end` in the same call, while `show_as` patches on its own. Patching a time keeps the zone the event is anchored in; `timezone` (with `start`+`end`) re-anchors it elsewhere, which is how a series created before zones existed gets repaired. A `start`, `end` or `recurrence` patch to a series with edited or deleted occurrences is refused, naming them — Graph would silently discard every one. |
| `outlook_delete_event` | Delete a calendar event. |
| `outlook_rsvp` | RSVP to an event: `accept`, `decline`, or `tentative`. Optionally include a message. |

### Contacts

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `outlook_list_contacts` | List contacts with cursor pagination. Summaries carry `categories`; `outlook_search_contacts` omits the key because Graph's `$search` does not return it. |
| `outlook_search_contacts` | Search contacts by name or email. `phone`, instead of `query`, finds a number however it is written: with or without its country code, a leading `00` or trunk `0`, spaces or dashes, from at least its last seven digits. Graph's contact `$search` finds a number only as it is stored, and phone fields can't be filtered, so a phone search reads the contact listing (pages of 1,000, up to 10,000 contacts) and compares digits. `has_more` is true when there were more matches than `count`, or contacts past the 10,000th. |
| `outlook_get_contact` | Get full contact details by ID, including `middle_name`, `job_title`, `birthday`, home/business/other addresses, categories and personal notes. |
| `outlook_create_contact` | Create a new contact. `title` is the name prefix ("Dr.", "Ms."), which Outlook shows in the display name; the job goes in `job_title`. `phone_type` (`mobile`, the default, `business` or `home`) says which kind of number `phone` is. `birthday` is a date (`YYYY-MM-DD`), stored at 11:59 UTC so that it is the same date in every time zone from UTC−11 to UTC+12; `outlook_get_contact` returns that timestamp. `middle_name`, `personal_notes` and `categories` are set as given. |
| `outlook_update_contact` | Update contact fields, including `middle_name`, `company`, `title`, `job_title` and `personal_notes`. `categories` **replaces** the contact's whole list, as `outlook_categorize_message` does a message's, so `[]` removes every category; read the contact first to add one. `phone_type` works as on create; a `business` or `home` number **replaces** that list of numbers with the one given. `clear_phones` empties the types it names, so `phone_type="business", clear_phones=["mobile"]` moves a number saved as mobile to business in one update. `home_address`, `business_address` and `other_address` take the shape `outlook_get_contact` returns — any subset of `street`, `city`, `state`, `postal_code`, `country_or_region` — and **replace** that whole address, so pass back every part you want to keep. Omit one to leave it untouched. `birthday` sets or replaces the date, as on create. `email` **replaces** every address with the one given; `add_emails` and `remove_emails` change only the addresses they name, keeping the rest (a contact holds three at most). They are merged with what the contact holds now, and the update is pinned to that read with `If-Match`, so an edit made in between is refused with `412` rather than overwritten. Removing an address the contact doesn't have is refused. |
| `outlook_delete_contact` | Delete a contact. |
| `outlook_list_contacts_delta` | List only contact changes since the last call. Deletes come back as `{id, is_deleted: True}`. Cursor is stateless. |

### To Do

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `outlook_list_task_lists` | List To Do lists. |
| `outlook_list_tasks` | List tasks with status filter and pagination. |
| `outlook_get_task` | Get full task details: notes (`body`), checklist items (ordered unchecked-first), due, recurrence flag. |
| `outlook_create_task` | Create task with due date, importance, recurrence. |
| `outlook_update_task` | Update task fields. |
| `outlook_complete_task` | Mark task as completed. |
| `outlook_delete_task` | Delete a task. |
| `outlook_add_checklist_item` | Add a checklist item (sub-step) to a task. |
| `outlook_update_checklist_item` | Update a checklist item — mark done (`is_checked`) or rename (partial patch). |
| `outlook_delete_checklist_item` | Delete a checklist item from a task. |
| `outlook_list_task_attachments` | List attachments on a To Do task (id, name, size, content_type) with pagination. |
| `outlook_download_task_attachment` | Download a task attachment's content to a local file (confined to `attachments_dir`), or return it with `as_content=True`. |
| `outlook_upload_task_attachment` | Attach a local file (from `attachments_dir`) to a task via inline base64 POST (1 byte – 20 MiB). |
| `outlook_delete_task_attachment` | Remove an attachment from a To Do task. |

### Drafts

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `outlook_list_drafts` | List draft messages with pagination. |
| `outlook_create_draft` | Create a draft, with an HTML (`is_html=True`) or Markdown (`is_markdown=True`) body if wanted. With `reply_to_message_id` (`reply_all=True` for reply-all) or `forward_message_id`, the draft is created in that message's thread with the original quoted below, and nothing is sent; Graph fills a reply's recipients and subject, and a forward needs `to`. Supports scheduled delivery via `deferred_send_datetime` (server-side, Outlook-desktop-compatible "Delay Delivery"). |
| `outlook_update_draft` | Update draft fields. Accepts `is_html=True` for HTML bodies, `is_markdown=True` for Markdown ones, and `deferred_send_datetime` to set or clear the scheduled delivery time. |
| `outlook_send_draft` | Send an existing draft. |
| `outlook_delete_draft` | Delete a draft. |

### Attachments

> **Since 1.20.0, these tools only reach `attachments_dir`** (default `~/.outlook-mcp/attachments`).
> A bare filename resolves inside it; a path outside it is refused, including via a symlink.
> To email a file, move it there first — or widen `attachments_dir`, understanding that
> anything reachable from it can be sent. Before 1.20.0 these tools could read any file the
> server process could read, which meant an email asking an agent to attach one could be obeyed.
>
> The same fence covers the To Do attachment tools (`outlook_upload_task_attachment`,
> `outlook_download_task_attachment`): uploads read from `attachments_dir` and downloads
> write into it, so neither can sweep arbitrary files off disk. (Downloads are not
> `todo_write`-gated — they are reads, like `outlook_download_attachment`; the fence, not
> the category, is what confines them.)
>
> **A client that can't see the server's disk**, such as a remote or sandboxed one, can carry
> the bytes in the call instead, and then nothing is read from or written to disk.
> `as_content=True` on either download returns the attachment in the result, up to 10 MB:
> PNG, JPEG, GIF and WebP up to 5 MB as images, text up to 100,000 characters as text, and
> anything else, PDFs included, as an embedded resource holding the base64 bytes and their
> type. `attachments` on the two send tools takes inline files,
> `[{name, content_base64, content_type?}]`, up to 3 MB each (Graph's simple-attachment
> size). The fence still governs every path argument. An inline file is bytes the agent
> already holds and could already put in a message body, so it widens nothing.

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `outlook_list_attachments` | List attachments on a message. |
| `outlook_download_attachment` | Download an attachment and save decoded bytes into `attachments_dir`, or return it with `as_content=True`. |
| `outlook_send_with_attachments` | Send a message with attachments read from `attachments_dir` (auto upload session for >3MB) or passed inline in `attachments`. |
| `outlook_attach_to_draft` | Add attachments from `attachments_dir` (auto upload session for >3MB) or inline in `attachments` to an existing draft. |
| `outlook_remove_draft_attachment` | Remove a single attachment from a draft. |

### Folder Management

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `outlook_create_folder` | Create mail folder (top-level or nested). |
| `outlook_rename_folder` | Rename a mail folder. |
| `outlook_delete_folder` | Delete a mail folder (refuses well-known folders). |

### Threading and Batch

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `outlook_list_thread` | Get all messages in a conversation thread. |
| `outlook_copy_message` | Copy a message to another folder. |
| `outlook_batch_triage` | Batch move/flag/categorize/mark_read (max 20 per call). Single Graph `/$batch` round-trip — 10-20× faster than per-message calls for large triage; a message Graph throttles is re-sent after its `Retry-After` rather than reported as failed. `mark_read` takes `true`/`false` (or `read`/`unread`). |

### User and Admin

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `outlook_whoami` | Get current user profile. |
| `outlook_list_calendars` | List available calendars. |
| `outlook_list_categories` | List category definitions with colors. |
| `outlook_get_mail_tips` | Pre-send check (OOF, delivery restrictions). |

---

## Prompts

Three workflows ship as MCP prompts, so the common sequences do not have to be
reconstructed call by call. Any MCP client that supports prompts will list them; in most
clients they appear as slash commands or a prompt picker.

| Prompt | Arguments | What it does |
|--------|-----------|--------------|
| `morning_brief` | `folder` (default `inbox`) | Today's events, unread mail and tasks due, in the cheapest order — one scan each, `concise=True`, batched reads. |
| `triage_folder` | `folder` (default `inbox`), `count` (default 50) | One cheap scan of a folder, sorted into reply / archive / junk, applied with a single `outlook_batch_triage` call rather than one call per message. |
| `catch_up` | `since` (default `24h`) | What changed in mail, calendar and contacts, via the delta path — roughly ten times cheaper than re-scanning on a schedule. |

They cost nothing until invoked: `prompts/list` carries only a name and one line each, and
the body is fetched on use.

---

## Configuration

Config lives at `~/.outlook-mcp/config.json` (created with `0600` permissions on macOS and Linux; see **Config permissions** below for Windows). It is read as UTF-8 on every platform, and a byte-order mark is accepted. Set the `OUTLOOK_MCP_CONFIG_DIR` environment variable to move that settings directory (config.json, auth record, and the attachments default move with it) — see [Two accounts, two instances](#two-accounts-two-instances-optional--outlook_mcp_config_dir) below.

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|-------|------|---------|-------------|
| `client_id` | `string` | `null` | Azure AD application (client) ID. Required for auth. |
| `tenant_id` | `string` | `"consumers"` | Azure AD tenant. Use `"consumers"` for personal Microsoft accounts. |
| `timezone` | `string` | `"UTC"` | IANA timezone (e.g. `"America/New_York"`). Interprets zone-less dates, **and anchors every event you create** — a recurring event is expanded in this zone, so on the default `"UTC"` a 09:00 weekly meeting shifts an hour when the clocks change. Set it to where you are. |
| `read_only` | `bool` | `false` | When `true`, all write tools (send, reply, move, delete, create, update, RSVP) return an error. Gates the tools, not the Microsoft token -- see below. |
| `read_only_consent` | `bool` | `false` | When `true`, `outlook-mcp auth` asks Microsoft for the read permissions only, instead of the read-write set. For a second, read-only app registration -- see [What `read_only` does and does not do](#what-read_only-does-and-does-not-do). Requires `read_only: true`; the config is refused without it. |
| `attachments_dir` | `string` | `"~/.outlook-mcp/attachments"` | The only directory the attachment tools may read from or write to. Every path an agent supplies is resolved and must land inside it — a symlink out or a `..` is refused. Widen it only if you understand that anything reachable can be emailed. |
| `allow_categories` | `list[string]` | `[]` | Optional. Restrict write tools to specific categories (see below). Empty list = all writes allowed when `read_only: false`. |
| `allow_unencrypted_token_cache` | `bool` | `false` | Permit the OAuth token cache to be written in cleartext when the platform has no encrypted store (Linux without libsecret). Off by default: authentication stops with an explanation rather than silently persisting a reusable Graph token in plaintext. macOS and Windows always encrypt and are unaffected. |

### Toolset selection (optional) — `OUTLOOK_MCP_TOOLSETS`

All 68 tool schemas load into the client's context every turn (the chars/4 proxy `test_tool_surface_budget.py` measures with; a different yardstick than the ~8.6k o200k figure in ROADMAP for the 62-tool surface). A client that only needs part of the surface can set the `OUTLOOK_MCP_TOOLSETS` environment variable to a comma-separated list of tool groups, and only those load. The `account` group (auth / identity) is always available.

```bash
# e.g. a recurring mail + calendar agent: 28 tools instead of 68 (about half the tool tokens per turn)
OUTLOOK_MCP_TOOLSETS="mail,calendar,digest,delta"
```

Groups: `mail`, `drafts`, `attachments`, `calendar`, `contacts`, `todo`, `folders`, `digest`, `delta`, `admin`. Unset (the default) loads everything — fully backward compatible. This only affects which tools are advertised; enabled tools behave identically.

### Two accounts, two instances (optional) — `OUTLOOK_MCP_CONFIG_DIR`

One server process serves one mailbox. To work against two accounts, register **two client entries** and give each its own settings directory with `OUTLOOK_MCP_CONFIG_DIR` — pair it with `OUTLOOK_MCP_TOOLSETS` so each instance also only loads the tool groups it needs:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "outlook-net": {
      "command": "outlook-mcp",
      "env": {
        "OUTLOOK_MCP_TOOLSETS": "mail,calendar,contacts",
        "OUTLOOK_MCP_CONFIG_DIR": "~/.outlook-mcp-net"
      }
    },
    "outlook-neko": {
      "command": "outlook-mcp",
      "env": {
        "OUTLOOK_MCP_TOOLSETS": "todo",
        "OUTLOOK_MCP_CONFIG_DIR": "~/.outlook-mcp-neko"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Then run `outlook-mcp auth` once per instance, with the same env set, to write each auth record in its own directory. Each instance reads its own `config.json` (own `client_id`, `timezone`, permissions) from its own directory.

**Only move the config directory — never `HOME`.** The token cache is not in it: it stays in the OS keyring, and on macOS every azure-identity cache on the host shares one Keychain item, coordinated through a signal file — on this server, `~/.IdentityService/outlook-mcp.nocae` (azure-identity appends `.nocae` to every non-CAE cache name; a CAE cache would be a different file over the same item). Both processes must keep consulting that same signal file so their cache writes lock and merge into the one shared entry — which is exactly what moving the config directory preserves and redirecting `HOME` (or the cache location) would break: two signal files that each believe they own the Keychain item overwrite each other's token. `OUTLOOK_MCP_CONFIG_DIR` deliberately moves only where config.json, the auth record, and attachments live; unset or empty keeps the default `~/.outlook-mcp`.

### What `read_only` does and does not do

`read_only: true` stops outlook-mcp's write tools from running. Ask it to send mail and it
refuses.

**It does not make your Microsoft credential read-only.** The first sign-in consents the full read-write set, even with `read_only: true` in the config — the scopes a first consent leaves out can never be added without logging in again (every refresh afterwards uses `.default` -- "everything this account has already consented" -- so a session granted only read scopes would fail every write with 403 no matter what the config says). The stored token can send mail whether `read_only` is on or off, and a session consented before you turned `read_only` on keeps its write scopes.

Two consequences worth understanding:

- `read_only` is a line in a text file. Anything able to edit `~/.outlook-mcp/config.json`
  turns it off and has write access immediately -- no re-authentication, no new consent
  prompt.
- The enforcement lives in this server's Python code. Any other process holding the cached
  token is unaffected by it.

So treat `read_only` as a guardrail against an agent doing something rash, **not as a
security boundary**. If you want a credential that genuinely cannot write, have Microsoft
enforce it rather than us:

1. Register a **second** Azure app and give it the read permissions only: `Mail.Read`,
   `Calendars.Read`, `Contacts.Read`, `Tasks.Read`, `MailboxSettings.Read`, `User.Read`. It has
   to be an app this account has never granted write access to. Microsoft remembers consent
   per app, and a refresh returns everything that app was ever granted.
2. Point `client_id` at it and set both keys:

   ```json
   { "client_id": "<the read-only app>", "read_only": true, "read_only_consent": true }
   ```

3. Run `outlook-mcp auth`. With `read_only_consent` the consent screen lists the read
   permissions only. Without it, sign-in would ask this app for the read-write set too.

`read_only_consent` is refused without `read_only: true`: a sign-in that asked only for read
access cannot write, so a server expecting writes would fail on every one. And a sign-in
belongs to the app it was made with. After `client_id` changes, the server will not use the
old one — `outlook-mcp status` and `outlook_auth_status` say so until you run
`outlook-mcp auth` again.

### Granular Write Permissions (optional)

By default, `read_only: false` unlocks **all** write tools. For finer control, set `allow_categories` to restrict write access to specific categories. Read tools (list, search, get) are always allowed — `allow_categories` only narrows the write surface.

**Available categories:**

| Category | Tools | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| `mail_drafts` | create/update/delete draft, attach to/remove from a draft | Safe — drafts only, no send |
| `mail_triage` | move, delete (soft), flag, categorize, mark read, copy, batch, reclassify and set/delete Focused Inbox overrides | Moderate — reversible except hard delete |
| `mail_folders` | create/rename/delete folder | Moderate |
| `mail_send` | send, reply, forward, send_draft, send_with_attachments | **Dangerous** — sends email on your behalf |
| `calendar_write` | create/update/delete event, RSVP | Moderate — your own calendar. The parts that email other people text the agent wrote need `mail_send` as well: inviting attendees, rewording (subject, body, location) any event that already has them, and adding a message to an RSVP. A bare RSVP, a time change and a cancellation still notify the people involved, but carry nothing the agent wrote |
| `contacts_write` | create/update/delete contact | Moderate |
| `todo_write` | create/update/complete/delete task, checklist items; upload/delete task attachments | Moderate — your own task list, but `outlook_upload_task_attachment` reads local files from `attachments_dir` and pushes their bytes to Graph, and task/checklist/attachment deletes are irreversible. Listing and downloading attachments are plain reads, gated like every other read (not at all) and fenced to `attachments_dir` |

**Example policies:**

**Draft-only assistant** (agent can compose drafts, you review and send):

```json
{ "read_only": false, "allow_categories": ["mail_drafts", "mail_triage", "todo_write"] }
```

(Note that `todo_write` includes the *write-side* task-attachment tools — file reads
from `attachments_dir`, uploads to Graph, and irreversible deletes. Listing and
downloading task attachments are reads and are not write-gated, like the mail
attachment reads — see the table above.)

**Calendar-only** (agent can manage your schedule, nothing else):

```json
{ "read_only": false, "allow_categories": ["calendar_write"] }
```

(It cannot invite anyone. An invitation is an email, so attendees need `mail_send` too — add it
if the agent should set up meetings with other people, not just block out your own time.)

**Full write access** (agent can do everything):

```json
{ "read_only": false }
```

**Read-only** (safest default, no writes):

```json
{ "read_only": true }
```

When `allow_categories` is set, any tool in a non-allowed category returns a permission-denied error (`PermissionDeniedError`) naming the blocked category. When `allow_categories` is empty (or unset) and `read_only` is false, all write tools are permitted. `read_only: true` always takes precedence — if set, all writes are blocked regardless of `allow_categories`. Unknown category names are rejected at config load time with a validation error; only the seven names above are accepted.

---

## Privacy and Security

- **Zero telemetry.** No analytics, no tracking, no usage data collected.
- **Zero local caching.** Every call goes directly to Microsoft Graph. No local email/calendar storage. (One carve-out: the To Do default-list id is resolved once per process and kept for the session — an id, not content; see `outlook_list_tasks`.)
- **Zero third-party calls.** The server only talks to `graph.microsoft.com` and `login.microsoftonline.com`.
- **Token storage.** OAuth tokens are persisted via `azure-identity`'s `TokenCachePersistenceOptions`. On macOS the OS Keychain is used; on Windows, DPAPI; on Linux with PyGObject/libsecret available, gnome-keyring. On Linux *without* libsecret (e.g. the isolated venv created by `uv tool install`), tokens fall back to a `0600` plaintext file at `~/.IdentityService/` and the MCP logs a one-time warning at startup. For encrypted storage on Linux, install `python3-gi gnome-keyring libsecret-1-0` and re-create the venv with `--system-site-packages`.
- **No logging of sensitive data.** Message bodies, recipient addresses, and tokens are never logged.
- **Config permissions.** On macOS and Linux the config directory is created `0700` and the config file `0600`, and a loose mode on the file is repaired on load. On Windows those POSIX modes cannot be enforced — `os.chmod` there sets only the read-only attribute — so access is governed by the path's Windows ACL, including whatever it inherits from the directory it was created under, which this server neither applies nor verifies. Symlinked configs are rejected on every platform.
- **Input validation.** All user inputs (email addresses, Graph IDs, OData filters, KQL queries, datetimes) are validated and sanitized before reaching the Graph API.

---

## Development

```bash
# Install dev dependencies
uv sync --extra dev

# Run tests
uv run pytest

# Lint
uv run ruff check src/ tests/ scripts/

# Format (CI fails if `ruff format --check` would change a file)
uv run ruff format src/ tests/ scripts/

# Run server locally (stdio)
uv run outlook-mcp
```

**Requirements:** Python 3.10+

---

## Roadmap

- **Advanced mail** -- raw MIME export, internet message headers
- **Calendar** -- cancel event (with attendee notification)
- **Work/school-only tools** -- free/busy, meeting times, automatic replies, shared mailboxes: not planned for now (#133). If any are taken later, they come as an opt-in group that personal accounts never load

Committed direction, and what was investigated and ruled out (inbox rules, mailbox settings), is in [ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md).

---

## License

MIT. See [LICENSE](LICENSE).
