IMAP-MCP lets Claude sort a 300K-email inbox via local cache

Anton Bukarev describes building IMAP-MCP after existing tools failed to handle his 300,000-email inbox — choking on large mailboxes, hitting mail servers on every query, or storing passwords in plaintext config files. IMAP-MCP downloads emails into a local cache so queries run instantly without server roundtrips. Using Claude, Bukarev analyzed his inbox, discovered that only 3% of emails were from real humans, had Claude create 12 folders and sort roughly 200,000 emails in one afternoon, and set up a weekly routine to surface unanswered threads. The tool supports any IMAP-compatible provider, stores credentials in the OS keychain, and works with Claude Code, Claude Desktop, VS Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.