MCP Server

The Inbound MCP (Model Context Protocol) server allows AI assistants to interact with your Inbound account to manage domains, endpoints, and emails.

Quick Start

The fastest way to get started is using Inbound’s hosted MCP server at mcp.inbound.new/mcp.

Cursor

Add to your Cursor MCP config (.cursor/mcp.json in your project or global config):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "inbound": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.inbound.new/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "x-inbound-api-key": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

OpenCode

Add to your opencode.json config:

{
  "mcp": {
    "inbound": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://mcp.inbound.new/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "x-inbound-api-key": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "inbound": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@inbound/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "INBOUND_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop uses STDIO transport and runs the MCP server locally via npx.

Authentication

The MCP server authenticates using your Inbound API key. Get your API key from the dashboard.

Domain Restriction (Optional)

To restrict all operations to a single domain (and its subdomains), add the x-inbound-domain header:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "inbound": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.inbound.new/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "x-inbound-api-key": "your-api-key",
        "x-inbound-domain": "example.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

This will filter results to show only example.com and subdomains like mail.example.com, support.example.com, etc.

Available Tools

Domains

Tool	Description
`list_domains`	List all domains in your account (respects domain restriction)

Endpoints

Tool	Description
`list_endpoints`	List webhook and email forwarding endpoints
`create_endpoint`	Create a webhook, email forward, or email group endpoint

Emails

Tool	Description
`list_emails`	List sent, received, and scheduled emails with filtering
`get_email`	Get detailed information about a specific email including full content
`send_email`	Send or schedule an email

Threads

Tool	Description
`list_threads`	List email conversations with previews
`get_thread`	Get all messages in a thread

Example Usage

Once configured, you can ask your AI assistant to:

“List all my domains”
“Show me the last 10 received emails”
“Send an email to support@example.com with subject ‘Hello’”
“Create a webhook endpoint for notifications@mydomain.com”
“Show me the conversation thread with john@example.com”
“Get the full content of email ID abc123”

Available Prompts

The MCP server includes a getting-started prompt that teaches the AI assistant how to use Inbound effectively. Most AI assistants will automatically discover and use this prompt.

Self-Hosting

You can also run the MCP server locally:

Installation

npm install @inbound/mcp
# or
pnpm add @inbound/mcp
# or
bun add @inbound/mcp

Running

# HTTP server (for Cursor, OpenCode, etc.)
INBOUND_API_KEY=your-api-key npx @inbound/mcp start:http

# STDIO server (for Claude Desktop)
npx @inbound/mcp

The HTTP server runs on port 3002 by default. Configure your client to use http://localhost:3002/mcp.

Troubleshooting

Tools not appearing

Make sure your API key is valid and has the necessary permissions. Check the MCP server logs for authentication errors.

Domain filtering not working

Ensure the x-inbound-domain header value matches exactly with your domain name in Inbound (case-sensitive).

Connection refused

If self-hosting, verify the server is running and the port is accessible. For the hosted version, check your network connectivity.

Security

Never commit your API key to version control. Use environment variables or a secrets manager.

Best practices:

Use environment variables for API keys: "x-inbound-api-key": "$INBOUND_API_KEY"
Restrict operations to specific domains using x-inbound-domain
Regularly rotate your API keys
Use separate API keys for different environments (dev, staging, production)

Quickstart

Integrations

Quick Start

Cursor

OpenCode

Claude Desktop

Authentication

Domain Restriction (Optional)

Available Tools

Domains

Endpoints

Emails

Threads

Example Usage

Available Prompts

Self-Hosting

Installation

Running

Troubleshooting

Security

​Quick Start

​Cursor

​OpenCode

​Claude Desktop

​Authentication

​Domain Restriction (Optional)

​Available Tools

​Domains

​Endpoints

​Emails

​Threads

​Example Usage

​Available Prompts

​Self-Hosting

​Installation

​Running

​Troubleshooting

​Security

Quick Start

Cursor

OpenCode

Claude Desktop

Authentication

Domain Restriction (Optional)

Available Tools

Domains

Endpoints

Emails

Threads

Example Usage

Available Prompts

Self-Hosting

Installation

Running

Troubleshooting

Security