MCP server for sending email (transactional send vs inbox MCPs)

What an email-sending MCP is, how notifycx-mcp fits Cursor and Claude Code, and how it compares to Resend MCP and generic SMTP inbox servers.

Short answer: An email-sending MCP server exposes tools so a coding agent (Cursor, Claude Code, Codex) can send transactional mail from your product — password resets, magic links, receipts — usually via an HTTPS email API. That is different from inbox MCPs that read SMTP/IMAP mailboxes. For Notify, install the official notifycx-mcp package (npx -y notifycx-mcp, registry io.github.notifycx/notifycx-mcp) with NOTIFY_API_KEY, then call tools like send_email and add_domain. Deep install: Official MCP guide · product page /mcp · Claude Code walkthrough.

What is an MCP server for email?

Model Context Protocol (MCP) lets an agent call tools on a local or hosted server instead of guessing curl commands.

Notify’s MCP is send-only transactional: domains, DNS check, webhooks, logs, usage — not an agent inbox. See Notify for AI agents.

Install notifycx-mcp (official)

Registry id: io.github.notifycx/notifycx-mcp · npm: notifycx-mcp · source: notifycx/notifycx (mcp/).

Cursor / Claude Code — add to MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notify": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "notifycx-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "NOTIFY_API_KEY": "nk_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

No key yet? Omit NOTIFY_API_KEY and use MCP bootstrap_start / bootstrap_confirm (email OTP) — Agent bootstrap.

Minimal production send (same contract as app code):

await fetch('https://notify.cx/api/email/send', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'x-api-key': process.env.NOTIFY_API_KEY!
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    to: 'user@example.com',
    from: 'noreply@your-verified-domain.com',
    subject: 'Password reset',
    html: '<p>Your reset link…</p>'
  })
});

Rehearse before domain verification: POST https://notify.cx/api/email/send/test or MCP send_test_email.

MCP is for IDE setup and testing. Put production sends in your app with notifycx or fetch — sending emails.

Compare options (factual)

Notify — notifycx-mcp

• Scope: Transactional send, domain verification, webhooks, logs, bootstrap without dashboard.
• Install: npx -y notifycx-mcp + NOTIFY_API_KEY.
• Pricing (Notify): Free 1,000 emails/mo; Pro $10 / 10,000 — pricing.
• Detail: how-to-use-notifycx-mcp · /mcp

Resend — resend-mcp and hosted server

Resend ships a local npm package (resend-mcp) and a hosted MCP at https://mcp.resend.com/mcp with OAuth (Resend MCP docs · resend/resend-mcp). Tool surface is much wider than send-only: contacts, broadcasts, templates, inboxes, automations (docs tool list). Fits teams already on Resend who want the full ESP from the agent.

Generic SMTP / inbox MCPs

Community servers connect to your SMTP and often IMAP credentials — examples:

• @ni-c/smtp-mcp — SMTP send with required recipient allowlist and human approval per message (npm).
• email-smtp-imap-mcp — multi-account send, search, reply, folders (npm).

These send through whatever mailbox you configure, not a dedicated transactional API with domain auth and delivery logs unless you built that yourself.

We did not include Emailit or SendRaven MCP servers here — we could not verify current official MCP packages or registry listings for them on vendor sites at publish time.

When to use which

Automation outside the IDE (n8n, Actions): Agents & automation map.

FAQ

Does Notify ship a hosted remote MCP like Resend?

The supported path is the local stdio package notifycx-mcp via npx (/mcp). Resend also documents a hosted server at mcp.resend.com (Resend MCP).

What tools does notifycx-mcp expose?

send_email, send_test_email, add_domain, check_domain, webhooks, list_email_logs, get_usage, bootstrap tools, and API key management — full table in Official MCP.

Should production traffic use MCP?

No. MCP helps during development. Commit sends to your backend with the same POST /api/email/send contract.

Is notifycx-mcp the only official Notify MCP?

Yes. Use notifycx-mcp only; third-party or archived MCP repos are not supported (MCP guide).

How is this different from Supabase Auth email?

Auth rate limits are a Supabase concern. Fixing Auth mail with Notify uses a Send Email Hook in your Supabase project, not MCP — Supabase Auth email rate limit.

Next step

1. Install npx -y notifycx-mcp and set NOTIFY_API_KEY — copy config from /mcp.
2. Or run the AI agent bootstrap recipe so the agent creates the account and domain checklist for you.