Working with nylas mcp serve: Start the Nylas MCP server for AI assistant integration

Start the Nylas MCP server for AI assistant integration. One command bridges the gap between your AI assistant and your communication data.

The nylas mcp serve command starts a Model Context Protocol server that exposes Nylas email, calendar, and contacts as tools for AI assistants. Choose --transport stdio for direct piping to Claude Code, Cursor, or VS Code, or --transport sse for network-based connections.

Syntax

nylas mcp serve [--transport stdio|sse] [--port PORT]

Examples

Start in stdio mode for Claude Code:

nylas mcp serve --transport stdio

Start SSE server on a custom port:

nylas mcp serve --transport sse --port 3200

Tips

Debug mode: Add --verbose to see the underlying API requests and responses — useful when something doesn't behave as expected.

Script-friendly: Add --json for machine-readable output and --yes (where supported) to skip confirmations in automated pipelines.

How It Works

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard from Anthropic. It defines how AI assistants discover and call external tools. The Nylas MCP server registers email, calendar, and contact operations as tools — your assistant sees them in its tool palette automatically.

Related Commands

• nylas mcp install — Install MCP configuration for AI assistants (Claude, Cursor, VS Code)
• nylas mcp status — Check the status of the Nylas MCP server
• nylas mcp uninstall — Remove MCP integration from an AI assistant

Full docs: nylas mcp serve reference — all flags, advanced examples, and troubleshooting.

All commands: Nylas CLI Command Reference

Get started: brew install nylas/nylas-cli/nylas — other install methods