Claude Code

Email and Calendar Management

Connect Claude Code to Gmail and Google Calendar to automate scheduling, inbox triage, and email workflows.

Overview

Transform how you manage email and calendar by connecting Claude Code to your Google Workspace. Automate inbox triage, draft context-aware email responses, find meeting slots instantly, and optimize your calendar layout—all through natural language conversations. This eliminates the constant context switching between your terminal and email client.

Using MCP servers for Gmail and Google Calendar, Claude Code can read emails, search threads, draft replies, check availability, create events, and manage your schedule. You maintain full control with review steps before any emails are sent or calendar changes are made.

Prerequisites

Gmail MCP Server

Install and configure the Gmail MCP server for email access

Google Calendar MCP Server

Install and configure the Calendar MCP server for scheduling

OAuth Authentication

Set up OAuth credentials for Google Workspace API access

Core workflows

Inbox Triage and Prioritization

Automatically scan unread emails, categorize by urgency, and surface action items.

Steps

1Ask Claude to fetch unread emails from the last 24 hours
2Request summarization grouped by sender or topic
3Identify emails requiring responses vs FYIs
4Create task list from action items found in emails

Example Prompt

"Scan my unread emails from today. Group them by urgency and give me a summary of each. Create a task list for any action items."

Meeting Scheduling

Find available time slots, check attendee availability, and send calendar invites.

Steps

1Ask Claude to check your calendar for the next week
2Specify meeting duration and preferred time windows
3Request availability check for specific attendees
4Have Claude create and send the calendar invite

Example Prompt

"Check my calendar for next week and find a 1-hour slot between 2-5pm when I'm free. Then create a meeting invite for the team standup."

Email Drafting and Responses

Generate email drafts based on context, tone, and recipient information.

Steps

1Provide context about the email thread or topic
2Specify tone (formal, casual, urgent) and key points
3Review and refine the draft with Claude
4Send directly or copy to your email client

Example Prompt

"Draft a professional but friendly email to the design team about the deadline extension. Keep it under 150 words and emphasize we're still on track."

Calendar Management

Reschedule meetings, block focus time, and optimize your calendar layout.

Steps

1Review your calendar with Claude for conflicts or gaps
2Request automatic rescheduling of non-critical meetings
3Block focus time for deep work based on your preferences
4Get notifications for upcoming important meetings

Example Prompt

"Look at my calendar for this week. Move any 1-on-1s that conflict with focus time, and block 2 hours each morning for deep work."

Use case examples

Daily Routine

Morning Email Briefing

Get a 5-minute digest of overnight emails with action items flagged and prioritized by importance.

Daily Routine

End-of-Day Calendar Prep

Review tomorrow's meetings, prepare agendas, and ensure no scheduling conflicts exist.

Communication

Bulk Email Management

Unsubscribe from newsletters, archive old threads, and clean up your inbox automatically.

Communication

Follow-up Tracking

Track emails waiting for responses and get reminders to follow up after 3 days.

Scheduling

Multi-Timezone Coordination

Schedule meetings across time zones, accounting for attendee working hours and preferences.

Scheduling

Recurring Meeting Audit

Identify recurring meetings you haven't attended in weeks and suggest cancellations.

Setup and configuration

Install MCP servers

Install the Gmail and Google Calendar MCP servers using npm or your package manager.

npm install @modelcontextprotocol/server-gmail @modelcontextprotocol/server-google-calendar

Set up OAuth credentials

Create a Google Cloud project, enable Gmail and Calendar APIs, and download OAuth credentials JSON.

Configure Claude Code

Add the MCP servers to your Claude Code configuration file with the OAuth credentials path.

Authenticate

Run Claude Code and authenticate with Google to grant email and calendar access permissions.

Best practices

Review email summaries before taking action to ensure accuracy

Set up filters for sensitive emails that shouldn't be processed by AI

Use specific time windows when scheduling to avoid odd meeting times

Always review calendar invites before sending to external stakeholders

Maintain a Claude.md file with your email preferences and common recipients

Start with read-only operations before enabling send permissions

Troubleshooting common issues

OAuth authentication fails

Verify your OAuth credentials are correctly configured and have the required Gmail and Calendar API scopes enabled in Google Cloud Console.

Emails not appearing

Check your Gmail MCP server configuration and ensure the date range or search filters aren't too restrictive.

Calendar events creating duplicates

Use specific event IDs when updating existing events. Check for timezone mismatches in your configuration.

Advanced tips

Email Templates Library

Create a collection of email templates in your Claude.md file for common scenarios like meeting requests, status updates, or customer responses.

Smart Scheduling Rules

Define rules for meeting scheduling (no meetings before 10am, buffer time between meetings, preferred meeting days) in your configuration.

Integration with Task Management

Combine email/calendar workflows with task management to automatically create tasks from meeting action items or email commitments.

Email Analytics

Ask Claude to analyze email patterns: who you exchange the most emails with, average response time, or common topics.

Related workflows

Inbox Triage Workflow Task Management MCP Integrations