Apple Mail vs io.github.samihalawa/email-smtp-imap-mcp
Apple Mail is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by Rob Sweet. Marketplaces we read that list it: 2 (Community GitHub marketplaces, npm registry (MCP servers)). io.github.samihalawa/email-smtp-imap-mcp is an MCP server published by samihalawa. Marketplaces we read that list it: 2 (Official MCP Registry, npm registry (MCP servers)). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-11-09. This pair was picked by a reader, not by our comparison rule, so search engines are asked not to index the page.
Where each is published
| Marketplace |  Apple Mail |  io.github.samihalawa/email-smtp-imap-mcp |
|---|---|---|
| npm registry (MCP servers) | Listed Version: 2.20.55 Downloads/month (npm): 21 143 Downloads/week (npm): 9 174 Forks (GitHub): 33 Stars (GitHub): 107 Not marked · First seen |
Listed Version: 2.2.2 Downloads/month (npm): 1 218 Downloads/week (npm): 460 Forks (GitHub): 19 Stars (GitHub): 25 Not marked · First seen |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 2.2.2 Downloads/month (npm): 1 218 Downloads/week (npm): 460 Forks (GitHub): 19 Stars (GitHub): 25 Not marked · First seen |
Each figure is the marketplace's own and is never added up across marketplaces. A marketplace that publishes no figure shows none: no number is not zero.
The facts side by side
| Fact | Apple Mail | io.github.samihalawa/email-smtp-imap-mcp |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 2 | 2 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 107 (better) | 25 (worse) |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 33 (better) | 19 (worse) |
| Last release (differs) | 2026-11-05 (better) | 2026-11-01 (worse) |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (apple-mail-mcp) | On your machine (email-smtp-imap-mcp) |
| Transport (differs) | Not stated | stdio |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | Not published | 2, secrets among them: 1 |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 2 | Not a bundle |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/sweetrb/apple-mail-mcp | github.com/samihalawa/email-smtp-imap-mcp |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 5 | 0 |
| First seen | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-12 |
Lines where the two differ have a tinted background and bold values. Where the data itself says which value is better (more marketplaces, a larger figure of the same marketplace, a fresher release, a verified mark on a marketplace that lists both), the better one is also marked green with ▲ and the worse one red with ▼. Where it runs, the transport, the tools, the settings, hooks, the bundle's parts, the licence and the week's changes are marked only as different: more or fewer is not better in itself.
What each says it does
Apple Mail
Manage Apple Mail through natural language - read, search, send, and organize emails (macOS only)
io.github.samihalawa/email-smtp-imap-mcp
Multi-account SMTP/IMAP email tools: search, read, send, reply, forward, flags and folders.
How to run each
Apple Mail As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add sweetrb/apple-mail-mcp
/plugin install apple-mail@apple-mail-mcpio.github.samihalawa/email-smtp-imap-mcp As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --env "EMAIL_ACCOUNTS_JSON=<YOUR_EMAIL_ACCOUNTS_JSON>" --transport stdio email-smtp-imap-mcp -- npx -y email-smtp-imap-mcpRequires: EMAIL_ACCOUNTS_JSON (secret)
Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
Neither one's marketplaces publish a list of tools, so there is nothing to compare.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of Apple Mail publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: Apple Mail · What it can do: io.github.samihalawa/email-smtp-imap-mcp · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from public marketplace files in GitHub repositories of their authors. Package data comes from the public npm registry (registry.npmjs.org). Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.