Email MCP Server (IMAP/SMTP) vs Slack MCP Server (korotovsky)

A side-by-side comparison of two Communication servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	Email MCP Server (IMAP/SMTP) Provider-agnostic email MCP over IMAP/SMTP — read, search and send from any mailbox Verified stdio (local) API key Python	Slack MCP Server (korotovsky) Powerful Slack MCP with stdio/SSE/HTTP, DMs, group DMs and no-admin token auth Verified stdio (local) API key Go
Category	Communication	Communication
Language	Python	Go
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	API key
GitHub stars	254	1.7k
Last commit	19 days ago	1 month ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`uvx mcp-email-server@latest stdio`	`npx -y slack-mcp-server@latest --transport stdio`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Email MCP Server (IMAP/SMTP) if you prefer its approach (provider-agnostic email mcp over imap/smtp — read, search and send from any mailbox).

Pick Slack MCP Server (korotovsky) if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you need the broadest set of tools.

Add Email MCP Server (IMAP/SMTP)

Install / run

uvx mcp-email-server@latest stdio

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "email-mcp-server-imap-smtp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-email-server@latest",
        "stdio"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Requires `uv` (the Python package runner). Install it from https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ if `uvx` is not found.

Add Slack MCP Server (korotovsky)

Install / run

npx -y slack-mcp-server@latest --transport stdio

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack-mcp-server-korotovsky": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "slack-mcp-server@latest",
        "--transport",
        "stdio"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SLACK_MCP_XOXP_TOKEN": "<your-slack-user-oauth-token-xoxp>"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Email MCP Server (IMAP/SMTP) or Slack MCP Server (korotovsky) — which is better?

Pick Email MCP Server (IMAP/SMTP) if you prefer its approach (provider-agnostic email mcp over imap/smtp — read, search and send from any mailbox). Pick Slack MCP Server (korotovsky) if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you need the broadest set of tools.

Can I use both Email MCP Server (IMAP/SMTP) and Slack MCP Server (korotovsky)?

Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.

Do Email MCP Server (IMAP/SMTP) and Slack MCP Server (korotovsky) work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View Email MCP Server (IMAP/SMTP) →View Slack MCP Server (korotovsky) →More comparisons →