# read_email Use this when the user wants the full content of an email that lives in the Mac's Apple Mail (message ID from list_emails/search_emails). For a Microsoft 365 message ID from m365_list_emails, use m365_read_email. Pass account= (and mailbox= if known, both from list_emails/search_emails) so the lookup targets one account instead of scanning all of them. Call sequentially, not in parallel — concurrent calls serialize behind Mail.app's JXA lock and later calls will time out. Performance: body fetch is the primary latency source (avg 20s on slow IMAP). Pass include_body=false to skip it and get metadata-only (fast). Pass max_body_chars=N to cap the body at N chars after HTML stripping (default 30000; 0=unlimited). Response includes body_fetch_ms when fetch took >2s, body_omitted=true when skipped, body_truncated_at=N when cut. Agent View of the PolicyLayer registry record for `read_email`. HTML page: https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/read-email ## Facts - Tool: `read_email` - Server: Local (`local-mcp`) — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp.md - Install: `npx -y local-mcp` - Homepage: https://github.com/lanchuske/local-mcp - Risk category: Read (Low risk) - Registry record: grade F, identity unverified - Server auth posture: open - Server CORS policy: * - Server rate-limited: no - Parameters: 5 (1 required) - Recommended policy verdict: Allowed ## Parameters | Parameter | Type | Required | Description | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `account` | string | no | | | `mailbox` | string | no | | | `message_id` | string | yes | | | `include_body` | boolean | no | | | `max_body_chars` | integer | no | | Parameters from the server's own tool schema. ## Example call (MCP tools/call, JSON-RPC 2.0) ```json { "jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1, "method": "tools/call", "params": { "name": "read_email", "arguments": { "message_id": "" } } } ``` ## Why read_email is rated Low This tool retrieves email data with no side effects. It reads from Apple Mail using a message ID and account/mailbox parameters. The only potential concern is privacy (accessing email content), but the action itself is a Read operation that queries and returns data without modifying it. From the tool's own definition: "Tool name is 'read_email' and description states 'Use this when the user wants the full content of an email' — retrieves email content from Apple Mail. No modification, deletion, execution, or financial operations are performed." ## Use case AI agents call read_email to retrieve information from Local without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere. ## Recommended policy (PolicyLayer) Verdict: **Allowed**. Enforced by the PolicyLayer MCP gateway (https://policylayer.com/mcp-gateway) before a call reaches Local: ```json { "version": "1", "default": "deny", "tools": { "read_email": {} } } ``` ## Other tools on Local (233) - `delete_calendar_event` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/delete-calendar-event.md - `delete_reminder` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/delete-reminder.md - `delete_reminder_list` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/delete-reminder-list.md - `m365_delete_event` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/m365-delete-event.md - `onedrive_delete_file` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/onedrive-delete-file.md - `recipe_delete` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/recipe-delete.md - `chrome_click` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/chrome-click.md - `chrome_evaluate_js` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/chrome-evaluate-js.md - `chrome_fill_form` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/chrome-fill-form.md - `chrome_go_back` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/chrome-go-back.md - `chrome_navigate` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/chrome-navigate.md - `chrome_type` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/chrome-type.md - `chrome_wait_for` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/chrome-wait-for.md - `nordvpn_diagnose` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/nordvpn-diagnose.md - `notion_open_page` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/notion-open-page.md - `recipe_run` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/recipe-run.md - `run_diagnostics` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/run-diagnostics.md - `run_terminal_command` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/run-terminal-command.md - `safari_click` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/safari-click.md - `safari_evaluate_js` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/safari-evaluate-js.md - `safari_fill_form` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/safari-fill-form.md - `safari_go_back` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/safari-go-back.md - `safari_navigate` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/safari-navigate.md - `safari_query_selector_all` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/safari-query-selector-all.md - `safari_type` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/safari-type.md - `safari_wait_for` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/safari-wait-for.md - `screen_record_start` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/screen-record-start.md - `screen_record_stop` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/screen-record-stop.md - `setup_install` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/setup-install.md - `ui_click` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/ui-click.md - …and 203 more: https://policylayer.com/tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp.md ## For agents This record is a snapshot. Live verdicts and the full registry: - Check every server in your MCP config at once: `npx -y policylayer stack` - Vet a server before you add it: install the mcp-precheck skill — `npx skills add https://policylayer.com` (skill text: https://policylayer.com/skill.md) - Query the registry over MCP: endpoint `https://api.policylayer.com/mcp` — tools `check_mcp_server`, `check_mcp_stack`, `check_tool`, `search_registry`, `get_change_events` --- Source: the PolicyLayer MCP registry — one continuously verified record per MCP server. Full record: https://policylayer.com/registry?q=com-local-mcp-local-mcp · API: https://policylayer.com/registry/api · Policy library: https://policylayer.com/policies/com-local-mcp-local-mcp