How to Connect Your Gmail Shared Inbox to Claude (MCP Setup Guide)

In about five minutes, you can be running your support inbox from a chat window, "show me today's unread threads, summarise the urgent ones, and draft replies", with Claude reading and acting on your real Gmail shared inbox. This guide walks through connecting Drag to Claude (and ChatGPT, Cursor, or any MCP client) step by step, with a config generator that writes the exact setup for you and a set of prompts to try the moment it works.

If you want the background on what MCP is first, see our guide to MCP for customer support. If you just want it working, read on.

What you will need

• A DragApp account on a plan with API access, and your API key (we will get it in step 1).
• An MCP-compatible client: Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Cursor, Gemini, Copilot, Windsurf, or Claude Code.
• Node.js installed (the server runs via npx). If you do not have it, install the LTS version from nodejs.org first. This is the most common thing people miss.

Step 1: Get your DragApp API key

In DragApp, open Settings and find your API key under Integrations. Copy it. Treat it like a password: it grants access to your DragApp workspace with your existing permissions, so never share it or commit it to version control.

Step 2: Generate your config

Every client uses the same MCP server. The only differences are where the config file lives and a couple of client-specific details. Rather than hand-edit JSON (the easiest thing to get wrong), use the generator below: paste your API key, pick your client, and copy the exact config.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dragapp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@dragapp/mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DRAG_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

The underlying config is always this shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dragapp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@dragapp/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "DRAG_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Where it goes, by client:

• Claude Desktop (macOS): ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Claude Desktop (Windows): %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Cursor: .cursor/mcp.json
• Windsurf: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json
• Claude Code: ~/.claude.json (or project-level .mcp.json)
• ChatGPT / Gemini / Copilot: add the server in the desktop app's connector/MCP settings (no manual file).

Step 3: Restart your client and verify

Fully quit and reopen your AI client. MCP servers load at startup, so a restart is required (a frequent stumbling point). To confirm it worked, ask: "List the boards in my DragApp." If Drag's tools are connected, the client will call list_boards and return your boards. That is the signal you are live.

Step 4: Run your first real prompt

Now the payoff. Try one of these, each maps to real Drag tools:

• "Show me unread emails on the Support board."
• "Reply to the latest email from Sarah."
• "What is our average response time this week?"
• "Assign all billing-related threads to Sarah."
• "Search our knowledge base for the refund policy."

See the full prompt library below.

What you can do once connected: 43 tools across 11 categories

Drag's MCP server (@dragapp/mcp-server) exposes 43 tools across 11 categories, so an AI client can operate your inbox end to end:

• Email (8): list, read, reply, send, search, filter, and move threads (incl. bulk).
• Boards (5) and Cards (6): list/get boards and columns, create/update/move/archive cards.
• Labels (4), Comments (2), Tags (2), Tasks (1): organise and annotate.
• Contacts (3): search contacts and pull their conversation history.
• Knowledge Base (5): list, read, create, update, and search articles.
• Analytics (4): response times, daily activity, closed/resolved metrics, by prompt.
• Automations (3): list, toggle automations, and toggle AI draft generation.

For the full tool-by-tool reference, see the Drag MCP docs.

A starter prompt library

Copy-ready prompts grouped by job (each maps to real tools).

Triage

Show me all unread threads on the Support board and summarise the top 5 by urgency.

Which threads have been waiting longest for a first reply?

Reply and act

Draft a reply to the latest thread from [customer] using a warm, concise tone.

Assign all billing-related threads to [teammate].

Label everything mentioning 'refund' as Billing and move it to In Progress.

Report

What is our average first response time this week vs last week?

How many threads did we close today, and who closed the most?

Knowledge

Search our knowledge base for the cancellation policy and draft a reply citing it.

Cross-system (with another MCP server connected, e.g. Stripe/Linear)

Read the latest billing complaint, look up the customer in Stripe, and draft a reply with the correct refund.

For more on multi-tool workflows, see how to run support inside Claude or ChatGPT.

Troubleshooting

• "The tools are not showing up." Fully quit and restart the client (not just close the window). MCP servers load on startup. Most "it did not work" cases are a missing restart.
• "npx / command not found" or the server will not start. Node.js is not installed or is not on your PATH. Install the LTS from nodejs.org and restart your terminal/client.
• "Authentication failed." Re-copy the API key (no extra spaces), confirm it is in the DRAG_API_KEY field, and that your DragApp plan includes API access.
• Invalid JSON. A stray comma or quote breaks the config. Use the generator above to avoid hand-editing, and validate the file if you edited it manually.
• Keep your key safe. It grants full access to your workspace. Never commit it to a repo; rotate it in Settings if exposed.