Email, calendar, and contacts from your terminal.
Pipe-friendly, headless-first. Give any agent email, calendar, and contacts in one command.
Nylas CLI is a free, open-source command-line tool that provides unified access to email, calendar, and contacts across Gmail, Microsoft 365, Exchange, Yahoo, iCloud, and IMAP providers. It includes a built-in MCP server for AI agents, GPG encryption, webhook management, and 72+ commands for scripting and automation.
Features
Agent-native
Built-in MCP server lets Claude, Cursor, and VS Code read and send email in one command. Typed tools across email, calendar, and contacts — no API keys or middleware required.
Runs anywhere
Works over SSH, inside containers, and in CI pipelines. No GUI, no browser, no display server. Pipe JSON output to jq, scripts, or other CLI tools.
Unified email
One interface for Gmail, Outlook, Exchange, Yahoo, iCloud, and any IMAP server. Send, search, list, and read email across 6 providers with a single command.
Calendar
List, create, update, and delete events. AI scheduling with natural language, DST-aware timezone handling, and free/busy availability checks.
Contacts
Search and sync contacts across every connected provider. List contact groups, look up by name or email, and export as JSON for automation.
Sandboxed
OAuth tokens stored in your OS keyring. GPG signing and encryption keep messages private. Your credentials and keys never leave your machine.
Guides
Learn by doing
Email Auth: OAuth vs API Key vs App Password
Compare OAuth 2.0, API keys, and app-specific passwords for email API authentication. Security trade-offs, token lifetimes, provider support, and setup guides.
Manage a Shared Mailbox from Terminal
Read, send, and manage shared mailbox email from the command line. Switch between personal and team grants, list messages, and send replies as the team address.
Email to Slack Alerts from Terminal
Forward important emails to Slack channels automatically. Poll for new messages, filter by sender or subject, and post formatted alerts via incoming webhooks.
Back Up Email to JSON from Terminal
Export your entire mailbox to JSON files from the command line. Paginate through all messages, filter by date or folder, and automate daily backups with cron.
Attendee vs Recall.ai: Meeting Bots Compared
Compare Attendee, Recall.ai, and Nylas Notetaker for meeting recording and transcription. Platform support, pricing, API access, and CLI integration compared.
Automate Meeting Notes to Email
Record meetings, generate AI summaries from transcripts, and email notes to attendees automatically. Combines notetaker bots with scheduled email sends.
Install
One install. Then pipe it to anything.
brew install nylas/nylas-cli/nylasThen run guided setup
- 1.Run
nylas init— log in, create or choose an app, generate an API key, and sync grants. - 2.Prefer manual setup? Sign up at dashboard-v3.nylas.com.
- 3.Start using commands — the same setup works across email, calendar, contacts, and MCP.
nylas init