How to integrate Gmail MCP with LangChain

This guide walks you through connecting Gmail to LangChain using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Gmail agent that can read emails, search your inbox, draft messages, manage labels, and organize threads through natural language commands. This guide will help you understand how to give your LangChain agent real control over a Gmail account through Composio's Gmail MCP server. Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

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Gmail is Google's email service with powerful spam protection, search, and G Suite integration. It keeps your inbox organized and makes communication fast and reliable.

61 Tools2 Triggers

Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Gmail to LangChain using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Gmail agent that can read emails, search your inbox, draft messages, manage labels, and organize threads through natural language commands.

This guide will help you understand how to give your LangChain agent real control over a Gmail account through Composio's Gmail MCP server.

Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

Also integrate Gmail with

TL;DR

Here's what you'll learn:
  • Get and set up your OpenAI and Composio API keys
  • Connect your Gmail project to Composio
  • Create a Tool Router MCP session for Gmail
  • Initialize an MCP client and retrieve Gmail tools
  • Build a LangChain agent that can interact with Gmail
  • Set up an interactive chat interface for testing

What is LangChain?

LangChain is a framework for developing applications powered by language models. It provides tools and abstractions for building agents that can reason, use tools, and maintain conversation context.

Key features include:

  • Agent Framework: Build agents that can use tools and make decisions
  • MCP Integration: Connect to external services through Model Context Protocol adapters
  • Memory Management: Maintain conversation history across interactions
  • Multi-Provider Support: Works with OpenAI, Anthropic, and other LLM providers

What is the Gmail MCP server, and what's possible with it?

The Gmail MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Gmail account. It provides structured and secure access to your email, so your agent can search, read, draft, organize, and even manage contacts in your mailbox—all on your behalf.

  • Advanced email search and retrieval: Effortlessly instruct your agent to fetch emails by sender, subject, label, date, or keywords, and even retrieve full message content or threads.
  • Automated drafting and sending: Have your agent create new email drafts, craft replies, add CC/BCC, include attachments, and handle threading to streamline communication.
  • Smart label and inbox organization: Let the agent create new labels, apply or remove labels from emails, and keep your inbox clutter-free by archiving or moving messages.
  • Contact and thread management: Fetch your Gmail contacts, pull entire conversation threads, or download specific attachments to make follow-ups a breeze.
  • Email and draft cleanup: Direct your agent to permanently delete emails or drafts, helping you maintain a tidy mailbox with minimal effort.

What is the Composio tool router, and how does it fit here?

What is Composio SDK?

Composio's Composio SDK helps agents find the right tools for a task at runtime. You can plug in multiple toolkits (like Gmail, HubSpot, and GitHub), and the agent will identify the relevant app and action to complete multi-step workflows. This can reduce token usage and improve the reliability of tool calls. Read more here: Getting started with Composio SDK

The tool router generates a secure MCP URL that your agents can access to perform actions.

How the Composio SDK works

The Composio SDK follows a three-phase workflow:

  1. Discovery: Searches for tools matching your task and returns relevant toolkits with their details.
  2. Authentication: Checks for active connections. If missing, creates an auth config and returns a connection URL via Auth Link.
  3. Execution: Executes the action using the authenticated connection.

Step-by-step Guide

Step by step10 STEPS
1

Prerequisites

Before starting this tutorial, make sure you have:
  • Python 3.10 or higher installed on your system
  • A Composio account with an API key
  • An OpenAI API key
  • Basic familiarity with Python and async programming
2

Getting API Keys for OpenAI and Composio

OpenAI API Key
  • Go to the OpenAI dashboard and create an API key. You'll need credits to use the models, or you can connect to another model provider.
  • Keep the API key safe.
Composio API Key
  • Log in to the Composio dashboard.
  • Navigate to your API settings and generate a new API key.
  • Store this key securely as you'll need it for authentication.
3

Install dependencies

npm install @composio/langchain @langchain/core @langchain/openai @langchain/mcp-adapters dotenv

Install the required packages for LangChain with MCP support.

What's happening:

  • @composio/langchain provides Composio integration for LangChain
  • @langchain/mcp-adapters enables MCP client connections
  • @langchain/core is the core agent framework
  • dotenv/config loads environment variables
4

Set up environment variables

bash
COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your_composio_api_key_here
COMPOSIO_USER_ID=your_composio_user_id_here
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here

Create a .env file in your project root.

What's happening:

  • COMPOSIO_API_KEY authenticates your requests to Composio's API
  • COMPOSIO_USER_ID identifies the user for session management
  • OPENAI_API_KEY enables access to OpenAI's language models
5

Import dependencies

import { Composio } from '@composio/core';
import { LangchainProvider } from '@composio/langchain';
import { MultiServerMCPClient } from "@langchain/mcp-adapters";
import { createAgent } from "langchain";
import * as readline from 'readline';
import 'dotenv/config';

dotenv.config();
What's happening:
  • We're importing LangChain's MCP adapter and Composio SDK
  • The dotenv/config import loads environment variables from your .env file
  • This setup prepares the foundation for connecting LangChain with Gmail functionality through MCP
6

Initialize Composio client

const composioApiKey = process.env.COMPOSIO_API_KEY;
const userId = process.env.COMPOSIO_USER_ID;

if (!composioApiKey) throw new Error('COMPOSIO_API_KEY is not set');
if (!userId) throw new Error('COMPOSIO_USER_ID is not set');

async function main() {
    const composio = new Composio({
        apiKey: composioApiKey as string,
        provider: new LangchainProvider()
    });
What's happening:
  • We're loading the COMPOSIO_API_KEY from environment variables and validating it exists
  • Creating a Composio instance that will manage our connection to Gmail tools
  • Validating that COMPOSIO_USER_ID is also set before proceeding
7

Create a Tool Router session

const session = await composio.create(
    userId as string,
    {
        toolkits: ['gmail']
    }
);

const url = session.mcp.url;
What's happening:
  • We're creating a Tool Router session that gives your agent access to Gmail tools
  • The create method takes the user ID and specifies which toolkits should be available
  • The returned session.mcp.url is the MCP server URL that your agent will use
  • This approach allows the agent to dynamically load and use Gmail tools as needed
8

Configure the agent with the MCP URL

const client = new MultiServerMCPClient({
    "gmail-agent": {
        transport: "http",
        url: url,
        headers: {
            "x-api-key": process.env.COMPOSIO_API_KEY
        }
    }
});

const tools = await client.getTools();

const agent = createAgent({ model: "gpt-5", tools });
What's happening:
  • We're creating a MultiServerMCPClient that connects to our Gmail MCP server via HTTP
  • The client is configured with a name and the URL from our Tool Router session
  • getTools() retrieves all available Gmail tools that the agent can use
  • We're creating a LangChain agent using the GPT-5 model
9

Set up interactive chat interface

let conversationHistory: any[] = [];

console.log("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end the conversation.\n");
console.log("Ask any Gmail related question or task to the agent.\n");

const rl = readline.createInterface({
    input: process.stdin,
    output: process.stdout,
    prompt: 'You: '
});

rl.prompt();

rl.on('line', async (userInput: string) => {
    const trimmedInput = userInput.trim();

    if (['exit', 'quit', 'bye'].includes(trimmedInput.toLowerCase())) {
        console.log("\nGoodbye!");
        rl.close();
        process.exit(0);
    }

    if (!trimmedInput) {
        rl.prompt();
        return;
    }

    conversationHistory.push({ role: "user", content: trimmedInput });
    console.log("\nAgent is thinking...\n");

    const response = await agent.invoke({ messages: conversationHistory });
    conversationHistory = response.messages;

    const finalResponse = response.messages[response.messages.length - 1]?.content;
    console.log(`Agent: ${finalResponse}\n`);
        
        rl.prompt();
    });

    rl.on('close', () => {
        console.log('\n👋 Session ended.');
        process.exit(0);
    });
What's happening:
  • We initialize an empty conversationHistory list to maintain context across interactions
  • A readline interface is used to continuously accept user input from the command line
  • When a user types a message, it's added to the conversation history and sent to the agent
  • The agent processes the request using the invoke() method with the full conversation history
  • Users can type 'exit', 'quit', or 'bye' to end the chat session gracefully
10

Run the application

main().catch((err) => {
    console.error('Fatal error:', err);
    process.exit(1);
});
What's happening:
  • We call the main() function to start the application

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Gmail and LangChain:

import { Composio } from '@composio/core';
import { LangchainProvider } from '@composio/langchain';
import { MultiServerMCPClient } from "@langchain/mcp-adapters";  
import { createAgent } from "langchain";
import * as readline from 'readline';
import 'dotenv/config';

const composioApiKey = process.env.COMPOSIO_API_KEY;
const userId = process.env.COMPOSIO_USER_ID;

if (!composioApiKey) throw new Error('COMPOSIO_API_KEY is not set');
if (!userId) throw new Error('COMPOSIO_USER_ID is not set');

async function main() {
    const composio = new Composio({
        apiKey: composioApiKey as string,
        provider: new LangchainProvider()
    });

    const session = await composio.create(
        userId as string,
        {
            toolkits: ['gmail']
        }
    );

    const url = session.mcp.url;
    
    const client = new MultiServerMCPClient({
        "gmail-agent": {
            transport: "http",
            url: url,
            headers: {
                "x-api-key": process.env.COMPOSIO_API_KEY
            }
        }
    });
    
    const tools = await client.getTools();
  
    const agent = createAgent({ model: "gpt-5", tools });
    
    let conversationHistory: any[] = [];
    
    console.log("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end the conversation.\n");
    console.log("Ask any Gmail related question or task to the agent.\n");
    
    const rl = readline.createInterface({
        input: process.stdin,
        output: process.stdout,
        prompt: 'You: '
    });

    rl.prompt();

    rl.on('line', async (userInput: string) => {
        const trimmedInput = userInput.trim();
        
        if (['exit', 'quit', 'bye'].includes(trimmedInput.toLowerCase())) {
            console.log("\nGoodbye!");
            rl.close();
            process.exit(0);
        }
        
        if (!trimmedInput) {
            rl.prompt();
            return;
        }
        
        conversationHistory.push({ role: "user", content: trimmedInput });
        console.log("\nAgent is thinking...\n");
        
        const response = await agent.invoke({ messages: conversationHistory });
        conversationHistory = response.messages;
        
        const finalResponse = response.messages[response.messages.length - 1]?.content;
        console.log(`Agent: ${finalResponse}\n`);
        
        rl.prompt();
    });

    rl.on('close', () => {
        console.log('\nSession ended.');
        process.exit(0);
    });
}

main().catch((err) => {
    console.error('Fatal error:', err);
    process.exit(1);
});

Conclusion

You've successfully built a LangChain agent that can interact with Gmail through Composio's Tool Router.

Key features of this implementation:

  • Dynamic tool loading through Composio's Tool Router
  • Conversation history maintenance for context-aware responses
  • Async Python provides clean, efficient execution of agent workflows
You can extend this further by adding error handling, implementing specific business logic, or integrating additional Composio toolkits to create multi-app workflows.
TOOLS & TRIGGERS

Supported Tools and Triggers

Every Gmail action and event your agent gets out of the box.

Modify email labels

Adds and/or removes specified Gmail labels for a message; ensure `message_id` and all `label_ids` are valid (use 'listLabels' for custom label IDs).

Batch delete Gmail messages

Tool to permanently delete multiple Gmail messages in bulk, bypassing Trash with no recovery possible.

Batch modify Gmail messages

Modify labels on multiple Gmail messages in one efficient API call.

Create email draft

Creates a Gmail email draft.

Create Gmail filter

Tool to create a new Gmail filter with specified criteria and actions.

Create label

Creates a new label with a unique name in the specified user's Gmail account.

Create Prompt Post

Send a one-shot prompt to the Sanity Content Agent.

Delete Draft

Permanently deletes a specific Gmail draft using its ID with no recovery possible; verify the correct `draft_id` and obtain explicit user confirmation before calling.

Delete Gmail filter

Tool to permanently delete a Gmail filter by its ID.

Delete label from account (permanent)

Permanently DELETES a user-created Gmail label from the account (not from a message).

Delete message

Permanently deletes a specific email message by its ID from a Gmail mailbox; for `user_id`, use 'me' for the authenticated user or an email address to which the authenticated user has delegated access.

Delete thread

Tool to immediately and permanently delete a specified thread and all its messages.

Fetch emails

Fetches a list of email messages from a Gmail account, supporting filtering, pagination, and optional full content retrieval.

Fetch message by message ID

Fetches a specific email message by its ID, provided the `message_id` exists and is accessible to the authenticated `user_id`.

Fetch Message by Thread ID

Retrieves messages from a Gmail thread using its `thread_id`, where the thread must be accessible by the specified `user_id`.

Forward email message

Forward an existing Gmail message to specified recipients, preserving original body and attachments.

Get Gmail attachment

Retrieves a specific attachment by ID from a message in a user's Gmail mailbox, requiring valid message and attachment IDs.

Get Auto-Forwarding Settings

Tool to get the auto-forwarding setting for the specified account.

Get contacts

Fetches contacts (connections) for the authenticated Google account, allowing selection of specific data fields and pagination.

Get Draft

Retrieves a single Gmail draft by its ID.

Get Gmail filter

Tool to retrieve a specific Gmail filter by its ID.

Get label details

Gets details for a specified Gmail label.

Get Language Settings

Tool to retrieve the language settings for a Gmail user.

Get People

Retrieves either a specific person's details (using `resource_name`) or lists 'Other Contacts' (if `other_contacts` is true), with `person_fields` specifying the data to return.

Get Profile

Retrieves Gmail profile information (email address, aggregate messagesTotal/threadsTotal, historyId) for a user.

Get Vacation Settings

Tool to retrieve vacation responder settings for a Gmail user.

Import message

Tool to import a message into the user's mailbox with standard email delivery scanning and classification.

Insert message into mailbox

Tool to insert a message into the user's mailbox similar to IMAP APPEND.

List CSE identities

Tool to list client-side encrypted identities for an authenticated user.

List CSE key pairs

Tool to list client-side encryption key pairs for an authenticated user.

List Drafts

Retrieves a paginated list of email drafts from a user's Gmail account.

List Gmail filters

Tool to list all Gmail filters (rules) in the mailbox.

List forwarding addresses

Tool to list all forwarding addresses for the specified Gmail account.

List Gmail history

Tool to list Gmail mailbox change history since a known startHistoryId.

List Gmail labels

Retrieves all system and user-created labels for a Gmail account in a single unpaginated response.

List send-as aliases

Lists the send-as aliases for a Gmail account, including the primary address and custom 'from' aliases.

List S/MIME configs

Lists S/MIME configs for the specified send-as alias.

List threads

Retrieves a list of email threads from a Gmail account, identified by `user_id` (email address or 'me'), supporting filtering and pagination.

Modify thread labels

Adds or removes specified existing label IDs from a Gmail thread, affecting all its messages; ensure the thread ID is valid.

Trash thread

Moves the specified thread to the trash.

Move to Trash

Moves an existing, non-deleted email message to the trash for the specified user.

Patch Label

Patches the specified user-created label.

Patch send-as alias

Tool to patch the specified send-as alias for a Gmail user.

Reply to email thread

Sends a reply within a specific Gmail thread using the original thread's subject; do not provide a custom subject as it will start a new conversation instead of replying in-thread.

Search People

Searches contacts by matching the query against names, nicknames, emails, phone numbers, and organizations, optionally including 'Other Contacts'.

Send Draft

Sends an existing draft email AS-IS to recipients already defined within the draft.

Send Email

Sends an email via Gmail API using the authenticated user's Google profile display name.

Get IMAP Settings

Retrieves the IMAP settings for a Gmail user account, including whether IMAP is enabled, auto-expunge behavior, expunge behavior, and maximum folder size.

Get POP settings

Tool to retrieve POP settings for a Gmail account.

Get send-as alias

Tool to retrieve a specific send-as alias configuration for a Gmail user.

Stop watch notifications

Tool to stop receiving push notifications for a Gmail mailbox.

Untrash Message

Tool to remove a message from trash in Gmail.

Untrash thread

Tool to remove a thread from trash in Gmail.

Update draft

Updates (replaces) an existing Gmail draft's content in-place by draft ID.

Update IMAP settings

Tool to update IMAP settings for a Gmail account.

Update Label

Tool to update the properties of an existing Gmail label.

Update Language Settings

Tool to update the language settings for a Gmail user.

Update POP settings

Tool to update POP settings for a Gmail account.

Update send-as alias

Tool to update a send-as alias for a Gmail user.

Update User Attributes Values

Update user attribute values for a resource.

Update Vacation Settings

Tool to update vacation responder settings for a Gmail user.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

With a standalone Gmail MCP server, the agents and LLMs can only access a fixed set of Gmail tools tied to that server. However, with the Composio Tool Router, agents can dynamically load tools from Gmail and many other apps based on the task at hand, all through a single MCP endpoint.

Yes, you can. LangChain fully supports MCP integration. You get structured tool calling, message history handling, and model orchestration while Tool Router takes care of discovering and serving the right Gmail tools.

Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Gmail scopes and actions are allowed when connecting your account to Composio. You can also bring your own OAuth credentials or API configuration so you keep full control over what the agent can do.

All sensitive data such as tokens, keys, and configuration is fully encrypted at rest and in transit. Composio is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and follows strict security practices so your Gmail data and credentials are handled as safely as possible.

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