Choose a connection for your assistant and mailbox

MCP, the Model Context Protocol, lets an assistant discover structured tools exposed by a server. For a remote assistant, the server address must be reachable from the environment where that assistant runs. A loopback address on your laptop is not a cloud endpoint. Ask the operator for the actual MCP URL, its authentication method and the account or workspace intended for the connection.

Issue one SyncPier identity for each logical assistant. Limit the delegation to the required accounts and collections, and begin with reading permissions. Confirm the identity returned by the service rather than relying on a bot’s display name. A working network connection and a successful login are useful checkpoints, but neither proves that the assistant can see the intended mailbox or only that mailbox.

Grok Bot’s official app guidance supports custom MCP servers supplied by URL or a command on its computer. Use the remote route for a hosted SyncPier endpoint. Use a command route only when the required local runtime and its credentials are deliberately installed in that environment. Complete the connection’s authentication and inspect the discovered tools before assigning mailbox work.

Grok app connections and computer credentials can be shared across Bots on one account, so separate Bot names should not be treated as separate credential vaults. Choose the SyncPier identity and exposed tool scope accordingly. A useful first instruction is to search a known supplier’s recent mail, list the matching source references and summarize one message without changing mail, sending anything or altering provider folders.

In ChatGPT Plugins, create a custom MCP server connection, enter the SyncPier server URL and configure its authentication. Create the plugin, install it and select it in a Work conversation. The official OpenAI documentation distinguishes creating the connection from installing the resulting plugin; both steps matter when tools seem to be missing.

Dots can use supported plugins enabled for the connected account, subject to workspace permissions and the environment where work runs. Give the dot a bounded task and identify the SyncPier plugin explicitly. For example, ask it to locate the mail behind an existing delivery topic and explain which statement requires an original-body check. Plugin availability does not grant access to every SyncPier account or permission to send mail.

Hermes supports remote HTTP MCP servers and local stdio servers in its MCP configuration. For HTTP, configure the actual endpoint and the authentication required by that deployment, such as an issued bearer credential. For stdio, use the documented local executable and arguments supplied by the SyncPier operator. A local-process configuration must exist on the machine running Hermes.

Hermes discovers the server’s tools directly. Telegram is a messaging option for interacting with Hermes, not a required bridge to SyncPier. Review which tools Hermes loads, then ask it to perform the same known-message lookup used for other assistants. Keeping that first task identical makes identity, visibility and representation differences easier to notice without assuming that all assistant products behave identically.

Duet’s help identifies Gmail as a connected app and describes working with inbox information. It also explicitly says Microsoft 365 is not available in Duet at the review date. Support in Claude Desktop or Cowork should not be treated as proof of support in Duet; even an integration logo on a product page is weaker evidence than the product-specific help.

Duet provides connectors, plugins and a cloud browser. Those capabilities make several kinds of integration conceivable, but the reviewed guidance does not establish a specific custom IMAP or SyncPier MCP setup for Duet. A browser session accesses the website through its own login and interface; it is not an IMAP connector. Keep Duet in the comparison without presenting an untested setup recipe as a confirmed connection.

OpenClaw includes a Himalaya skill for mail operations. Install the required Himalaya CLI and configure the mailbox and its authentication; the skill can then use the CLI to read, search and manage mail. Gmail has a separate gog skill and OAuth setup, while Gmail-triggered work uses an additional Pub/Sub and webhook configuration. A bundled skill still has runtime prerequisites.

For an OpenClaw user, SyncPier’s value extends beyond connecting an inbox. The shared archive retains originals, prepares summaries and embeddings, handles retrieval and keeps discussions associated with mail or topics. A custom skill or API adapter can expose that workflow to OpenClaw. This is an integration to build and configure, rather than a claim that an official SyncPier plugin or a native MCP route was verified.

For Microsoft 365 Copilot’s organizational mailbox grounding, Microsoft names Exchange Online. Personal Microsoft Copilot separately documents Gmail and Outlook.com connectors. Copilot in Outlook is another surface: a sharing guide includes connected Gmail, Yahoo and iCloud accounts and excludes classic Outlook for Windows, while the Outlook FAQ describes a narrower Exchange Online scope. Those documents do not establish one universal rule for every client, feature and subscription. Receiving an IMAP mailbox in Outlook alone is not proof that Copilot can search it.

For a custom information source, Copilot Studio documents adding an MCP server to an authored agent. Microsoft also documents publishing MCP-enabled agents to Microsoft 365 Copilot in a specific integration example. That provides an extension pattern for a SyncPier integration, subject to endpoint transport, authentication, tool definitions and the deployment’s licensing and publishing settings. It is not a direct connector available in every Copilot, and it is separate from GitHub Copilot.

Begin ordinary work with a question, a time range and an account boundary. Ask for a compact list of relevant items before asking for extensive analysis. Prepared summaries help the assistant decide which originals deserve attention; they are not proof that a quotation, attachment clause or date has been checked. Retrieve the relevant body or attachment representation when the decision depends on its exact wording.

Keep the result attached to the mail or topic so the next task can refer to it. Record source references, the conclusion and any missing evidence. A summary read does not automatically start analysis, and reading content does not automatically complete an assistant’s private work state.

A second assistant can challenge an earlier interpretation by pointing to the relevant mail, comment and reason. The first assistant reads that evidence and chooses how to resume its work. One assistant marking its task complete does not mark another assistant complete, and a shared topic does not reveal either assistant’s private reading history.

For unattended continuation, configure the supported event subscription or webhook and the receiving client’s authorized behavior. A comment is a recorded discussion event, not an unconditional command to execute an agent. Start with manual follow-up, then introduce automation for a named event and a narrow purpose once the identity and audience are clear.

When a connection fails, distinguish an unreachable endpoint, expired authentication, missing tool installation and denied account access. Reinstalling a plugin cannot repair an account grant, and widening a grant is not a sensible response to a network failure. Use a known permitted lookup to check the repaired connection, then separately confirm a deliberately excluded item stays inaccessible.

Review identities when assistants are replaced, people leave or projects end. Rotate credentials while preserving the intended logical identity when continuity is needed; revoke the identity when access should end. Also review the model service receiving selected content. Self-hosting the archive gives you custody, while permitted excerpts can still leave that environment when an external AI service processes them.