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The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets AI models call external capabilities as first-class tools rather than receiving instructions to make API calls. Sentvia ships an MCP server that exposes its full email API as native tools — so instead of your code orchestrating email on the agent’s behalf, the agent itself decides when to check its inbox, draft a reply, or escalate a thread.

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Why use MCP instead of the REST API

With the REST API, your code controls the flow: you call Sentvia, inspect the result, and tell the agent what happened. With MCP, the agent operates autonomously — Sentvia’s operations appear directly in the model’s tool list and the agent chooses when and how to use them.

REST API

Your code orchestrates email. You decide when to send, receive, and search — then pass results back to the agent.

MCP

The agent itself decides. It calls send_message or search_messages directly as part of its reasoning, with no intermediary code.

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Connect the MCP server

Point your MCP-capable client — Claude Desktop, or any MCP host — at the Sentvia server and authenticate with your API key:
MCP config
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sentvia": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "sentvia-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SENTVIA_API_KEY": "sv_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}
The exact server command for your workspace is shown in the dashboard. Authentication uses the same API keys as the REST API — generate or manage keys under Settings → API Keys.

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Available tools

The MCP server exposes the core Sentvia operations as discrete tools the agent can call:

Inboxes

Create, list, and delete inboxes in your workspace.

Messages

Send, reply to, forward, retrieve, and search messages.

Threads

List threads and read full conversations.

Webhooks & Lists

Manage delivery endpoints and allow/block rules.
Every tool maps directly to an endpoint in the API reference. Threading, idempotency, suppression, and attachments all behave identically whether you call the REST API or invoke a tool through MCP.