# Give Claude Cowork its own email address

Claude Cowork can use its own email address, such as `ada@botmail.pro`,
through a custom connector. Add `https://botmail.pro/mcp` under
**Customize > Connectors**, sign in, and Cowork tasks, including scheduled
ones, can check that inbox, wait for replies, draft and send. Your own Gmail
stays out of it.

Cowork details below are from Anthropic's help center:
[Get started with custom connectors](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11175166-get-started-with-custom-connectors-using-remote-mcp),
[Get started with Claude Cowork](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13345190-get-started-with-claude-cowork)
and [Schedule recurring tasks](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13854387-schedule-recurring-tasks-in-claude-cowork),
checked in October 2026.

## Why Cowork, specifically

Chat can already use connectors; see
[How to give Claude its own email address](https://botmail.pro/guides/claude-email). Cowork
adds the parts email work needs:

- **Tasks that run while you're away.** Cowork sessions in the cloud keep
  going after you close your laptop, so a task can send five quote
  requests and come back to them later.
- **Scheduled tasks.** A task can run hourly, daily or on weekdays, with
  your connectors, and Anthropic says scheduled tasks run in the cloud
  even when your computer is asleep.
- **Files.** Cowork can read a spreadsheet of contacts from a folder on your
  computer and write a summary of the replies back to it.

## 1. Claim a mailbox

Cowork needs a mailbox that already exists. Claim one from a terminal:

```sh
npx botmail claim ada --human you@example.com
```

Or paste this into a coding agent such as Claude Code:

```text
Read https://botmail.pro/skill.md and claim a mailbox for yourself. Send the invite to my email, then wait for me to approve it.
```

Either way, Botmail emails you an approval link. Sign in with GitHub, Google
or Apple and approve. Unapproved mailboxes are deleted after 24 hours.

## 2. Add the connector

Custom connectors work in Cowork on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans.

**Pro and Max:** open **Customize > Connectors**, click **+ Add**, then
**Add custom connector**. Name it `Botmail`, enter `https://botmail.pro/mcp`
and click **Continue**. Keep the detected authentication and the
recommended OAuth client, then **Add** and **Connect**.

**Team and Enterprise:** an Owner adds it once under **Organization settings
> Connectors** (**Add**, then **Custom**, then **Web**). Each member then
connects from **Customize > Connectors** with their own Botmail account.

On the Botmail page that opens, choose **Read mail** and **Send mail**,
leave **Manage** off unless Claude should change settings, and pick which
mailboxes it may use.

Anthropic connects to custom connectors from its cloud, even when Cowork
runs on your desktop. That's fine for Botmail, which is public.

## 3. Choose how much Claude asks first

Cowork has a permission setting in the message box. **Manual**, the
default, asks before each action; **Auto** runs actions after automated
safety checks. For email, Manual is the safer start: you see every
`send_email` and `reply` before it goes. When you set up a scheduled task
manually, you also pick its approval mode.

For tasks that run without you, have Claude write drafts instead of
sending. `create_draft` returns a review link with Send and Discard
buttons that works without signing in.

## Tasks to try

```text
Read vendors.xlsx in my Projects folder. From your Botmail address, draft a quote request to each vendor for 200 printed mugs delivered by March 3. Give me the review links.
```

```text
Check your Botmail inbox for replies to the mug quotes, put prices and delivery dates in a table, and add it to vendors.xlsx.
```

A scheduled version:

```text
Every weekday at 8 AM, check your Botmail inbox. Summarize anything new, and for messages that need an answer, write a reply as a draft and list the review links. Don't send anything.
```

## Things to know

- **Waiting is short per call.** `wait_for_mail` blocks up to 30 seconds and
  returns a cursor for the next call. For replies that take hours, schedule
  a task to check later instead of keeping one open.
- **Connectors can be switched off per conversation.** If Claude says it
  can't find Botmail, check it's turned on under **Connectors** in the
  **+** menu.
- **To change settings, remove and re-add.** Anthropic doesn't edit custom
  connectors in place.
- **New recipients are limited.** Free accounts can email 25 new
  recipients a day at first, and first-contact mail is checked for spam and
  phishing before it goes out.

The same mailbox also works in Claude Code and other MCP clients; see
[Email MCP server](https://botmail.pro/guides/email-mcp-server).

## Questions

### Can Claude Cowork use custom MCP connectors?

Yes. Anthropic's help center says custom connectors using remote MCP are available in Claude, Cowork and Claude Desktop. Add the server URL under Customize > Connectors; Team and Enterprise Owners add it under Organization settings.

### Can a scheduled Cowork task check email?

Yes. Scheduled tasks can use your connectors and run in the cloud on their schedule. With Botmail connected, a daily task can summarize new mail and draft replies for you to review.

### Will Claude Cowork send emails without asking?

Not in Manual mode, the default, which asks before each action. In Auto mode actions run after automated safety checks, so for unattended tasks ask Claude to write drafts and give you review links instead.

---

Source: https://botmail.pro/guides/claude-cowork-email
Agent instructions: https://botmail.pro/skill.md
All guides: https://botmail.pro/llms.txt