Microsoft Exchange Online MCP

Microsoft Exchange Online + AI - for ChatGPT, Claude, GitHub Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Gemini, and any agent that speaks MCP

Unofficial. Community-built Claude Code Skill and MCP server for the Microsoft Exchange Online API. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Microsoft Corporation.

[Exchange Online demo - animated preview]

_{▶ Watch the 30-second demo - demo data is simulated; every command shown exists in the real CLI.}

Exchange Online admin for MSPs over REST: forwarding audits, EWS posture, offboarding and quarantine across client tenants, no PowerShell session. Works with the AI you already use - ChatGPT (Plus/Pro+), Claude Desktop, Codex, Claude Code, Claude Cowork, and GitHub Copilot - plus Microsoft 365 Copilot / Copilot Studio and Google Gemini via the remote path. Free, open source, runs on your laptop. Built for MSP owners. No code required.

Works with your agent

The six agents MSP owners actually use (self-serve, works today):

For ChatGPT, run exchange-online-mcp --transport http with EXCHANGE_ONLINE_MCP_HTTP_TOKEN set, on an HTTPS host; every request sends that token. See mcp-install.md.

Also for the Microsoft and Google stacks

Big install base, but an honest heads-up: these are the remote / enterprise path, not the local binary you just installed.

Skill-native agents (also covered): Hermes and OpenClaw read this skill's SKILL.md directly and speak MCP - see their install sections below. Also works with Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Continue.dev, and Zed via MCP. Full per-tool wire-up: docs/which-agent.md.

Run more than one agent? Install across all 51+ supported agents in one command: npx skills add Servosity/msp-skills@latest (requires Node.js, then run the per-skill installer for the CLI/MCP binaries). See docs/which-agent.md.

Install in 60 seconds

Fastest for Claude Desktop - one-click .mcpb

Download Microsoft Exchange Online MCP (.mcpb) - then open Claude Desktop > Settings > Extensions and select the file. One click, no JSON, no shell. (Browse every Microsoft Exchange Online release on the releases page.)

Prefer the Claude Code plugin? Add the marketplace once, then install - works immediately, no directory listing required:

/plugin marketplace add Servosity/msp-skills/plugin install exchange-online@msp-skills

Path A - paste one prompt into your AI agent (recommended)

Copy this into Claude Code, Codex CLI, or Claude Cowork:

Install the Microsoft Exchange Online Skill and MCP server from Servosity/msp-skills in this agent workspace. If this workspace uses a POSIX shell (macOS, Linux, WSL, or Bash), run bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/exchange-online/install.sh). If it uses Windows PowerShell, run iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/exchange-online/install.ps1 | iex. Then authenticate per the README and run exchange-online-cli --help to explore.

The same prompt works in any agent that can run shell.

Path B - run the installer yourself

Windows (PowerShell):

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/exchange-online/install.ps1 | iex

macOS / Linux:

bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/exchange-online/install.sh)

The installer drops both exchange-online-cli (the CLI) and exchange-online-mcp (the MCP server) into your user bin path. Claude Code, Codex, and Cowork discover the Skill via SKILL.md in this directory.

Verify:

exchange-online-cli --version

Upgrade to the latest version

The installer always fetches the current release - re-run it to upgrade:

macOS / Linux:

bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/exchange-online/install.sh)

Windows (PowerShell):

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/exchange-online/install.ps1 | iex

Claude Desktop .mcpb users: download the latest .mcpb (top of this section) and re-select it in Settings > Extensions. Claude Code plugin users: /plugin update exchange-online@msp-skills.

Add to Claude Desktop, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Microsoft 365 Copilot, or another MCP client

After the installer runs, see mcp-install.md and docs/which-agent.md for the per-agent wire-up - one section per agent, including the GitHub Copilot servers key and the remote Microsoft 365 Copilot / Copilot Studio path. Claude Desktop's Settings > Extensions panel is the simplest path; the MCP config block (for users who prefer editing JSON) is documented in mcp-install.md.

Install for Hermes

From the Hermes CLI:

hermes skills install servosity/msp-skills/skills/exchange-online --force

Inside a Hermes chat session:

/skills install servosity/msp-skills/skills/exchange-online --force

Hermes speaks MCP natively, so it can also use the exchange-online-mcp server directly - same install path, same env vars.

Install for OpenClaw

Tell your OpenClaw agent (copy this):

Install the exchange-online skill from https://github.com/servosity/msp-skills/tree/main/skills/exchange-online. The skill defines how its required CLI (exchange-online-cli) can be installed via the openclaw: frontmatter block.

OpenClaw isn't generally available yet; the frontmatter wiring is pre-shipped and will activate the moment OpenClaw launches.

Authenticate

Set a bearer token for https://outlook.office365.com issued for the customer tenant you are working in (GDAP partners mint one per tenant; tokens last about an hour). App-only tokens need Exchange.ManageAsApp (cmdlet commands) or Exchange.ManageAsAppV2 (the Admin API v2.0 commands) plus an Exchange role such as Exchange Administrator:

EXCHANGE_ONLINE_TOKEN=<value> exchange-online-cli doctor

On Windows (PowerShell):

$env:EXCHANGE_ONLINE_TOKEN = "<value>"; exchange-online-cli doctor

doctor checks config, paths and API reachability, and tries the credential with one read cmdlet (Get-AcceptedDomain) when it can. Run the read commands you need to confirm the token's Exchange role covers them.

What this skill does

Full command reference: guide.md. For the AI-agent operating contract (--agent, --dry-run, when to confirm before mutating), see AGENTS.md.

What makes this different

Exchange Online administration usually means a PowerShell session per customer tenant. This connector calls the same REST admin endpoints the ExchangeOnlineManagement v3 module uses, one tenant per call, so an AI agent gets JSON answers with no PowerShell runtime or session to keep alive.

On top of the raw cmdlets it adds compound commands that each answer a whole question: forwarding-audit (mailbox forwarding, inbox rules, the outbound spam policy and remote domains in one verdict), bec triage (rules, forwarding, restricted-sender status, new mobile devices and outbound volume for one mailbox), ews-posture (each mailbox's effective protocol state once org defaults apply) and offboard (the Exchange side of a leaver with a per-step receipt). inbox-rules sweep and quarantine snapshot save results locally, so forwarding-audit and the cross-tenant quarantine queue can read them without another pass. API responses themselves are not kept in a response cache on disk.

The pain this closes

Microsoft began a phased shutdown of Exchange Web Services (EWS) in Exchange Online on October 1, 2026, with full retirement on April 1, 2027 (Microsoft 365 Message Center MC1227454). Every MSP has to find which client mailboxes still depend on EWS and the other legacy protocols, and the effective answer per mailbox depends on the org default and the mailbox override together. Meanwhile business email compromise keeps leaving inbox rules and forwarding behind, and those live per mailbox (Practical365, "Good Use of Microsoft 365 Auditing Can Halt Business Email Compromise Attempts").

• ews-posture: the mailboxes that break, or stay exposed, when EWS and legacy auth go away.
• forwarding-audit and inbox-rules sweep: whether mail is leaving a tenant, and which rule sends it.
• bec triage: one mailbox's compromise evidence in one call.
• offboard --plan: a leaver's Exchange steps, done or pending, before anything changes.

See pain-point.md for the longer narrative.

Frequently asked questions

Does this work with ChatGPT?

Yes, on Plus, Pro, Team, Business, Enterprise, and Education plans (Free tier does not yet expose Developer Mode). ChatGPT connects to remote MCP servers over HTTPS, not local stdio binaries. The Microsoft Exchange Online MCP server runs locally over stdio by default. Its HTTP mode (exchange-online-mcp --transport http) serves http://127.0.0.1:7777/mcp, refuses to start until EXCHANGE_ONLINE_MCP_HTTP_TOKEN is set, requires Authorization: Bearer <token> on every request, and needs --tls-cert/--tls-key for any other address. See mcp-install.md. Step-by-step in mcp-install.md.

Does this work with Codex, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Copilot, or Gemini?

Yes - all of them speak MCP. Cross-tool install commands are in the matrix above and the deep-dive in docs/which-agent.md.

Do I need to know how to code?

No. The recommended install is to paste one sentence into Claude Code or Codex - your agent reads SKILL.md and does the install. The fallback is a one-line installer per OS (bash or PowerShell). Neither path requires writing code. You'll enter your Microsoft Exchange Online credentials once.

Is my Microsoft Exchange Online data safe?

Your data stays on your machine. The CLI and MCP server are local binaries. The local store (inbox-rule sweeps and quarantine snapshots, with secret fields stripped; cmdlet reads are not saved) sits in a directory under your user account. The AI agent only sees what the CLI returns - typically a query result, not raw bulk data. Credentials come from your environment or the CLI's own credentials file (saved by auth set-token); they are never bundled into this repo or transmitted anywhere by MSP Skills.

Do I still need Exchange Online PowerShell?

Not for the cmdlets this connector covers: it calls the same REST admin endpoints the ExchangeOnlineManagement v3 module uses. Bulk policy creation, Purview compliance and Exchange Server on-premises stay with PowerShell or other tools.

What token does it need?

A bearer token for the resource https://outlook.office365.com, issued for the customer tenant you are working in, with an Exchange role that allows the cmdlets you run. Set EXCHANGE_ONLINE_TOKEN, or save it with exchange-online-cli auth set-token (it reads the token from stdin). Every command names the tenant ID.

Can an AI agent change mailboxes on its own?

Not over MCP without your approval: every state-changing cmdlet and offboard return a preview until the call carries confirm: true, and EXCHANGE_ONLINE_MCP_READ_ONLY=1 removes every write tool. On the command line, preview a write with --dry-run (offboard with --plan) before you run it.

What does it cost?

Free. Apache-2.0 licensed. You pay only for whichever AI agent you use (Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, etc.), and that's billed by your AI provider, not by us.

Safety model

The strongest control is the scope you grant the Microsoft Exchange Online credentials - the CLI can only do what the credentials are permitted to do. Full details, including how to lock it down, are in governance.md.

Status

Beta. Validated against the Microsoft Exchange Online API surface and being validated with MSPs running it live against their own production tenant in our weekly Build Sessions. RSVP at compoundingteams.com/build-sessions.

Standards. Conforms to the open Agent Skills spec (Anthropic, Dec 2025; 40+ agents). MCP-compatible - works with any MCP-capable agent including Hermes. OpenClaw-ready (frontmatter pre-wired, awaiting OpenClaw launch).

Maintained by Servosity. Apache-2.0 licensed. Built with CLI Printing Press. Last updated: 2026-10-29.