Cloud Deployment

Cloud Deployment

Deploy gmail-mcp-server to EC2, DigitalOcean, or any cloud VPS so ChatGPT can access it.

Why Deploy?

• ChatGPT Integration: Use Gmail tools in ChatGPT custom connectors
• Remote Access: Reach your server from anywhere
• Shared Setup: Single server, multiple clients

Prerequisites

• Linux server (Ubuntu 20.04+)
• Domain pointing to your server
• Docker & Docker Compose
• A reverse proxy (Caddy or Nginx)

Step 1: Set Up HTTPS

Option A: Caddy (Simplest)

Install Caddy:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y caddy

Create /etc/caddy/Caddyfile:

gmail-mcp.example.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8811
}

Replace gmail-mcp.example.com with your domain.

sudo systemctl start caddy
sudo systemctl enable caddy

Caddy auto-handles HTTPS with Let’s Encrypt. Done!

Option B: Nginx

Install Nginx:

sudo apt-get install -y nginx

Create /etc/nginx/sites-available/gmail-mcp:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name gmail-mcp.example.com;
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name gmail-mcp.example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/gmail-mcp.example.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/gmail-mcp.example.com/privkey.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8811;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Get SSL cert with Certbot:

sudo certbot certonly --standalone -d gmail-mcp.example.com
sudo systemctl start nginx && sudo systemctl enable nginx

Step 2: Prepare Credentials

Upload secrets/credentials.json from your local machine:

scp secrets/credentials.json user@your-server:~/gmail-mcp-server/secrets/

Step 3: Authorize

On your server:

cd ~/gmail-mcp-server
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .
python authorize.py

If you can’t open a browser, use SSH port forwarding:

# On your local machine:
ssh -L 8080:localhost:8080 user@your-server
# Visit http://localhost:8080 in your browser

Step 4: Configure .env

Copy template:

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env with your values:

GMAIL_MCP_CREDENTIALS=secrets/credentials.json
GMAIL_MCP_TOKEN=secrets/token.json
GMAIL_MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS=gmail-mcp.example.com

GMAIL_MCP_ENABLE_OAUTH=1
GMAIL_MCP_ISSUER_URL=https://gmail-mcp.example.com
GMAIL_MCP_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID=gmail-mcp-abc123
GMAIL_MCP_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URIS=https://chatgpt.com/connector/oauth/your_id
GMAIL_MCP_OAUTH_PASSPHRASE=$(python -c "import secrets; print(secrets.token_urlsafe(24))")
GMAIL_MCP_OAUTH_STATE=secrets/oauth_state.json

Step 5: Start Server

docker compose up -d --build
docker compose logs gmail-mcp

Should show: INFO: Uvicorn running on http://0.0.0.0:8811

Step 6: Connect ChatGPT

1. In ChatGPT, Settings → Tools → Create action
2. Fill in:
   • Name: gmail-mcp
   • Server URL: https://gmail-mcp.example.com/mcp
   • Authentication: OAuth
   • Client ID: gmail-mcp-abc123 (from .env)
   • Token endpoint auth: None
3. Save → auto-discovers endpoints
4. First use → consent page → enter passphrase → done!

Security

• ✅ Only gmail.readonly and gmail.compose requested
• ✅ Your token is local, never sent to us
• ✅ Passphrase protects the consent screen
• ✅ DNS rebinding protection (GMAIL_MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS)
• ✅ Only drafts are writable—never send, modify, delete

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Stuck? See Troubleshooting.