Apple Mail AI Plugin

The Apple Mail AI Plugin is a native macOS menu bar app that uses AI (Claude, GPT, Gemini) to help you write email replies in Apple Mail.

Installation · Get Your API Key · Usage · Build from Source

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The Apple Mail AI Plugin lives in your menu bar and connects directly to Apple Mail. When you're composing a reply, press Option + H to open the composer panel. Type a few thoughts about what you want to say, pick an AI model, and the app writes your reply — matching the language and tone of the conversation.

Bring your own API key. No accounts, no subscriptions, no middleman. Your key is stored in macOS Keychain and calls go directly to the provider.

Features

• Menu bar app — stays out of your way until you need it
• Works with Apple Mail — reads your email thread, recipients, subject, and current draft
• Multiple AI providers — Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT), Google Gemini, and OpenRouter
• Streaming responses — see the reply as it's being written
• Language matching — automatically replies in the same language as the conversation
• Keyboard shortcut — ⌥H (Option + H) to open from anywhere
• Secure key storage — API keys stored in macOS Keychain, never on disk

Installation

Requirements: macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later

Download

Grab the latest .dmg from Releases, open it, and drag Apple Mail AI Plugin to your Applications folder.

macOS Gatekeeper: Since the app isn't signed with an Apple Developer certificate, macOS will block it on first launch. To open it:

1. Right-click (or Control-click) the app and select Open
2. Click Open in the dialog that appears

You only need to do this once. Alternatively, run:

xattr -cr /Applications/Apple\ Mail\ AI\ Plugin.app

Get Your API Key

The Apple Mail AI Plugin calls AI providers directly — you'll need an API key from at least one provider. Pick whichever you prefer:

Anthropic (Claude)

1. Go to console.anthropic.com
2. Sign up or log in
3. Navigate to API Keys in the sidebar
4. Click Create Key, give it a name, and copy the key

OpenAI (GPT)

1. Go to platform.openai.com
2. Sign up or log in
3. Navigate to API Keys in the sidebar
4. Click Create new secret key, name it, and copy the key

Google Gemini

1. Go to aistudio.google.com/apikey
2. Sign in with your Google account
3. Click Create API Key, select a project (or create one), and copy the key

OpenRouter

1. Go to openrouter.ai
2. Sign up or log in
3. Navigate to Keys in the sidebar
4. Click Create Key, name it, and copy the key

Tip: OpenRouter gives you access to models from many providers through a single key. Great if you want to try different models without managing multiple accounts.

Add Your Key to the App

1. Click the Apple Mail AI Plugin icon in your menu bar
2. Open Settings
3. Paste your API key for the provider you chose
4. The app will automatically fetch available models from that provider

Usage

1. Open Apple Mail and start composing a reply
2. Press ⌥H (Option + H) to open the composer panel
3. Type a few words describing what you want to say (e.g. "sounds good, let's meet thursday")
4. Pick a model from the dropdown
5. Hit Generate — the reply streams into your compose window

The app reads the full email thread for context, so the generated reply stays relevant to the conversation.

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/jpwahle/aimail.git
cd aimail
make build
make run

Available Make Targets

Command	Description
make build	Debug build
make run	Build and launch the app
make release	Optimized release build
make sign	Code sign (ad-hoc or with SIGNING_IDENTITY)
make dmg	Create a .dmg installer
make install	Install to /Applications
make clean	Remove build artifacts

Notarization (for distribution)

make notarize \
  SIGNING_IDENTITY="Developer ID Application: ..." \
  APPLE_ID=you@example.com \
  TEAM_ID=ABC123

Privacy

• API keys are stored in macOS Keychain — never written to disk as plain text
• Email content is sent directly to your chosen AI provider and nowhere else
• No analytics, no telemetry, no data collection

License

MIT