Gmail: Read a whole conversation — MCP tool
Gmail MCP tool: Fetches a thread with every message decoded — the complete back-and-forth in one call.
Technical name: get_thread
What task it solves
I want to read a conversation from start to finish.
Returns every message of a thread decoded like get_message (headers, text bodies, attachment metadata), oldest first, so the model can summarize or answer with full context.
When to use it
Before summarizing or replying to a conversation. To reply, take the last message's threadId, headers.messageId and subject and hand them to send_message (thread_id, in_reply_to, subject with Re: ).
What to provide
thread_id— required. From list_threads or a message'sthreadId.include_html— optional. Decoded HTML bodies even when text exists (default false).max_body_chars— optional. Truncation limit per message (default 50000).
What it returns
id, historyId and messages[], each with decoded headers, text/html, truncation flags and attachments[] metadata.
What changes in Gmail
Nothing — reading a thread does not mark it read.
Example request
Read my conversation with the landlord and summarize what we agreed about the repairs.
Errors and limitations
Long threads can be large — lower max_body_chars when only the gist matters. Quoted history inside each message is part of its body; the newest content is usually at the top of the last message. Access also depends on token permissions, quotas, and upstream API limits.
Related MCP tools
- Search and list threads — find the thread id first.
- Send an email — reply using the last message's identifiers.
- Change thread labels / state — mark the conversation read afterwards.
Technical details
- Impact: read-only
- Group: Threads
- Description source:
get_threadregistration insrc/tools/threads.ts - Full technical reference
- All MCP capabilities