The Fleece AI Brain Gmail connector syncs the messages from your connected Google account into a local-first knowledge base — plain Markdown and SQLite on your own machine. Each message becomes a note carrying its sender, subject and plaintext body. From there, any MCP-compatible AI app such as Claude Desktop or Cursor can answer from your real email history, with the source one click away.
What syncs from Gmail
Everything comes in as knowledge nodes — ordinary files you can open, link and search, not messages locked behind a search box that only takes keywords.
Messages as notes
Each message becomes a note titled by its subject, so a whole thread of commitments turns into findable knowledge.
Sender and subject
The From and Subject headers are captured with the body, so you keep who said what, not just the text.
Plaintext body
The connector extracts the message's text/plain part — the readable content — and falls back to the preview snippet when there is no text part.
90-day first backfill
The first sync ingests the last 90 days of mail so it never lists an entire huge mailbox; every run after that fetches only what arrived since.
Incremental updates
Sync resumes from the timestamp of the newest message it has processed, so steady-state runs pull only new mail.
Built-in deduplication
A seen-ledger keyed on each message id guarantees a re-sync never creates duplicate notes.
Connect Gmail in four steps
No IT project, no forwarding rules — one sign-in from the desktop app.
- 01
Install Fleece AI Brain
Download the desktop app for macOS, Windows or Linux and open your vault — a folder of plain Markdown files on your machine.
- 02
Open Connectors and pick Gmail
In the app, open the connectors panel, choose Gmail, and sign in with your Google account. OAuth is brokered securely; your email never passes through our servers.
- 03
Let the first backfill run
The connector pulls the last 90 days of mail on the first sync, so the initial pass stays fast instead of listing your whole mailbox.
- 04
Let it sync — then ask
Sync runs in the background and stays up to date. Point Claude Desktop, Cursor or any MCP app at your Brain and ask what you promised a customer or agreed with a vendor.
Your inbox is where commitments go to die.
Every promise you made a customer, every decision buried in a thread, every attachment you'll need again — it's all in Gmail, and Gmail's search only takes keywords. Ask "what did we agree on the renewal terms?" and you get a wall of messages to re-read, not an answer. New teammates and AI agents start with zero of that context.
The Gmail connector ends the digging. Messages become permanent notes in one living knowledge graph, linked to the people, projects and tools they mention — so the thing you committed to in March is still one question away in December.
Your mail goes from Gmail to your disk. Nowhere else.
Authentication is a standard OAuth sign-in, but the actual sync calls the Gmail API directly from the desktop app on your machine. Raw messages never transit Fleece's servers or any third party — they land straight in your vault as Markdown and SQLite.
That is the whole trust model: we can't read your mailbox, period. The files are yours, they open in Obsidian or any editor, and if you ever leave, you take everything with you.
- +Direct Gmail-to-device sync — raw messages never touch our servers
- +Vault = plain .md files + SQLite, 100% Obsidian-compatible
- +Works offline once synced; cloud sync is optional and end-to-end encrypted
Give every AI app your email memory.
One copy-paste connects the Brain to Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline, Zed or agents you build. From then on, "what did we tell the customer about the deadline?" is answered from the actual message — with the source note one click away, found by meaning and exact words alike.
Because every agent and tool reads the same graph, you stop forwarding threads to explain context. On Teams, the organization map also shows which agents used that knowledge and what they cost.
Gmail connector — FAQ
Does my email pass through Fleece's servers?+
No. Sign-in uses a brokered OAuth flow, but the sync itself calls the Gmail API directly from the desktop app on your machine. Raw messages land straight in your local vault; we never see or store your email.
How much mail does it sync, and can I limit it?+
The first sync backfills the last 90 days so it never lists an entire huge mailbox; mail older than that first window is left out. After that, each run pulls only messages newer than the last one it processed, so the ongoing scope is naturally small.
Does it write, send or delete anything in Gmail?+
No. The connector is read-only: it pulls messages into your knowledge base and never sends, labels, edits or deletes anything in your mailbox.
How often does it sync?+
Sync runs in the background from the desktop app and resumes from the timestamp of the newest message it has processed, so each run only fetches new mail. Re-syncs never create duplicates.
Which plan do I need to connect Gmail?+
The local brain is free, and connectors are the paid lever: Solo (€12/month) includes up to 3 connected tools, Pro (€24/month) makes them unlimited with auto-sync and the Janitor AI that auto-merges and archives. Every plan starts with a 14-day trial, no card required.
How do I ask Claude or Cursor about my email?+
Connect the Brain to Claude Desktop, Cursor or any MCP-compatible app with a single copy-paste. Your AI then answers from the synced Gmail knowledge — matching meaning and exact words locally — and cites the exact note it drew from.
Can I open the synced messages outside the app?+
Yes. Every message is an ordinary Markdown file in your vault, fully Obsidian-compatible — open, edit or grep them with any tool, and take them with you if you ever leave.
What happens if I disconnect Gmail?+
Sync stops, and everything already in your vault stays yours — the notes are local files, not a mirror that vanishes with the connection.
Stop losing commitments to the inbox.
Connect Gmail in one sign-in and give your whole AI stack a permanent, searchable memory of what you already agreed.