What is Macro?
Macro, from macro-inc, is a single workspace that replaces several team tools at once: a Gmail client with multi-account and shared inboxes, Slack-style channels, Linear-style tasks, collaborative markdown docs built on CRDTs, a canvas, recorded and transcribed calls, file storage and a CRM. Everything is stored in one bidirectional graph, so an @mention of an email, contact or task links both ways and is visible to agents.
The AI layer is a team-level memory, rebuilt from conversations, email, tasks and calls and stored as exportable markdown, plus agents that can search, edit docs, set task and CRM fields, draft replies and run on a schedule. On the hosted product the free plan uses Gemini 3.8 Flash; Pro and Max add Anthropic's Sonnet 5.5, Opus 5.5 and Haiku 4.5, OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra and GPT-5.6, and open-weight models. An MCP server at mcp-server.macro.com exposes the workspace to Claude Code, Codex and other clients.
The repo was created in November 2025, has about 6,025 GitHub stars and 26 contributors, and ships near-daily releases (v2026.10.31.0 on 31 October 2026). It is written in Rust and SolidJS. Macro relicensed from the BSL to AGPLv3 on 31 May 2026 and describes itself as fully open source rather than open core.
Is Macro worth it?
Macro's real product is the graph, not any single tool. Because email, channels, tasks, docs, calls and CRM records share one database, an agent can answer 'what is the status of the Acme deal' from the emails, the deal channel and the linked tasks without being pointed at any of them. Most AI workspaces bolt a chatbot onto one app and reach the rest through connectors; Macro's README makes the opposite bet, and says the team of about 15 has dogfooded it for two years.
The memory is the distinctive part. A daily job synthesises each user's memory from team conversations, DMs, sent and received email and task activity in one pass, stores it as markdown you can export, and makes it available to any model in the picker or to outside agents over MCP. The README claims MCP coverage of nearly everything the UI can do, with no rate limits on MCP. Agents act with your permissions and anything they create is attributed to you; according to the docs they draft email for review rather than sending on their own.
The trust decision is larger than with any single tool it replaces. Connecting Gmail gives Macro your mail, attachments, contacts, call recordings and deal notes in one place. The hosted service runs on AWS in the US by default (EU on request), claims SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001, encrypts at rest with AES-256, and says it holds zero-retention agreements with model providers including Anthropic and OpenAI and never trains on customer content. Disconnecting Gmail stops sync but does not delete mail already synced, and SAML and SCIM are not yet supported.
AGPLv3 is what makes that bet reversible, and also what limits it. You can read every service and self-host, but the FAQ says self-hosting has not been the primary focus as of June 2026: the local stack needs Nix and Docker, there are no official prebuilt images (an open issue asks for them), the iOS app and Google and GitHub approvals work only with the hosted service, and LiveKit, FusionAuth and PostHog must be licensed separately or switched off. The source reads provider keys such as ANTHROPIC_API_KEY from the environment, so self-hosters bring their own; the hosted plans document no bring-your-own-key option. Under the AGPL, a company that modifies Macro and offers it to users over a network must publish its changes, or buy a commercial licence.
Maturity is the remaining question. The repo is under a year old, ships releases almost daily, and lists 291 open issues and pull requests; email is Gmail and Google Workspace only, with Outlook and IMAP planned. For a small team willing to move everything at once, Macro pitches the hosted Pro plan at $40 a seat as cheaper than the Slack, Linear, Notion and Superhuman bundle it replaces. For a team that only wants better email or a better CRM, it is a lot of migration for one feature.
Where it earns its place
A ten-person seed-stage startup paying for Slack, Linear, Notion and Superhuman
Run the company from one tool where a customer email can become a task and a deal update
Connect each founder's Gmail on hosted Pro, turn support emails into linked tasks, and @mention company records in channels so the CRM fills itself. Pro costs $40 per seat per month, so about $400 a month for ten seats, after a 30-day free trial.
An engineering lead who already lives in Claude Code
Let the coding agent read tasks, specs and customer context without copy-pasting
Add the Macro MCP server with claude mcp add --transport http macro https://mcp-server.macro.com/mcp; the agent can search attachments parsed from email, read linked docs and update task status. MCP access is included on every plan, Free included.
A security-conscious founder who wants the option to leave
Adopt an all-in-one workspace without being locked into one vendor's hosting
Use the hosted product but rely on the AGPLv3 source, markdown export of docs and memory, and the documented local stack as an exit route. Running it in production yourself means Nix, Docker, your own Google OAuth app, model keys and LiveKit, FusionAuth and PostHog licences or replacements.
Before you commit
- Setup
- Hosted: sign up and connect Gmail or Google Workspace; the getting-started guide claims a working setup in about 15 minutes. Self-hosted: nix develop, then just run_local or just stack with Docker; real Google OAuth is required for Gmail sync and for the agent harness's MCP routes to start.
- Integrations
- Gmail and Google Workspace, GitHub pull requests, imports from Notion, Linear and Slack, a web, Tauri desktop and iOS client, and an MCP server for Claude Code, Codex and other clients. Outlook and IMAP are planned.
- Data and privacy
- Hosted on AWS, US by default, EU on request; GDPR, SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001; AES-256 at rest. Prompts go to providers including Anthropic and OpenAI under zero-retention agreements; no training on customer content. Subprocessors include LiveKit, FusionAuth and PostHog. AGPLv3: network-served modifications must be published unless you buy a commercial licence.
- Cost at scale
- Hosted pricing is per seat with every member paid: Pro $40/seat/month, Max $200/seat/month for 10× Pro AI usage. Pro's AI allowance is described as standard daily use; exact limits are not published. Self-hosting has no licence fee but carries 42 services, 167 Rust crates and third-party licences to run.
- Limits
- Self-hosting not a priority as of June 2026; no official Docker images; Gmail only; no SAML or SCIM; doc version control is still described as v1; 291 open issues and PRs; near-daily releases change behaviour quickly.
What’s good
- One graph across email, chat, tasks, docs, calls and CRM, readable by agents
- Nightly team memory stored as exportable markdown
- Broad MCP surface with no MCP rate limits
- Fully AGPLv3, not open core; SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 on the hosted product
What’s not
- Self-hosting is not the focus: no prebuilt images, iOS and Google approvals hosted-only
- Hosted product holds your whole inbox, calls and CRM in one vendor
- Gmail and Google Workspace only; no SAML or SCIM yet
- Under a year old with near-daily releases and 291 open issues and PRs
Best for
Small startups on Google Workspace ready to move email, chat, tasks and CRM into one tool so agents can work across all of it.
Macro: common questions
- Is Macro worth it?
- Macro puts a startup's email, chat, tasks and CRM under one agent-readable memory more coherently than anything else open source, but self-hosting is a side project and the hosted version asks for your entire inbox. We rate it 3.8 out of 5.
- How much does Macro cost?
- AGPLv3, free to self-host. Hosted: Free $0 (limited AI, Gemini Flash only, 2 email accounts, 5 GB); Pro $40/seat/month with 30 days free (all models, 100 GB); Max $200/seat/month (10× Pro AI usage, 1 TB). Every team member needs a paid seat.
- What are the downsides of Macro?
- Self-hosting is not the focus: no prebuilt images, iOS and Google approvals hosted-only; hosted product holds your whole inbox, calls and CRM in one vendor; gmail and Google Workspace only; no SAML or SCIM yet; under a year old with near-daily releases and 291 open issues and PRs.
- Who is Macro best for?
- Small startups on Google Workspace ready to move email, chat, tasks and CRM into one tool so agents can work across all of it.
- How much does Macro cost for a team or in production?
- Hosted pricing is per seat with every member paid: Pro $40/seat/month, Max $200/seat/month for 10× Pro AI usage. Pro's AI allowance is described as standard daily use; exact limits are not published. Self-hosting has no licence fee but carries 42 services, 167 Rust crates and third-party licences to run.
- Is Macro safe for company data?
- Hosted on AWS, US by default, EU on request; GDPR, SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001; AES-256 at rest. Prompts go to providers including Anthropic and OpenAI under zero-retention agreements; no training on customer content. Subprocessors include LiveKit, FusionAuth and PostHog. AGPLv3: network-served modifications must be published unless you buy a commercial licence.
Answers checked Oct 31, 2026.