# Email & Domain Auth Checker: MX, SPF, DKIM & DMARC (`apifmcpfactory/email-domain-checker`) Actor

Checks an email or domain's deliverability signals from DNS alone: MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, plus disposable and role-address flags. No SMTP, no mailbox ping. It reports auth-record posture, not mailbox existence. $0.005 per input checked.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/apifmcpfactory/email-domain-checker.md
- **Developed by:** [Howth Technology Factory](https://apify.com/apifmcpfactory) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Agents
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 input checkeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md):

```bash
npm install apify-client
```

In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md):

```bash
pip install apify-client
```

In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):

````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash

In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md).

If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).


# README

## Email & Domain Auth Checker — MX, SPF, DKIM & DMARC from DNS alone

Check an email or domain's deliverability **signals** and email-authentication posture — MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, disposable/role flags — using only public DNS records. **No SMTP connection, no mailbox ping.** This tells you whether a domain is *set up correctly to receive and authenticate mail*; it does not confirm a specific mailbox exists.

**$5 per 1,000 checks flat** — with a low per-run start fee and nothing else.

### Use with AI agents (MCP)

This Actor is also an **MCP tool** — AI agents like Claude and Cursor can run it for you. Your agent can call this tool directly; usage bills through your Apify account.

**MCP server URL:**

````

https://mcp.apify.com?tools=apifmcpfactory/email-domain-checker

````

**Claude Desktop** (`claude_desktop_config.json`):

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "email-domain-checker": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=apifmcpfactory/email-domain-checker",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN"
            ]
        }
    }
}
````

**Cursor** (`.cursor/mcp.json`):

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "email-domain-checker": {
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=apifmcpfactory/email-domain-checker",
            "headers": {
                "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN"
            }
        }
    }
}
```

Replace `YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN` with your API token from [Apify Console](https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations). This same checker is also published standalone on [MCPize](https://mcpize.com/mcp/email-domain-checker-mcp) as a free community MCP server.

### Why this Actor?

- **DNS-only, honestly** — MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC are all public DNS records. Reading them needs no SMTP handshake, no "ping the mailbox" trick that gets you greylisted or rate-limited by mail providers, and no false confidence from a technique (SMTP verification) mail servers increasingly detect and block.
- **Distinguishes "doesn't exist" from "can't receive mail" from "couldn't tell"** — a domain that doesn't resolve at all (`UNRESOLVABLE`), a domain that resolves but publishes no MX (`NO_MX` — including an explicit RFC 7505 "null MX" record), and a genuine DNS failure (`LOOKUP_ERROR`) are three different things. Most checkers collapse them into one generic failure.
- **Disposable and role-address flags** — checked against bundled open lists, useful for cleaning a signup or lead list before it hits your CRM.
- **Honest about DKIM** — DKIM keys live at a selector-specific DNS name with no directory to look one up. Without a selector, this probes a handful of common ones and reports exactly which it checked — never claiming "no DKIM" when it simply didn't guess the right selector.
- **Bulk-safe by design** — up to 1,000 inputs per run, one dataset row per input, in order. A single bad entry never fails the batch.

### Input

```json
{
    "inputs": ["user@google.com", "mailinator.com", "not-a-real-domain-xyz.example"],
    "dkimSelector": "google"
}
```

`dkimSelector` is optional — omit it to probe the common default set (google, default, selector1, selector2, k1, dkim, mail).

### Output

One dataset item per input, in the same order as given:

```json
{
    "input": "user@google.com",
    "domain": "google.com",
    "status": "OK",
    "syntaxValid": true,
    "hasMX": true,
    "mxHosts": ["smtp.google.com"],
    "disposable": false,
    "roleAddress": false,
    "spf": { "present": true, "record": "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all", "policy": "~all" },
    "dmarc": { "present": true, "record": "v=DMARC1; p=reject; ...", "policy": "reject" },
    "dkim": { "selectorsChecked": ["google"], "found": ["google"] },
    "summary": "google.com accepts mail (1 MX host(s)). SPF present (~all). DMARC present (p=reject). DKIM found for 1/1 checked selector(s)."
}
```

You can download the dataset in various formats such as JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel.

### Is this email valid or deliverable?

This checks whether the **domain** is correctly configured to receive and authenticate mail: it resolves, has MX records, and (ideally) publishes SPF/DKIM/DMARC. It does **not** connect to the mail server or check whether a specific mailbox exists — that requires an SMTP handshake, which real-world mail providers throttle, block, or answer dishonestly (accept-all servers, greylisting) often enough that the result is *less* trustworthy than DNS-based signals, not more.

### Does it check SPF, DKIM, and DMARC?

Yes, all three, for every input that resolves and has (or explicitly refuses) mail:

- **SPF** — the domain's own TXT record starting `v=spf1`; reports the "all" mechanism's qualifier (`-all`/`~all`/`?all`/`+all`) as a simple policy summary.
- **DMARC** — the TXT record at `_dmarc.<domain>` starting `v=DMARC1`; reports the `p=` policy (`none`/`quarantine`/`reject`).
- **DKIM** — selector-specific; provide `dkimSelector` if you know it, or a common-selector probe runs automatically.

### Does it detect disposable email addresses?

Yes — every domain is checked against a bundled snapshot of well-known public disposable/temporary-email domains (Mailinator, Guerrilla Mail, Yopmail, and similar). New disposable services appear constantly, so `disposable: false` means "not on this known list," not a guarantee.

### GDPR & lawful use

Every check reads only public DNS records — nothing is stored beyond your own run's dataset, no third-party enrichment, no mailbox contact of any kind.

### More tools from MCP Factory

- **[IBAN Validator](https://apify.com/apifmcpfactory/iban-validator)** — offline ISO 13616 IBAN checksum and structure validation.
- **[EU VAT Validator](https://apify.com/apifmcpfactory/eu-vat-validator)** — validate EU VAT numbers against the official VIES registry.
- **[Sanctions Screening](https://apify.com/apifmcpfactory/sanctions-screening)** — screen names against official OFAC, EU, UK and UN sanctions lists in bulk.

# Actor input Schema

## `inputs` (type: `array`):

Emails or bare domains to check, e.g. "user@example.com" or "example.com". Each entry produces exactly one result item and is billed at $0.005 — up to 1000 per run. Checks are DNS-only (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, disposable/role flags) — no SMTP connection, no mailbox ping. If omitted, two demo inputs are used — always pass your own list.

## `dkimSelector` (type: `string`):

DKIM has no DNS-discoverable selector directory. Without this, a handful of common selectors (google, default, selector1, selector2, k1, dkim, mail) are probed for every input. Set this only if you know the exact selector your domain(s) use — it then replaces the default probe set for every input in this run.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "inputs": [
    "user@google.com",
    "mailinator.com"
  ]
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "inputs": [
        "user@google.com",
        "mailinator.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("apifmcpfactory/email-domain-checker").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "inputs": [
        "user@google.com",
        "mailinator.com",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("apifmcpfactory/email-domain-checker").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "inputs": [
    "user@google.com",
    "mailinator.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call apifmcpfactory/email-domain-checker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=apifmcpfactory/email-domain-checker",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "Email & Domain Auth Checker: MX, SPF, DKIM & DMARC",
        "description": "Checks an email or domain's deliverability signals from DNS alone: MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, plus disposable and role-address flags. No SMTP, no mailbox ping. It reports auth-record posture, not mailbox existence. $0.005 per input checked.",
        "version": "0.0",
        "x-build-id": "HFtiJRlmhZH3TpPLl"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/apifmcpfactory~email-domain-checker/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-apifmcpfactory-email-domain-checker",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/apifmcpfactory~email-domain-checker/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-apifmcpfactory-email-domain-checker",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK",
                        "content": {
                            "application/json": {
                                "schema": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/apifmcpfactory~email-domain-checker/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-apifmcpfactory-email-domain-checker",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    },
    "components": {
        "schemas": {
            "inputSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "required": [
                    "inputs"
                ],
                "properties": {
                    "inputs": {
                        "title": "Emails or domains",
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "Emails or bare domains to check, e.g. \"user@example.com\" or \"example.com\". Each entry produces exactly one result item and is billed at $0.005 — up to 1000 per run. Checks are DNS-only (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, disposable/role flags) — no SMTP connection, no mailbox ping. If omitted, two demo inputs are used — always pass your own list.",
                        "default": [
                            "user@google.com",
                            "mailinator.com"
                        ],
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string"
                        }
                    },
                    "dkimSelector": {
                        "title": "DKIM selector (optional)",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "DKIM has no DNS-discoverable selector directory. Without this, a handful of common selectors (google, default, selector1, selector2, k1, dkim, mail) are probed for every input. Set this only if you know the exact selector your domain(s) use — it then replaces the default probe set for every input in this run."
                    }
                }
            },
            "runsResponseSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "data": {
                        "type": "object",
                        "properties": {
                            "id": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "actId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "userId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "startedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "finishedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "status": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "READY"
                            },
                            "meta": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "origin": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "API"
                                    },
                                    "userAgent": {
                                        "type": "string"
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "stats": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "inputBodyLen": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2000
                                    },
                                    "rebootCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "restartCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "resurrectCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "computeUnits": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "options": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "build": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "latest"
                                    },
                                    "timeoutSecs": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 300
                                    },
                                    "memoryMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1024
                                    },
                                    "diskMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2048
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "buildId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultDatasetId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultRequestQueueId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "buildNumber": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "1.0.0"
                            },
                            "containerUrl": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "usage": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "usageTotalUsd": {
                                "type": "number",
                                "example": 0.00005
                            },
                            "usageUsd": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "number",
                                        "example": 0.00005
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```