# Email Verifier — Syntax, MX & Disposable Check (`axery/email-verifier-dns`) Actor

Verify email addresses from public DNS and public data: syntax, domain, MX records, disposable domains and role accounts. No SMTP probing of third-party mail servers, so no sender-reputation risk.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/axery/email-verifier-dns.md
- **Developed by:** [Axery](https://apify.com/axery) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Other, Integrations
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.50 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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 Verifier (Syntax + MX + Disposable)

Verifies email addresses using **public DNS and public data only** — no login, no paid API, no SMTP probing of other people's mail servers.

### What it checks

| Check | How |
|---|---|
| **Syntax** | RFC 5321/5322-shaped rules, including the real length ceilings (64 local / 255 domain / 320 total) |
| **Domain exists** | DNS-over-HTTPS, NXDOMAIN detection |
| **MX records** | Full mail-exchanger list with priorities, sorted |
| **A-record fallback** | A domain with no MX can still receive mail via its A record (RFC 5321) — checked before calling an address dead |
| **Disposable domains** | Public `disposable-email-domains` blocklist, fetched once per run |
| **Role accounts** | `info@`, `admin@`, `support@` and similar — valid, but usually not a person |

Two independent DoH resolvers (Google, Cloudflare) are tried in turn, so one provider being unreachable degrades to the other instead of failing the run.

### What it deliberately does NOT do

**It does not connect to the recipient's mail server and probe individual mailboxes with SMTP `RCPT TO`.** That technique hammers third-party infrastructure without consent, many providers treat it as abuse, and modern catch-all configurations make its answer unreliable anyway.

The honest consequence, stated plainly rather than hidden: **this Actor tells you whether an address *can* receive mail (domain resolves, MX exists), not whether that specific mailbox exists.** That is why there is no `valid` status — only:

- `deliverable` — domain resolves and accepts mail, no flags
- `risky` — deliverable but disposable, a role account, or relying on an A-record fallback
- `invalid` — provably cannot receive mail
- `unknown` — the DNS lookup itself failed

Every underlying signal (`syntax_valid`, `domain_exists`, `has_mx`, `mx_records`, `is_disposable`, `is_role_account`) is emitted alongside the verdict, so you can apply your own thresholds instead of trusting the summary.

`checks_performed` lists which checks actually ran for each row — useful when a DNS failure means fewer ran than usual. And when the disposable check is turned off, `is_disposable` reports **null**, not false, so an unchecked address is never mistaken for a clean one.

### Input

| Field | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| `emails` | array | Addresses to verify — one row each. |
| `checkDisposable` | boolean | Fetch and match the public disposable blocklist. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | Not normally needed — public DoH resolvers only. |

### Local development

```bash
pip install -r requirements.txt
python test_local.py --out sample_output.json          # runs a built-in set of edge cases
python test_local.py someone@example.com info@github.com
```

`sample_output.json` is real output covering deliverable, role-account, disposable, NXDOMAIN and two syntax-failure cases.

# Actor input Schema

## `emails` (type: `array`):

One or more email addresses to verify. Each becomes one row in the dataset.

## `checkDisposable` (type: `boolean`):

Match each domain against the public disposable-email-domains blocklist (fetched once per run). Turn off to skip that fetch - the `is_disposable` field then reports null rather than false, so an unchecked address is never mistaken for a clean one.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Not normally needed - this Actor only calls public DNS-over-HTTPS resolvers and a public blocklist.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "emails": [
    "someone@example.com"
  ],
  "checkDisposable": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

One row per email: status, reason, and the individual syntax/domain/MX/disposable/role signals.

# 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 = {
    "emails": [
        "test@gmail.com",
        "info@github.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("axery/email-verifier-dns").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 = { "emails": [
        "test@gmail.com",
        "info@github.com",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("axery/email-verifier-dns").call(run_input=run_input)

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

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

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "emails": [
    "test@gmail.com",
    "info@github.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call axery/email-verifier-dns --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,axery/email-verifier-dns"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/QriAyYETSJ8pUL0Ku/builds/WO9fvEhDZG71a548y/openapi.json