# Email Validator & List Cleaner (MX, Disposable, Typo) (`k09/email-list-cleaner`) Actor

Bulk email validator and list cleaner: syntax, MX records, disposable email detection, role accounts, typo fixes (gmial.com) and de-duplication. Lower bounce rates for $0.60 per 1,000 emails.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/k09/email-list-cleaner.md
- **Developed by:** [K09 Tools](https://apify.com/k09) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.60 / 1,000 email 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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Email Validator & List Cleaner

A fast, low-cost **email validator** for whole lists. Check email addresses in bulk before you import them or send to them: syntax validation, MX record check, **disposable email detection**, role-account detection, typo correction (`gmial.com → gmail.com`) and de-duplication. Paste addresses or upload a CSV, and get a status and plain-English reasons for every address.

**Use it to:** lower your bounce rate before a campaign, clean a newsletter or CRM import, block throwaway sign-ups, and pre-clean cold email lists before paying for a full mailbox verifier. Pricing: **$0.60 per 1,000 emails**, and duplicates are free.

> Only need to check a few addresses by hand? Use the free browser version: **[K09 Email Validator](https://k09zz.github.io/k09-tools/email-validator/)** (up to 100 emails, no sign-up). This Actor is for full lists, file uploads, the API and scheduled runs.

### What it checks

| Check | What you get |
|---|---|
| **Syntax** | Catches broken addresses (`a..b@x.com`, `name@@mail.com`, missing domain, invalid characters). Trims spaces, `mailto:` and `<brackets>`. International domains are supported. |
| **Mail servers (MX)** | Looks up the domain's MX records. Flags domains that don't exist, have no mail servers, or publish a "null MX" (accepts no email). |
| **Disposable domains** | Flags temporary inboxes such as mailinator.com, using a community-maintained list that updates on every run. |
| **Typos** | Suggests a fix for common mistakes: `gmial.com → gmail.com`, `yahoo.con → yahoo.com`, `hotmial.com → hotmail.com`. |
| **Role accounts** | Flags addresses that reach a team rather than a person (`info@`, `sales@`, `noreply@`). |
| **Free providers** | Marks Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook and other consumer mailboxes (useful for B2B lists). |
| **Duplicates** | Removes repeats, ignoring case. Duplicates are not charged. |

### Status values

- **ok**: passed every check.
- **risky**: can receive mail but is flagged (disposable, role account, possible typo, or no MX record).
- **invalid**: can't receive email (bad syntax, domain doesn't exist, or no mail servers).
- **unknown**: the DNS lookup failed. Try again later.

### What it does *not* do

It doesn't connect to mail servers to test whether a specific mailbox exists (SMTP "pinging"). That is slow, often blocked, and can hurt sender reputation. An address with status **ok** has a real mail domain and no red flags, but the mailbox itself isn't confirmed. Many teams run this cleaner first to cheaply remove junk, then send only the remaining addresses to a full mailbox verifier.

### Input

- **Emails**: one per line.
- **Paste emails**: a block of text separated by lines, commas, semicolons or spaces.
- **Upload a file**: upload a CSV or TXT file (or paste a link to one) up to 25 MB. Every email found in the file is checked.
- Options: turn MX checks off, keep duplicates, or cap the number of emails.

### Output

One row per address in the dataset (export as CSV, Excel or JSON):

```json
{
  "email": "someone@gmial.com",
  "status": "risky",
  "reasons": ["possible typo of gmail.com", "disposable / temporary email domain"],
  "suggestion": "someone@gmail.com",
  "mailServer": "unknown",
  "isDisposable": true,
  "isRoleAccount": false,
  "isFreeProvider": false,
  "input": "someone@gmial.com"
}
```

The run also saves:

- `SUMMARY`: counts per status.
- `CLEAN_LIST`: a plain-text file with only the **ok** addresses, ready to import.

### Pricing

You pay per unique email checked. Duplicates are free. If you set a maximum cost for a run, the Actor stops cleanly when it reaches it and keeps everything checked so far.

### Privacy

Addresses are only used to run the checks. They go into your own run's dataset and nowhere else. Only the domain part is looked up in public DNS.

### Use it from code or AI agents

Every run can be started from the API, and results come back as JSON, CSV or Excel. Replace `YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN` with the token from **Apify Console → Settings → API & Integrations**.

**cURL** (runs the Actor and returns the results in one call):

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/k09~email-list-cleaner/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"emails":["jane.doe@gmail.com","info@acme.com","someone@gmial.com"]}'
```

**Python** (`pip install apify-client`):

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("k09/email-list-cleaner").call(run_input={
    "emails": [
        "jane.doe@gmail.com",
        "info@acme.com",
        "someone@gmial.com"
    ]
})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)
```

**JavaScript / Node.js** (`npm install apify-client`):

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

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('k09/email-list-cleaner').call({
  "emails": [
    "jane.doe@gmail.com",
    "info@acme.com",
    "someone@gmial.com"
  ]
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);
```

**No-code and AI agents:** the Actor works with Apify's Zapier, Make and n8n integrations, can run on a schedule from the Console, and can be used as a tool by AI agents through Apify's MCP server (see Apify's MCP documentation).

# Actor input Schema

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

One email address per line.

## `emailsText` (type: `string`):

Paste a list separated by new lines, commas, semicolons or spaces.

## `fileUrl` (type: `string`):

Upload a CSV or text file, or paste a link to one (up to 25 MB). Every email address found in the file is checked; other columns are ignored.

## `checkDns` (type: `boolean`):

Look up each domain's mail servers. Turn off for a syntax-and-lists-only check.

## `removeDuplicates` (type: `boolean`):

Skip repeated addresses (case-insensitive). Duplicates are not charged.

## `maxEmails` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many unique emails. 0 means no limit.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "emails": [
    "jane.doe@gmail.com",
    "info@apify.com",
    "someone@gmial.com",
    "test@mailinator.com"
  ],
  "checkDns": true,
  "removeDuplicates": true,
  "maxEmails": 0
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

## `cleanList` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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": [
        "jane.doe@gmail.com",
        "info@apify.com",
        "someone@gmial.com",
        "test@mailinator.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("k09/email-list-cleaner").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": [
        "jane.doe@gmail.com",
        "info@apify.com",
        "someone@gmial.com",
        "test@mailinator.com",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("k09/email-list-cleaner").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": [
    "jane.doe@gmail.com",
    "info@apify.com",
    "someone@gmial.com",
    "test@mailinator.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call k09/email-list-cleaner --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,k09/email-list-cleaner"
        }
    }
}
```

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/NTxgfwyDmBzBYKLJW/builds/xFOSii9tFHR6dSDY0/openapi.json