# Reverse Email Lookup (`moltsets/reverse-email-lookup`) Actor

Turn email addresses into names, job titles, companies and LinkedIn profiles. Bring your own MoltSets API key; you only pay MoltSets for hits.

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

## Pricing

Pay per usage

This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have.

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

## 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

## Reverse Email Lookup: the person, company and LinkedIn profile behind an email

Turn email addresses into people. For each address, get the person's name, job title, seniority, company, company size and revenue band, LinkedIn profile and any other emails on file. Paste addresses or point it at a dataset of form fills, sign-ups or contacts, and get back one enriched row per address. Works with business and personal addresses. Powered by [MoltSets](https://moltsets.com).

- **Who is behind the address**: name, job title, seniority, function and country.
- **Company context**: company name, website, LinkedIn page, headcount and revenue.
- **LinkedIn profile**: from the reverse lookup, with an optional fallback lookup when it has none.
- **Other emails on file**: the confirmed work email and personal emails, each with an A to F grade.
- **Fast batches**: addresses go to MoltSets 100 at a time.
- **Clean input**: addresses are lowercased and de-duplicated; malformed addresses are flagged without spending anything.

### Bring your own MoltSets API key

This Actor calls the [MoltSets API](https://developer.moltsets.com) with your own key, so MoltSets data is billed to your MoltSets account and Apify only charges for compute (the Actor itself is free).

1. [Create a free MoltSets account](https://app.moltsets.com/signup?utm_source=apify\&utm_medium=actor\&utm_campaign=reverse-email-lookup).
2. Copy a key from [API keys](https://app.moltsets.com/dashboard/api_keys). Keys start with `ms_`.
3. Paste it into the **MoltSets API key** field. Apify stores it encrypted and the Actor never logs it.

### What it costs

**You only pay for hits.** A lookup that finds nothing costs no tokens. It still counts towards your MoltSets Fair Use request limits.

| Lookup | MoltSets tool | Cost |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Reverse email lookup | `reverse_email_lookup` | 1 token per address found |
| LinkedIn URL fallback | `email_to_linkedin` | 1 token per URL found |

Costs are read live from your account (`get_billing`) at the start of every run, and the log shows a worst-case estimate before any lookups are made. If your balance is lower than the worst case the run still starts, because misses are free; if tokens run out it stops gracefully and keeps everything found so far.

Token costs are the published MoltSets rates at the time of writing. The LinkedIn fallback only runs for addresses where the reverse lookup returned no LinkedIn URL, so you are never charged twice for the same URL. Turn **Find LinkedIn URL when missing** off to skip it.

### Input

| Field | Name | Default | Description |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| `apiKey` | MoltSets API key |  | Required. Your MoltSets API key (starts with `ms_`). No account yet? [Sign up free](https://app.moltsets.com/signup?utm_source=apify\&utm_medium=actor\&utm_campaign=reverse-email-lookup), then copy a key from [API keys](https://app.moltsets.com/dashboard/api_keys). MoltSets bills your MoltSets account directly, and only for hits. |
| `emails` | Email addresses |  | Business or personal email addresses. Addresses are lowercased and duplicates removed before any lookup. |
| `datasetId` | Read from a dataset |  | Use the results of another run, for example a form export or a contact scraper run. Combined with any addresses above. |
| `datasetField` | Dataset column with the email |  | Column to read, for example `email` or `contact.email` (dot paths work). Leave empty to try common names: email, Email, emailAddress, email_address, workEmail, businessEmail, contactEmail. |
| `findLinkedIn` | Find LinkedIn URL when missing | `true` | When the reverse lookup does not return a LinkedIn profile, try a dedicated email to LinkedIn lookup. Charged only when a URL is found. |
| `maxItems` | Maximum emails | `100` | Hard cap on unique emails processed in this run. |
| `maxRetryWaitSecs` | Longest Fair Use wait | `120` | If MoltSets asks the run to wait for a Fair Use window up to this long, it waits and carries on. Longer waits stop the run gracefully and keep the results so far. |

Example input:

```json
{
    "apiKey": "ms_XXXXXXXXXXX",
    "emails": [
        "jane.doe@acme.com",
        "john.smith@example.com"
    ],
    "findLinkedIn": true,
    "maxItems": 100
}
```

### Output

One row per input item, in input order. Each lookup has a `<lookup>_status` column:

| Status | Meaning |
| :--- | :--- |
| `found` | Data returned (and charged). |
| `not_found` | Nothing on file. Free. |
| `restricted` | Not included in your MoltSets plan. Nothing charged. See `notes`. |
| `skipped` | Not attempted: invalid input, out of phone tokens, or the run stopped early. See `notes`. |
| `error` | MoltSets could not complete the lookup after retries. Free; worth running again. |

Example row:

```json
{
    "email": "jane.doe@acme.com",
    "email_normalised": "jane.doe@acme.com",
    "input_status": "valid",
    "profile_status": "found",
    "full_name": "Jane Doe",
    "first_name": "Jane",
    "last_name": "Doe",
    "title": "Head of Marketing",
    "seniority": "Director",
    "country": "United States",
    "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-doe-123",
    "company_name": "Acme",
    "company_website": "https://acme.com",
    "company_employee_range": "51-200",
    "work_email": "jane.doe@acme.com",
    "work_email_risk_score": "A",
    "linkedin_status": "found",
    "linkedin_url_source": "reverse_email_lookup",
    "notes": null
}
```

- **Risk scores** grade send safety, not identity: `A` validated deliverable, `B` known engagement, `C` catch-all domain, `D` never send (bounce, complaint or trap), `F` no signal. Suppress `D`; treat `C` and `F` as unknown rather than bad.
- **`linkedin_url_source`** says which lookup found the LinkedIn URL: `reverse_email_lookup` (no extra charge) or `email_to_linkedin` (the fallback).
- **Personal emails** are listed with their grades in one column, separated by semicolons, so they survive CSV export.

A run summary (hits and misses per lookup, tokens used, skipped lookups and why, stop reason) is saved as `SUMMARY` in the run's key-value store and shown in the run's status message.

### Chaining from a scraper

Point the Actor at any dataset with an email column, for example a form export or a contact scraper run. In the Console, choose it under **Read from a dataset** and, if needed, name the column (common names such as `email` and `emailAddress` are detected automatically).

From code, with the [Apify API client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/):

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

const apify = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });

const run = await apify.actor('moltsets/reverse-email-lookup').call({
    apiKey: process.env.MOLTSETS_API_KEY,
    datasetId: '<dataset with an email column>',
    datasetField: 'email',
    maxItems: 500,
});

const { items } = await apify.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
```

To run it automatically after another Actor, add an [integration](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/actors) on that Actor that starts this one with `{"datasetId": "{{resource.defaultDatasetId}}"}` plus your key.

### Limits

- **Fair Use**: MoltSets limits enrichment records and requests per rolling 5-hour and 1-week window, by plan. Every lookup counts as a request, hit or miss. If MoltSets asks the run to wait less than **Longest Fair Use wait** (default 120 seconds) it waits and continues; otherwise it stops gracefully, keeps its results and says when the window resets. See the [Fair Use Policy](https://moltsets.com/fair-use-policy-enrichment/).
- **Out of tokens**: the run stops, keeps everything processed so far and links to billing. Unprocessed rows are marked `skipped`.
- **Maximum emails** caps unique addresses per run (default 100), so a large dataset cannot spend more than you intended.

### Other MoltSets Actors

- LinkedIn Email and Phone Finder (coming soon): business and personal emails, mobile phones and hashes from LinkedIn URLs.
- Email Finder by Name and Company (coming soon): business emails from a name and company domain.
- IP to Company Lookup (coming soon): the company behind an IPv4 address.

### Support

- MoltSets API docs: [developer.moltsets.com](https://developer.moltsets.com)
- Account, billing and plan questions: support@moltsets.com
- Bugs in this Actor: open an issue on the **Issues** tab.

# Actor input Schema

## `apiKey` (type: `string`):

Required. Your MoltSets API key (starts with <code>ms\_</code>). No account yet? <a href="https://app.moltsets.com/signup?utm_source=apify&utm_medium=actor&utm_campaign=reverse-email-lookup" target="_blank">Sign up free</a>, then copy a key from <a href="https://app.moltsets.com/dashboard/api_keys" target="_blank">API keys</a>. MoltSets bills your MoltSets account directly, and only for hits.

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

Business or personal email addresses. Addresses are lowercased and duplicates removed before any lookup.

## `datasetId` (type: `string`):

Use the results of another run, for example a form export or a contact scraper run. Combined with any addresses above.

## `datasetField` (type: `string`):

Column to read, for example <code>email</code> or <code>contact.email</code> (dot paths work). Leave empty to try common names: email, Email, emailAddress, email_address, workEmail, businessEmail, contactEmail.

## `findLinkedIn` (type: `boolean`):

When the reverse lookup does not return a LinkedIn profile, try a dedicated email to LinkedIn lookup. Charged only when a URL is found.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Hard cap on unique emails processed in this run.

## `maxRetryWaitSecs` (type: `integer`):

If MoltSets asks the run to wait for a Fair Use window up to this long, it waits and carries on. Longer waits stop the run gracefully and keep the results so far.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "emails": [
    "john.smith@acme.com"
  ],
  "findLinkedIn": true,
  "maxItems": 100,
  "maxRetryWaitSecs": 120
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

One row per input email address.

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

Hits and misses per lookup, tokens used, skipped lookups and stop reason.

# 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": [
        "john.smith@acme.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("moltsets/reverse-email-lookup").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": ["john.smith@acme.com"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("moltsets/reverse-email-lookup").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": [
    "john.smith@acme.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call moltsets/reverse-email-lookup --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/j1YUCFZwdm22Ewlm4/builds/w7wqv5UsrYXgKqHBj/openapi.json