# Email Verifier & Validator — Bulk List Cleaning, No API Key (`thirdwatch/email-verifier`) Actor

Check that each mailbox exists before you send. Catch-all, disposable, role and free-provider detection, optional SPF/DKIM/DMARC, and a clear good/risky/bad verdict with a 0–100 score. Clean Apollo, LinkedIn or CRM lists and cut bounces. No email is sent.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/thirdwatch/email-verifier.md
- **Developed by:** [Thirdwatch](https://apify.com/thirdwatch) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Automation, MCP servers
- **Stats:** 31 total users, 13 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.60 / 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?

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 Verifier & Validator — Bulk Email Verification

> Clean any email list before you send, whether it comes from Apollo, LinkedIn, a scraper or your CRM. Each address gets a mailbox-level check plus catch-all, disposable, role and free-provider detection. You get one clear verdict per address (good, risky or bad) and a 0–100 score. No email is ever sent, and you don't need an API key.

### Why use it

- **Protect your sender reputation.** Remove addresses that would bounce before they hurt your domain.
- **Know what's actually deliverable.** Each mailbox is checked against the recipient's mail server, not just its format.
- **Catch the tricky cases.** Catch-all domains, disposable inboxes, role addresses such as info@ or sales@, and full or disabled mailboxes are each labelled clearly.
- **Bulk-ready and cheap.** Paste thousands of addresses or call it from your own tools. You pay only per address verified.

### What each address gets

| Check | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Syntax | Whether the address is well-formed. |
| Mail domain | Whether the domain can receive email (MX records, with the standard A-record fallback). |
| Mailbox | Whether the specific mailbox exists and can receive mail. |
| Catch-all | Whether the domain accepts any address, which makes individual mailboxes unconfirmable. |
| Disposable | Whether it uses a temporary-inbox service. |
| Role address | Whether it is a shared inbox such as info@, sales@ or support@. |
| Free provider | Whether it is Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo or a similar service. |
| Domain health (optional) | SPF, DKIM and DMARC records for the domain. |

### Results: what the statuses mean

| Status | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| `good` | The mailbox exists and can receive mail. | Safe to send. |
| `risky` | The domain is catch-all, it's a role address, the mailbox is full, or the mail server gave no definite answer. | Send with care or review manually. |
| `bad` | Invalid address, no mail domain, disposable inbox, or the mailbox doesn't exist. | Remove it. |
| `unverifiable` | The mailbox couldn't be checked during this run, for example because the provider didn't respond. It is not a negative signal. | Re-check later, or treat it as untested. |

Every row also has a `technical_status` (`valid`, `invalid`, `unknown`, `catch_all`, `disposable` or `error`), a 0–100 `score` and a machine-readable `reason`. Reasons include:

- `ok`
- `invalid_syntax`
- `no_mail_infrastructure`
- `smtp_rejected`
- `mailbox_disabled`
- `mailbox_full`
- `spamtrap`
- `catch_all_domain`
- `disposable_email`
- `role_address`
- `smtp_unverifiable`
- `smtp_inconclusive`
- `smtp_not_checked`

### How to use

1. Paste your addresses into **Emails to verify**, one per line or comma-separated.
2. Keep **Check mailbox** and **Detect catch-all domains** on (the defaults).
3. Run the Actor. Download the results as CSV, JSON or Excel, or connect them to your CRM.

#### Input example

```json
{
  "emails": ["jane.doe@company.com", "info@company.com", "test@mailinator.com", "not-an-email"],
  "smtpCheck": true,
  "detectCatchAll": true,
  "checkDomainHealth": false
}
```

#### Output example

```json
{
  "email": "jane.doe@company.com",
  "domain": "company.com",
  "status": "good",
  "technical_status": "valid",
  "score": 98,
  "reason": "ok",
  "free": false,
  "role": false,
  "disposable": false,
  "catch_all": false,
  "mailInfrastructureFound": true
}
```

Each row also includes a `verification_details` object with the full evidence behind the verdict: mail servers, catch-all result, classification flags and optional domain-health results.

### Common workflows

- Clean lead lists from Apollo, Clay, LinkedIn or your CRM before an outreach campaign.
- Block disposable and malformed addresses at sign-up.
- Send catch-all and role addresses to a separate, lower-volume sequence.
- Re-check stored contacts periodically to remove dead mailboxes.
- Audit SPF, DKIM and DMARC across a list of partner or vendor domains.
- Run it from Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets, the Apify API or an AI agent through MCP.

Need the email address first? [LinkedIn Email Finder](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/linkedin-email-finder-scraper) finds and verifies work emails from a name and company.

### Limitations

- **Catch-all domains can't be confirmed per address.** These domains accept mail for every address, so their mailboxes come back `risky` / `catch_all` rather than `good`.
- **Some providers don't reveal whether a mailbox exists.** Those addresses come back `risky` with reason `smtp_inconclusive`, or `unverifiable` if the provider didn't respond. They are not marked bad.
- **Results are a point-in-time check.** A mailbox can be closed or fill up after verification, and a provider can still filter a message based on its content or your sender reputation.
- **DKIM detection is best-effort.** A missing DKIM result doesn't prove that DKIM isn't configured.

### FAQ

**Does this send an email to the address?**
No. Verification stops before any message is sent. Recipients see nothing.

**Why are some addresses "risky" instead of "good"?**
Some domains accept mail for every address (catch-all), so an individual mailbox can't be confirmed. Shared inboxes like info@ and full mailboxes are also flagged risky, because sending to them is less reliable.

**How accurate is it?**
A `good` result means the recipient's mail server confirmed the mailbox. Delivery can still fail later if the mailbox is closed after the check, or if a provider filters your message based on its content or your sender reputation. No verifier can rule that out.

**Do I need my own verification API key?**
No. Everything is included in the per-address price.

**Can I verify very large lists?**
Yes. Addresses are processed in parallel, and results for the same domain are reused within a run to keep it fast and inexpensive.

### Input reference

| Field | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `emails` | — | The addresses to verify (required). |
| `smtpCheck` | `true` | Check whether each mailbox exists. Turn it off for syntax, domain and classification checks only. |
| `detectCatchAll` | `true` | Detect domains that accept any address. |
| `checkDomainHealth` | `false` | Add SPF, DKIM and DMARC checks for each domain. |
| `maxConcurrency` | `10` | How many addresses to process at once (1–50). |

Advanced and legacy fields (`smtpTimeoutSecs`, `useApifyProxy`, `deep`) are kept for existing integrations. Leave them at their defaults.

### Upgrading from version 1

Version 2 replaced the old `valid` / `invalid` / `risky` / `unknown` statuses with `good` / `risky` / `bad` / `unverifiable`. The technical result lives in `technical_status`.

The v1 field names are still included: `syntaxValid`, `mxFound`, `mxHost`, `isDisposable`, `isRole`, `isFreeProvider`, `domainHealth`, `smtpCheck`, `mailboxExists` and `confidence`.

### Responsible use

Only verify addresses you're allowed to process, and follow applicable privacy and anti-spam laws. A good result is not consent to send.

### Support

Questions or an edge case? Open an issue on this Actor's page or contact Thirdwatch at [thirdwatch.dev](https://thirdwatch.dev).

# Actor input Schema

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

The email addresses to verify, one per line. Comma-separated values in a single line also work.

## `smtpCheck` (type: `boolean`):

Check whether each mailbox exists and can receive mail. No email is sent. Turn this off to run only the syntax, domain and classification checks.

## `detectCatchAll` (type: `boolean`):

Detect domains that accept mail for any address. Mailboxes on these domains cannot be individually confirmed, so they are marked risky.

## `checkDomainHealth` (type: `boolean`):

Also check each domain's SPF, DKIM and DMARC records. DKIM detection is best-effort.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many addresses to process at the same time. Addresses at the same domain are checked one after another.

## `smtpTimeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

How long to wait for a mail server to respond. Advanced: keep the default.

## `useApifyProxy` (type: `boolean`):

Advanced: keep enabled.

## `deep` (type: `boolean`):

Kept for integrations built on version 1. Turning it on enables the mailbox check. New integrations should use "Check mailbox" instead.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "emails": [
    "founder@stripe.com",
    "info@example.com",
    "test@gmail.com",
    "hello@mailinator.com",
    "not-an-email"
  ],
  "smtpCheck": true,
  "detectCatchAll": true,
  "checkDomainHealth": false,
  "maxConcurrency": 10,
  "smtpTimeoutSecs": 4,
  "useApifyProxy": true,
  "deep": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (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": [
        "founder@stripe.com",
        "info@example.com",
        "test@gmail.com",
        "hello@mailinator.com",
        "not-an-email"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("thirdwatch/email-verifier").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": [
        "founder@stripe.com",
        "info@example.com",
        "test@gmail.com",
        "hello@mailinator.com",
        "not-an-email",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("thirdwatch/email-verifier").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": [
    "founder@stripe.com",
    "info@example.com",
    "test@gmail.com",
    "hello@mailinator.com",
    "not-an-email"
  ]
}' |
apify call thirdwatch/email-verifier --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/WZ8HFn4tmegYveq6A/builds/ICqqXsTqjubEGeQlN/openapi.json