# Email Address Validator (Syntax, MX, Disposable) (`vex_workflow/email-validator`) Actor

Clean an email list fast: checks syntax, confirms the domain has working mail servers (MX), flags disposable and role-based addresses, catches typos like gmial.com and names the mail provider. No emails are sent. Bulk, cheap, pay per address.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/vex_workflow/email-validator.md
- **Developed by:** [Ian McCann](https://apify.com/vex_workflow) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Automation, Developer tools
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per event

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

### What does Email Address Validator do?

It checks a list of email addresses and gives each one a clear **verdict** (`valid`, `valid-role`, `risky` or `invalid`) with the reasons behind it:

- **Syntax**: length limits, allowed characters, dots and domain format
- **Mail servers**: a live DNS lookup confirms the domain has MX records and does not publish a "null MX"
- **Disposable addresses**: about 10,000 known temporary email domains (Mailinator, 10minutemail and similar)
- **Role-based addresses**: shared inboxes such as info@, sales@ and support@
- **Typos**: catches common misspellings like `gmial.com`, `hotmial.com` and `yaho.com`, and suggests the fix
- **Free vs. business**: flags Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and other consumer mailboxes
- **Mail provider**: tells you whether the domain uses Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho, Proofpoint and others

No emails are sent and no mailbox is contacted, so checks are safe for your sender reputation and very fast.

### Why validate emails?

- Cut **bounces** before a campaign so your sending domain stays healthy
- Stop **fake sign-ups** with disposable addresses
- Split **business vs. personal** leads and route role inboxes differently
- Fix **typos** at the point of capture instead of losing the lead

### How to use it

1. Paste addresses into **Emails**, one per line (or send them through the API).
2. Leave **Check mail servers** on for the full check.
3. Run, then filter the dataset by `verdict`.

#### Input example

```json
{ "emails": ["hello@apify.com", "someone@gmial.com", "test@mailinator.com", "bad-address@"] }
```

#### Output example

```json
{
  "email": "someone@gmial.com",
  "verdict": "risky",
  "reasons": ["possible typo, did you mean gmail.com", "disposable email domain"],
  "syntaxValid": true,
  "domain": "gmial.com",
  "hasMxRecords": false,
  "isDisposable": true,
  "isRoleBased": false,
  "didYouMean": "someone@gmail.com"
}
```

#### Verdicts

| Verdict | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `valid` | Good syntax, domain accepts email, not disposable |
| `valid-role` | Same, but a shared role inbox |
| `risky` | Disposable domain, likely typo, or a domain with no MX record but a web server |
| `invalid` | Bad syntax, domain does not exist, or domain cannot receive email |

### How much does it cost?

| Event | Price |
|---|---|
| Actor start | $0.001 per run |
| Email checked | **$0.0005** per address |

10,000 emails cost about **$5**. You can set a maximum cost per run and the Actor stops cleanly when it is reached.

### Limits

This tool does not log into or probe mailboxes, so it cannot confirm that a specific mailbox exists on a domain that accepts email. It finds the problems that cause most hard bounces (bad syntax, dead domains, disposable and mistyped addresses) at a fraction of the cost of mailbox-level checks. Provider and brand names are used only to describe results; this tool is not affiliated with them.

# Actor input Schema

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

Email addresses to check, one per line.

## `checkMxRecords` (type: `boolean`):

Look up each domain's DNS to confirm it can receive email. Turn off for syntax-only checks.

## `concurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many addresses to check at the same time.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "emails": [
    "hello@apify.com",
    "someone@gmial.com",
    "test@mailinator.com",
    "bad-address@"
  ],
  "checkMxRecords": true,
  "concurrency": 25
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

One row per email with verdict, reasons and the individual checks.

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

Counts of valid, risky and invalid emails.

# 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": [
        "hello@apify.com",
        "someone@gmial.com",
        "test@mailinator.com",
        "bad-address@"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("vex_workflow/email-validator").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": [
        "hello@apify.com",
        "someone@gmial.com",
        "test@mailinator.com",
        "bad-address@",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("vex_workflow/email-validator").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": [
    "hello@apify.com",
    "someone@gmial.com",
    "test@mailinator.com",
    "bad-address@"
  ]
}' |
apify call vex_workflow/email-validator --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/Hc8GbL5MhRVXiPt2z/builds/JvJafmzyOdz93rfwd/openapi.json