Quickstart Guide
The Mailboxlayer API is extremely easy to use. It only takes a few lines of code to make your first validation request. All registered users, whether on a free or paid plan, can use our Quickstart Guide to explore the full range of API functionalities with just one click.
- Existing users: Access the Quickstart Guide below.
- New users: Create an account and get started in minutes.
Step 1: Get Your API Access Key
Sign up for a free Mailboxlayer account at mailboxlayer.com and obtain your personal API Access Key.
This key authenticates your requests and ensures that you have access to the API features provided by your subscription plan.
Step 2: Make a Request
To verify an email address, send a GET request to the /check endpoint with your access key and the target email as parameters.
Response:
Step 3: Interpret the Response
Each API response contains multiple properties to describe the email’s status:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| The exact email address requested. | |
| did_you_mean | Suggests a corrected version if a typo was detected. |
| user | The local part before the “@” symbol. |
| domain | The domain part after the “@” symbol. |
| format_valid | true if the email syntax is valid. |
| mx_found | true if MX records were found for the domain. |
| smtp_check | true if the mailbox exists and accepts mail. |
| catch_all | true if the domain accepts all emails. |
| role | true if the address is a role-based email (e.g., support@). |
| disposable | true if the address is from a disposable service. |
| free | true if the domain belongs to a free provider like Gmail. |
| score | Numeric value (0–1) representing quality and deliverability. |
Example: An address with
score = 0.8is generally considered high-quality and deliverable.
Step 4: Bulk Check (Pro & Enterprise)
For higher-tier plans, Mailboxlayer supports bulk email validation via the /bulk_check endpoint.
The response will include a JSON array of validation results — one object for each email.
Step 5: Optional Parameters
| Parameter | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| smtp | Active | Enables/disables SMTP checking. |
| format | 0 | Set to 1 for prettified JSON (debugging only). |
| callback | None | Used to specify a JSONP callback function name. |
This is just the beginning of what the Mailboxlayer API can do. For advanced integration guides and code examples, see the API Documentation.
Support & Resources
- Explore commonly used API calls in our GitHub repository, with over 320,000 stars.
Mailboxlayer on GitHub
- For any assistance, contact our support team anytime.