Email Client Setup

This guide covers configuring standard email clients to work with Inboxlayer inboxes via IMAP and SMTP.

Before you start

You need:

• An Inboxlayer inbox (e.g. myinbox@inboxlayer.dev)
• An API token from Account Settings > API Keys

Connection summary

Incoming Mail (IMAP):
  Server:     imap.inboxlayer.dev
  Port:       993
  Encryption: SSL/TLS
  Username:   inbox_name@inboxlayer.dev
  Password:   <your_api_token>

Outgoing Mail (SMTP):
  Server:     smtp.inboxlayer.dev
  Port:       587
  Encryption: STARTTLS
  Username:   inbox_name@inboxlayer.dev
  Password:   <your_api_token>

If you have a verified custom domain, use inbox_name@yourdomain.com as the username instead.

Apple Mail

1. Open Mail > Settings > Accounts.
2. Click + and choose Other Mail Account.
3. Enter your inbox email and API token as the password.
4. When prompted for manual setup, enter the IMAP and SMTP settings above.
5. Set authentication to Password for both incoming and outgoing.

Thunderbird

1. Open Account Settings > Account Actions > Add Mail Account.
2. Enter your inbox email and API token as the password.
3. Click Configure manually.
4. Set incoming to IMAP, imap.inboxlayer.dev, port 993, SSL/TLS.
5. Set outgoing to SMTP, smtp.inboxlayer.dev, port 587, STARTTLS.
6. Set authentication to Normal password for both.
7. Click Done.

Outlook (Desktop)

1. Go to File > Add Account.
2. Enter your inbox email and select Advanced options > Let me set up my account manually.
3. Choose IMAP.
4. Enter the IMAP and SMTP settings above.
5. Use the API token as the password for both.

Programmatic clients

Any library or tool that supports standard IMAP/SMTP works with Inboxlayer. Examples:

Python (smtplib)

import smtplib
from email.message import EmailMessage

msg = EmailMessage()
msg["From"] = "myinbox@inboxlayer.dev"
msg["To"] = "recipient@example.com"
msg["Subject"] = "Hello"
msg.set_content("Message body")

with smtplib.SMTP("smtp.inboxlayer.dev", 587) as server:
    server.starttls()
    server.login("myinbox@inboxlayer.dev", "your_api_token")
    server.send_message(msg)

Python (imaplib)

import imaplib

imap = imaplib.IMAP4_SSL("imap.inboxlayer.dev", 993)
imap.login("myinbox@inboxlayer.dev", "your_api_token")
imap.select("INBOX")

status, messages = imap.search(None, "ALL")
for num in messages[0].split():
    status, data = imap.fetch(num, "(RFC822)")
    print(data[0][1].decode())

imap.logout()

Ruby (Net::SMTP)

require "net/smtp"

Net::SMTP.start("smtp.inboxlayer.dev", 587, starttls: true) do |smtp|
  smtp.authenticate("myinbox@inboxlayer.dev", "your_api_token")
  smtp.send_message(message, "myinbox@inboxlayer.dev", "recipient@example.com")
end

Troubleshooting

• Authentication failed: Verify you are using an API token, not your account password.
• Connection timeout on port 465: Try port 587 with STARTTLS instead. Some networks block 465.
• Certificate errors: Ensure your client trusts Let's Encrypt certificates. Most modern clients do by default.
• Messages not appearing: New messages appear in IMAP within seconds. If delayed, check your inbox in the web UI to confirm delivery.