Developer API

Temp Email API
for Developers

Create temporary inboxes, receive emails, and detect verification codes programmatically. Built for automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and app integrations.

API Documentation

Quick Start

Get up and running in minutes. Create an inbox, poll for emails, and extract verification codes.

Create a Temporary Inbox

POST /api/inbox

# Creating an inbox needs no auth
curl -X POST https://api.openinbox.io/api/inbox

# Response:
{
  "id": "abc123",
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "expiresAt": "2026-04-07T22:00:00Z",
  "createdAt": "2026-04-07T21:00:00Z"
}

Retrieve Emails

GET /api/inbound/api/emails

# Polling requires a premium API key (X-API-KEY)
curl "https://api.openinbox.io/api/inbound/api/[email protected]" \
  -H "X-API-KEY: YOUR_API_KEY"

# Response:
{
  "emails": [
    {
      "id": "email_001",
      "from": "[email protected]",
      "subject": "Verify your email",
      "textBody": "Your code is 482910",
      "htmlBody": "<p>Your code is 482910</p>",
      "receivedAt": "2026-04-07T21:05:00Z",
      "isRead": false
    }
  ],
  "total": 1
}

Clean Up

DELETE /api/inbox/:id

curl -X DELETE https://api.openinbox.io/api/inbox/abc123

# Response: 204 No Content

Built for Developers

Common use cases for the OpenInbox API

Automated Testing

Use in Cypress, Playwright, or Selenium tests to verify email flows end-to-end.

CI/CD Pipelines

Create disposable inboxes in your CI pipeline and verify signup/reset flows.

OTP Verification

Receive and extract OTP codes programmatically for test automation.

App Integration

Build temporary email features into your own application or SaaS product.

Security Testing

Test email-based attack vectors and security flows in a sandboxed environment.

Webhook Testing

Receive email notifications and parse them to test your webhook handlers.

API Features

RESTful Design

Clean, predictable REST endpoints with JSON responses. Easy to integrate with any language or framework.

API Key Auth

Secure your requests with API key authentication. Manage keys from your dashboard.

Rate Limiting

Fair usage with generous limits. Free tier: 100 req/day, 7-Day Pass: 3,000/day, Pro: 3,000/day, Business: 10,000/day.

Webhook Support

Get real-time notifications when emails arrive via webhook callbacks (Pro+ plans).

Attachment Support

Receive and download email attachments via the API. Up to 25MB per email.

Full Documentation

Comprehensive API docs with examples in cURL, JavaScript, Python, and more.

API Pricing

Start free, upgrade when you need more

7-Day Pass

3,000 req/day

10 active inboxes
Full API access
Webhook support
7-day duration — no subscription

Pro

$6.99/mo