Guide
How to create an email address for an AI agent
To create an email address for an AI agent, sign up for Lumbox, create an inbox over the API, SDK, or MCP, and the agent gets a real address it can use to sign up for services, receive OTP codes, and log in autonomously. Here is the full flow in four steps.
Get a free API key
Sign up for Lumbox and create a key in Settings > API Keys. The free plan includes 3 agent inboxes and 500 received emails a month, no card required.
Create the inbox
One call provisions a real, agent-owned email address. Use the REST API, the Node or Python SDK, or the MCP tool create_inbox.
# REST
curl -X POST https://api.lumbox.co/v1/inboxes \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ak_your_key" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"name": "signup-bot"}'
# -> { "id": "inb_...", "address": "signup-bot-x7k@lumbox.co" }Receive email and OTP codes
The agent does not poll. Call the long-poll /otp endpoint and Lumbox blocks until a verification code arrives, then returns just the code. Use /wait for the full message.
# Long-poll until the OTP arrives (up to 60s)
curl "https://api.lumbox.co/v1/inboxes/inb_xxx/otp?timeout=60" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ak_your_key"
# -> { "otp": "482917" }Let the agent use it
The agent now has a durable identity: it signs up on a site with the address, waits for the OTP, completes verification, and can send or reply from the same inbox. Connect Lumbox over MCP and your agent gets all of this as tools.
The same flow with the SDK
// Node
import { Lumbox } from "lumbox";
const client = new Lumbox({ apiKey: "ak_your_key" });
const inbox = await client.createInbox({ name: "signup-bot" });
console.log(inbox.address); // signup-bot-x7k@lumbox.co
const otp = await inbox.waitForOtp({ timeoutMs: 60000 });
console.log(otp); // "482917"Python works the same: pip install lumbox, then client.create_inbox() and inbox.wait_for_otp().
Why an agent needs its own inbox
Most automation breaks at the email step: a signup needs a verification code, a login triggers a magic link, a 2FA prompt waits for an OTP. Sharing a human's mailbox over OAuth is fragile and does not scale to many agents. A dedicated, agent-owned inbox gives each agent a durable identity, and Lumbox extracts the code for you so the agent just waits and continues. You also get an encrypted credential vault and 77 native MCP tools for end-to-end signup and login.
FAQ
How do I create an email address for an AI agent?
Sign up for Lumbox, then create an inbox with one API call (or the create_inbox MCP tool). You get a real, agent-owned email address the agent can use to sign up for services, receive OTP codes, and log in on its own.
Can an AI agent have its own email inbox?
Yes. Lumbox provisions inboxes the agent owns outright, with no human OAuth or shared mailbox. Each inbox receives real email and parses OTPs, magic links and backup codes to JSON.
Is it free to create an email address for an AI agent?
Yes. The Lumbox free plan includes 3 agent inboxes and 500 received emails per month with no card required. Paid plans raise the limits.
How does an AI agent receive an OTP from its email?
Call the long-poll /otp endpoint. Lumbox waits until the verification email lands, extracts the code, and returns just the OTP, so the agent never writes a polling loop or a regex.