Courier — Temporary Email Inboxes for AI Agents

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Quick Start

# Create a temporary email inbox (5 seconds, no signup, no auth)
curl -X POST https://getcourier.dev/alias \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"purpose":"otp","agent":"my-agent"}'

# Check for received codes and links
curl -s https://getcourier.dev/messages | jq '.messages[] | {subject, codes, links}'

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What is Courier?

Courier is inbound email infrastructure for autonomous agents. It gives AI agents disposable email inboxes that receive real SMTP email and automatically extract verification codes, magic links, and authentication URLs.

What it is:

• A temporary email API for AI agents
• An MCP server for agent frameworks
• A zero-dependency Python/Node client
• Real SMTP email reception, not simulation

What it is NOT:

• NOT a notification provider (like Courier push notifications)
• NOT an outbound email service (like SendGrid, Mailgun)
• NOT a human email client (like Gmail, Outlook)
• NOT an email validation service

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Why Agents Need It

AI agents can't click "Forgot Password" and wait for an inbox. They can't receive verification codes during signup. Courier solves this:

Service sends email → SMTP port 25 → Courier extracts codes/links → Agent retrieves via API → Continue execution

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Framework Integration

Hermes Agent

# ~/.hermes/config.yaml
mcp_servers:
  courier:
    command: "courier-mcp"

Tools available: create_inbox, wait_for_email, extract_otp, extract_magic_link, get_inbox

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "courier": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "courier-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor

// .cursor/mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "courier": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "courier-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

OpenAI Agents SDK / CrewAI / LangGraph / AutoGen / OpenHands

pip install courier-agent-email

from courier_agent import CourierAgent

agent = CourierAgent()
inbox = agent.create_inbox()             # Create inbox
email = agent.wait_for_email(timeout=60)  # Auto-poll for email
otp = agent.extract_otp()                # Extract OTP codes
link = agent.extract_magic_link()        # Extract magic links

OpenClaw

npm install -g courier-mcp
# Add to MCP config: courier-mcp as command

Python (zero dependencies)

pip install courier-agent-email
# Or download single-file: curl -O https://getcourier.dev/examples/python/courier.py
python3 courier.py create
python3 courier.py wait 60
python3 courier.py otp

Node.js (zero dependencies)

curl -O https://getcourier.dev/examples/node/courier.mjs
node courier.mjs create
node courier.mjs wait 60
node courier.mjs otp

curl / bash

curl -s https://getcourier.dev/examples/http/quickstart.sh | bash

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Agent Workflows

Problem	Solution with Courier
Sign up for a service, receive OTP	create_inbox → use email → extract_otp → complete signup
Passwordless login via magic link	create_inbox → request login → extract_magic_link → navigate
Password reset recovery	create_inbox → trigger reset → extract_magic_link → set new password
Email verification for accounts	create_inbox → sign up → receive → wait_for_email → verify

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API Reference

Method	Path	Purpose
POST	/alias	Create a temporary mailbox (no auth)
GET	/aliases	List all mailboxes
POST	/incoming	Send email to a mailbox
GET	/messages	Get emails with auto-extracted codes and links
GET	/health	Service status
GET	/capabilities	Full API reference

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Packages

Package	Registry	Command
courier-mcp	npm	npm install -g courier-mcp
courier-agent-email	PyPI	pip install courier-agent-email
courier-protocol	npm	npm install -g courier-protocol
temp-inbox-agent	npm	npm install temp-inbox-agent
ai-inbox	npm	npm install ai-inbox
autonomous-email	npm	npm install autonomous-email

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Links

• Website: https://getcourier.dev
• Examples: examples/problem-first/ — agent OTP, cursor email, claude desktop, etc.
• GitHub: https://github.com/antonioac1/courier
• MCP Registry: io.github.antonioac1/courier
• License: MIT