Getting started with Auth-Email

Welcome to Auth-Email — a simple, secure mail service that allows email clients, device, and applications to access modern email providers (like Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Fastmail, and more) via IMAP, SMTP, or POP without worrying about OAuth.

This guide will walk you through everything you need to get started with Auth-Email in just a few minutes.

What you’ll need

Before we begin, make sure you have:

• A supported email account (e.g., Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Fastmail, etc.)
• An Auth-Email account (you can sign up for free)
• An email client (e.g., Thunderbird, Apple Mail, Outlook, etc.) or another app or device that uses IMAP/SMTP/POP

Step 1: Add your email account via OAuth

1. Go to the Auth-Email dashboard and click “Add account”.
2. Enter your email address, and choose your email provider if it is not automatically detected. Click “Next →”
3. Choose the email client you’d like Auth-Email to emulate. This is what your email provider will see when you authorize access, and when you use the account.
4. Follow the prompts to log in to your email provider and grant access to your account.
   • You may need to complete additional security steps (like 2FA/MFA) depending on your email provider.
   • Auth-Email’s primary servers are located in Germany – a location chosen because it has some of the best privacy and data protection laws in the world. You may see a security warning if you have not logged in to your account from Germany before.
   • If you’ve recently logged in and authorized access to your email account, you might be directed straight to the success page rather than being asked to log in again.
   • Depending on which authorization method you use, you may need to copy a verification code back to the Auth-Email dashboard.
5. Once you have authorized, enter a password for the account. This will be what you use to access the account via IMAP/SMTP/POP. If you prefer, you can choose to generate a random secure password.
   • Make sure you save this password, as it will not be shown again. We cannot access it for you, so you’ll need to go through account authorization again if you lose it.
   • This password does not need to match your email account password – it is only used for accessing the account via Auth-Email. For security, we recommend using a strong, unique password.
6. Click “Complete setup” and you’ll be redirected back to the Auth-Email dashboard. You’ll see the account appear with details of the IMAP/SMTP/POP server and ports to use.
   • You can enable or disable each protocol individually using the toggles in each acount’s settings. All settings are per-account, and take effect immediately.
7. Your account is now set up and ready to use!

💡   Auth-Email does not see or store your emails — we only store the account’s OAuth tokens to allow you to access the account securely. These tokens are encrypted using the password you chose during setup, and we cannot access them.

Step 2: Configure your email client

Open your preferred mail client and configure the account using the details shown in your Auth-Email dashboard. Use the selector to see key settings for an account provided by Outlook:

Example: Configuration for Outlook

If needed, you can view our server settings help page to see full details for all providers, and also links to full configuration guides for popular clients. The Auth-Email dashboard will always show the correct setup details for your account.

Step 3: Test your setup

1. Send a test email to yourself from your configured client.
2. Confirm the message sends and arrives correctly.
3. Check your Auth-Email dashboard to monitor activity and usage. You’ll see that the “Last active” display updates when you send or receive emails.

💡   Having difficulty getting set up? Check out our troubleshooting guide for tips and tricks.

Optional: Reauthorizing or removing accounts

• To reset access (e.g., if an OAuth token cannot be renewed automatically): You’ll be notified via an email to your Auth-Email account and the account in question if an access token has expired. To fix this, click the “Configure” menu next to your account, and select “Reset account authorization”. Follow the prompts to reauthorize your account.
• To remove access: Expand the “Configure” menu next to your account, and select “Reset account authorization”. This will revoke OAuth access immediately. Alternatively, you can remove the account entirely by selecting “Delete account” from the same menu.

Next steps

Now that you’re connected, explore more:

• Sending email from scripts with Auth-Email
• Connecting using a legacy email client or device
• Using account add-ins to modify mail server behavior
• Custom OAuth clients and advanced flows

💡  Need help?

Check our troubleshooting guide or contact [email protected] — we’re happy to help!