Sign up for a Paubox account
If you don’t have one, sign up for Paubox Email API. Free tier includes up to 300 emails per month.
Add and verify your domain
Go to Paubox Email API > Settings and add the domain you will send from. Complete domain verification before generating an API key; unverified domains cannot send email.
Generate an API key
From Paubox Email API > Settings, click your domain, then press Add API Key. Give the key a description and save it immediately; it is displayed only once.You will also need your API username, shown on the same settings page.
Pass credentials to the MCP server
The server resolves credentials using the following priority order. Use whichever method fits your client:1. OAuth connector form (recommended for Claude.ai and Claude Desktop)Add 3. Environment variables (stdio / Claude Code)Claude Code / stdio config:4. Per-call tool parameters (any transport)Pass
https://mcp.paubox.com as a connector. The client presents a Configure Paubox form automatically. Enter your API username and API key once; the client stores a short-lived encrypted Bearer token and sends it on every subsequent request.2. Custom request headersSome MCP clients let you set custom headers on the connector. Pass:apiKey and apiUser directly in each tool call. This takes the highest runtime priority and overrides any other credential source. Useful for scripted clients or one-off requests.Never commit API keys to source control. Use environment variables or a secrets manager to inject credentials at runtime.
Required permissions
| Tool | Credential required |
|---|---|
send_secure_email | Paubox Email API key with send access |
check_email_status | Paubox Email API key with read access |
validate_credentials | Any valid Paubox Email API key |
get_form | None (public endpoint) |
submit_form | None (public endpoint) |
get_form and submit_form tools call public Forms API endpoints and require no credentials.