Email infrastructure for autonomous agents.
Crustacean Email gives each OpenClaw agent its own dedicated mailbox on crustacean.email, with registration, inbox access, message state control, and outbound send handled entirely by API.
What it is
This is not a human inbox product. It is email infrastructure for agent workflows: dedicated agent mailboxes, programmatic inbox access, controlled outbound send, and identity-linked registration using the current OpenClaw device.
Dedicated agent identity
Keep your personal email out of agent loops. Each OpenClaw instance gets its own mailbox identity for verification flows, notifications, and external service access.
API-managed inbox state
Fetch inbox contents, inspect specific messages, and update read or archive state through the API without exposing traditional mailbox credentials.
Built for automation
Registration uses challenge-response plus proof-of-work, bearer tokens are used for mailbox actions, and the product is designed to plug directly into OpenClaw agent workflows.
How it works
The flow is intentionally simple: register the current OpenClaw identity, provision a mailbox, then use the bearer token for mailbox and message operations.
1. Register
The agent requests a challenge, solves proof-of-work, signs the exact registration payload, and creates a mailbox tied to the current OpenClaw identity.
2. Receive a mailbox
The system provisions a dedicated @crustacean.email address and returns a bearer token for future mailbox actions.
3. Operate by API
Use the token to fetch mailbox details, list inbox messages, inspect message content, archive or mark messages read, and send outbound mail.
Current beta capabilities
The current beta is intentionally narrow and operational. These are the features that are live now.
Mailbox registration
Register a mailbox from the current OpenClaw identity using challenge-response and proof-of-work.
Mailbox lookup
Fetch mailbox details and status using the saved bearer token.
Inbox access
List inbox messages, fetch individual messages, and inspect parsed content.
Message state control
Mark messages read or unread, archive or unarchive, and manage app-level inbox state by API.
Outbound send
Send email from the mailbox through the API using the mailbox's managed identity, with queueing and send limits enforced by the platform.
Bootstrap skill
Use the published bootstrap skill so an agent can register and start using the service quickly.
Agent isolation
Keep one mailbox per OpenClaw instance so workflows stay separated and easier to reason about.
Automated provisioning
Mailbox setup, ingestion, and queue processing run automatically in the deployed beta environment.
Why not just use a personal inbox?
Human email and agent email should not be the same system. Isolation is the point.
Keep human inboxes out of automated agent loops.
Agents need a real mailbox they fully control for signup, login, and confirmation workflows.
One address per agent or workflow keeps responsibilities clean and debuggable.
The mailbox identity persists with the agent instead of piggybacking on a human account.
API base https://api.crustacean.email/api/v1 Bootstrap skill https://api.crustacean.email/SKILL.md Current mode early beta Access model REST API only Identity model OpenClaw-linked registration
Current beta limits
These limits are deliberate. They keep the early beta stable, reduce abuse, and make the current behavior predictable.
FAQ
Straight answers about what Crustacean Email does today, who it is for, and what is still limited in the current beta.
What is Crustacean Email?
Crustacean Email is email infrastructure for autonomous agents. It gives an OpenClaw agent its own dedicated @crustacean.email mailbox and lets the agent manage that mailbox through a REST API.
Who is this for?
It is for developers and operators running OpenClaw agents that need a persistent email identity for inbox access, verification flows, notifications, and outbound messaging.
How does registration work?
The agent uses its current OpenClaw identity to request a challenge, solve proof-of-work, sign the required payload, and register through the API. On success, the API returns a bearer token for mailbox actions.
Does the agent get a real email address?
Yes. In the current beta, each registered OpenClaw instance receives a dedicated mailbox on crustacean.email.
Can I use my own domain?
Not yet. The current beta only provisions addresses on crustacean.email.
Does Crustacean Email expose IMAP or SMTP credentials?
No. The service is REST API first. Agents interact with mailboxes through the API, not by receiving raw IMAP or SMTP credentials.
What can the API do right now?
The current beta supports mailbox registration, mailbox lookup, inbox fetch, message fetch, read and unread state changes, archive and unarchive actions, and outbound sending.
What are the current limits?
Challenge requests are limited per IP, registrations are limited per IP and per OpenClaw instance, and outbound sending is limited by per-minute, per-mailbox daily, recipient-count, and domain-wide daily caps. If a daily send cap is reached, outbound messages may remain queued and be sent later as capacity becomes available. The full current limits are listed above on this page.
Is this live now?
Yes, but as an early beta. The core mailbox flow is live now, while some features such as attachments, token rotation, and custom domains are not part of the current release.
How should an agent get started?
Start with the bootstrap skill at https://api.crustacean.email/SKILL.md. It explains how an agent should register, save its token, and use the mailbox endpoints correctly.
Agent bootstrap instructions
This section is intentionally plain so LLMs and automation tools can find it quickly and use it as a starting point.
PRODUCT: Crustacean Email API_BASE: https://api.crustacean.email/api/v1 SKILL_URL: https://api.crustacean.email/SKILL.md PURPOSE: Provision and operate dedicated mailboxes for OpenClaw agents. CURRENT CAPABILITIES: - register mailbox from current OpenClaw identity - fetch mailbox details - fetch inbox - fetch individual messages - mark messages read - mark messages unread - archive messages - unarchive messages - send outbound email AUTH FLOW: 1. Read the current OpenClaw identity. 2. Request a challenge from the API. 3. Solve proof-of-work. 4. Sign the exact registration message required by the API. 5. Register and save the returned bearer token locally. 6. Use the bearer token for mailbox actions. LIMITS: - 1 mailbox per OpenClaw instance - challenge: 10 per 10 minutes per IP - challenge: 100 per day per IP - register: 1 per day per IP - register: 1 per day per OpenClaw instance - send: 1 message per minute per mailbox - send: no more than 10 total recipients across to, cc, and bcc per message - send: 10 messages per day per mailbox for new mailboxes registered less than 24 hours ago - send: 25 messages per day per mailbox after the first 24 hours - send: 200 total messages per day across all mailboxes in the crustacean.email domain - daily send caps may cause messages to remain queued until capacity becomes available - domain: crustacean.email only - attachments: not supported yet - token rotation: not supported yet INSTRUCTION: Read the skill file first, then follow its instructions exactly.