MailTub is a self-hosted disposable email service for creating temporary inboxes. New messages reach inboxes through WebSocket push instead of repeated polling. A session can hold up to five inboxes, each with an expiry choice of 1 hour, 6 hours, 24 hours or 7 days. Users can export inboxes as an .eml ZIP or structured JSON, and MailTub parses MIME attachments with configurable size caps. It runs as a single Go binary with SQLite and an embedded React interface, or through Docker. The web interface offers dark, light and system themes and can be installed as a progressive web app on mobile or desktop. Alongside SMTP receiving, it offers a REST API, a scriptable CLI and a Prometheus-compatible metrics endpoint. Mailbox creation is limited to 20 per IP per hour. Receiving real email requires a domain with an MX record pointing to the server, port 25 access or redirection, and a matching MAILTUB_DOMAIN setting. MailTub is free, open source and licensed under Apache 2.0.
Who it is for
MailTub suits people who want to host a disposable inbox service themselves and need API or CLI access. Receiving real email requires the listed domain, MX record, port and MAILTUB_DOMAIN setup.
What is good
- Free and Apache 2.0 licensed.
- Up to five inboxes per session.
- Expiry options range from 1 hour to 7 days.
- Exports inboxes as .eml ZIP or JSON.
- Offers REST API, CLI and WebSocket updates.
What to know first
- Mailbox creation is limited to 20 per IP per hour.
- Real email requires domain and server configuration.
- API is open by default unless an API key is configured.
Verdict
MailTub combines temporary inboxes, exports and developer-facing interfaces in a self-hosted service. Check the real-email requirements and creation limit before choosing it.
Compared on disposable email services
- Inbox lifetime
- hours
- Custom address
- Yes
- API access
- Yes
- Custom domain
- Yes
- Attachments supported
- Yes
