Recipe: Let your AI agent set up email (agent bootstrap)

Have Cursor, Claude Code, or another coding agent create a Notify account via email OTP, configure notifycx-mcp, verify a domain, and send the first transactional email — no dashboard required.

Short answer: Point your IDE agent at notifycx-mcp (registry id io.github.notifycx/notifycx-mcp) or call POST /api/agent/bootstrap/start and /confirm with the user’s email and a pasted 6-digit OTP. Store the returned api_key once as NOTIFY_API_KEY, add a domain, publish the dnsRecords at your DNS host, then POST /api/email/send. New accounts stay sandbox_only until the domain verifies — use send_test_email / POST /api/email/send/test to rehearse first.

Full reference: Agent bootstrap — no dashboard. Vibe-coded apps: Transactional email for Lovable, Bolt, v0, Cursor.

Prerequisites

Human email inbox for the OTP (signup or recover)
Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or any agent that can run MCP or HTTPS
DNS access when you want production from on your domain

Step 1 — MCP config (Cursor / Claude Desktop)

Official package: notifycx-mcp · MCP registry: io.github.notifycx/notifycx-mcp.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notify": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "notifycx-mcp"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Leave NOTIFY_API_KEY empty until after bootstrap. Install details: /mcp · Official MCP guide.

Step 2 — Bootstrap (no API key yet)

MCP tools: bootstrap_start → user pastes code → bootstrap_confirm.

HTTPS (same contract as OpenAPI):

curl -sS -X POST https://notify.cx/api/agent/bootstrap/start \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"email":"you@example.com","intent":"signup","acceptTerms":true}'

User pastes the 6-digit code from email, then:

curl -sS -X POST https://notify.cx/api/agent/bootstrap/confirm \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"email":"you@example.com","code":"123456","intent":"signup"}'

Response includes data.api_key (shown once). Put it in MCP env.NOTIFY_API_KEY or a server secret — not in chat logs.

intent: "recover" for an existing account (Free rotates the single key; paid plans add an Agent key). Terms: acceptTerms: true required.

Step 3 — Domain + first production send

After the key is set:

add_domain (MCP) or POST /api/email/domains — copy structured dnsRecords for the user
User publishes TXT/CNAME at Cloudflare, Vercel, Route 53, etc. (Cloudflare · Route 53)
check_domain / POST /api/email/domains/{domain}/check
send_email or:

await fetch('https://notify.cx/api/email/send', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'x-api-key': process.env.NOTIFY_API_KEY!
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    from: 'Your App <noreply@your-verified-domain.com>',
    to: 'user@example.com',
    subject: 'Password reset',
    html: '<p><a href="https://app.example/reset">Reset password</a></p>'
  })
});

Before verification: send_test_email or POST /api/email/send/test — Sandbox vs production.

SDK equivalent (`notifycx`)

import Notify from 'notifycx';

await Notify.bootstrapStart({
  email: 'you@example.com',
  intent: 'signup',
  acceptTerms: true
});

const { data } = await Notify.bootstrapConfirm({
  email: 'you@example.com',
  code: '123456',
  intent: 'signup'
});

const notify = new Notify({ apiKey: data.api_key });
await notify.addDomain({ domain: 'example.com', dnsProvider: 'cloudflare' });
// User publishes dnsRecords, then:
await notify.checkDomain('example.com');
await notify.send({ to: '...', from: '...', subject: '...', html: '...' });

FAQ

Can an AI agent sign up for Notify without a browser?

Yes. Call bootstrap start / confirm (or MCP bootstrap_start / bootstrap_confirm). The human only pastes the email OTP. DNS still requires publishing records at your host.

Where does the API key go after bootstrap?

Server env or MCP NOTIFY_API_KEY — never client bundles, public env vars, or permanent chat transcripts. The confirm response warns it is shown only once.

Does bootstrap skip domain verification?

No. Accounts start sandbox_only. Production custom from needs a verified domain. Rehearse with POST /api/email/send/test.

Which MCP server is official?

notifycx-mcp on npm — MCP registry io.github.notifycx/notifycx-mcp. Use that package only; ignore archived third-party MCP repos.

What if bootstrap returns `BOOTSTRAP_DISABLED`?

The operator turned off agent bootstrap (AGENT_BOOTSTRAP_ENABLED=false). Use dashboard signup or wait until it is re-enabled.

How does this differ from putting send in my app code?

Bootstrap + MCP are for setup (key, domain, DNS, test send). Production sends belong in your codebase via notifycx or fetch, not only in the IDE agent session.