# How to claim pre-warmed inboxes

> Step-by-step instructions for leasing pre-warmed inboxes from the EmailPal dashboard, the REST API and the MCP server.

Source: https://emailpal.io/help/how-to-claim-pre-warmed-inboxes

## Before you start

You need an EmailPal account with a payment method on file. Pre-warmed inboxes are a metered lease ($3/mo each, 90-day minimum), not part of the Starter mailbox bundle.

Read [Pre-warmed inboxes by EmailPal](/help/pre-warmed-inboxes-by-emailpal) if you want pricing, limits and what "measured placement" means before you click.

## Claim from the dashboard

1. Sign in and open **Pre-warmed**.
2. Each row is a **domain** with one or more inboxes already named. Expand the row to see addresses, domain age, messages measured and inbox rate.
3. Choose **Claim**. Confirm the monthly total. The charge is $3 × the number of inboxes on that domain, every month, with a 90-day minimum term.
4. A job starts. Open **Activity** if you want to watch handover. Each mailbox's password is rotated as it becomes yours.
5. When the job completes, the addresses appear under **Mailboxes**. Export SMTP/IMAP from there or via the mailboxes export endpoint.

You cannot edit mailbox names or photos on a listed bundle. Personas are assigned before the domain hits the shelf so the set looks like one company.

## Claim over the REST API

Authenticate with an API key as documented in the [API reference](/docs).

1. `GET /api/public/v1/inventory/prewarmed` — list available inboxes (no passwords).
2. `POST /api/public/v1/inventory/prewarmed` with one of:
   - `count` — take the healthiest available, up to 25
   - `domain_id` — take the listed inboxes on one domain
   - `mailbox_ids` — specific IDs from the GET
3. Poll the returned job, or watch **Activity** in the dashboard.

Idempotency keys are supported on the POST the same way as other write endpoints.

## Claim with MCP

Install `@emailpal/mcp` with an API key (see [Connect the MCP server](/help/connect-the-mcp-server)). The pre-warmed list and claim tools match the REST surface, so an agent can lease inventory as a step in a larger setup.

Set `EMAILPAL_MCP_READ_ONLY=true` if you only want the agent to inspect the shelf, not buy it.

## After you claim

- Send at most **15 cold emails per day** per inbox
- Leave warming on — it is included in the $3
- Pull credentials once; they are not on the inventory list
- Replies land in the [unified inbox](/help/unified-inbox), with warming traffic filtered out by default

## FAQs

### How long does handover take?

Usually minutes. It is a job that rotates passwords and assigns the mailboxes to your account, not a registrar wait.

### Why a confirmation dialog?

The lease is a card charge. The dialog is the quote: domain, inbox count, monthly total, 90-day term. Nothing is billed until you confirm.

### Can I pick individual inboxes on a domain and leave the rest?

The dashboard claims a domain as a set (`all: true`) so the company story stays intact. The API can pass `mailbox_ids` when you need a subset; prefer claiming the domain unless you have a reason not to.

### The shelf is empty.

Inventory lists itself when pool inboxes finish their second week of warming. Check back, or provision your own domains and run warming — [Aged, unwarmed domains](/help/aged-unwarmed-domains) are the middle path.

## Need More Help?

[Open a support ticket](/support/new) if a claim job fails after the charge. Include the job id from Activity.