ZeroMail is set up by your agent — not by you.
You get the inbox; your agent does the wiring. Hand it the kickoff below and it creates or connects the wallet for this inbox, signs in, provisions your address, and starts reading mail. It can only ever receive — so handing it over is safe.
No dashboard to learn, no password to set. The whole setup is a short conversation with an agent you already use.
01 Hand it to your agent
Paste this into your agent.
Works with Claude or any agent that can make HTTP requests and sign with a local EVM wallet. It can create the free inbox wallet itself; Zero is only needed later for paid upgrades.
Agent kickoff
Copy this, paste it to your agent, and let it run.
Set up a ZeroMail inbox for me — a receive-only email address that you (my agent) read on my behalf. ZeroMail can only ever receive mail, never send, so it is safe for you to operate. First create or connect the wallet for this inbox. If I already have a Zero wallet available, use it. If I do not, create a fresh unfunded EVM wallet locally for this ZeroMail inbox. The wallet is the identity for the inbox: it has a public address, proves control by signing a challenge, and does not need funds for the default address or read API. Save the private key securely for me as the recovery credential, but never send the private key to ZeroMail. 1. Read the service descriptor: https://api.withzero.com/.well-known/zeromail.json 2. Follow the activation runbook: https://api.withzero.com/start 3. Sign in by signing the ZeroMail nonce message with the wallet, provision my default mailbox, and tell me my new email address. 4. From then on, watch for new mail and summarize anything important — codes, receipts, newsletters, deals, and alerts. If I later ask for a nicer address or forwarding, help me fund or import this same wallet through Zero at https://zero.xyz, then claim the paid upgrade and walk me through any human steps I need to do myself.
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Discovery descriptor —
api.withzero.com/.well-known/zeromail.json. Machine-readable list of every capability. -
Plain-text runbook —
api.withzero.com/start. The activation steps in a format agents parse cleanly. - Full agent docs — api.withzero.com/docs. Auth, endpoints, payments, and examples.
Start with the inbox wallet. If you do not already have a Zero wallet, your agent can generate a fresh unfunded EVM wallet locally and use it to create the free address. Keep the private key safe. When you want a nicer address or forwarding, fund or import that same wallet through zero.xyz.
02 What your agent does
Four steps, all on your agent's side.
You don't touch any of this — it's here so you know exactly what's happening with the inbox wallet and your mail.
Creates or connects a wallet
Uses your existing Zero wallet or creates a fresh unfunded one locally. ZeroMail never sees the private key — it only checks a signature.
Discovers ZeroMail
Reads the descriptor to learn the endpoints, that it's free to read, and that it can only receive.
Signs in and provisions
One wallet signature creates the inbox automatically. Your agent reports back your new email address.
Reads & watches
Lists and searches mail, and can subscribe to push so new mail arrives the instant it lands.
You leave with a working email address — use it for codes, receipts, newsletters, store deals, and alerts. Your agent reads it for you.
03 Paying for upgrades
The inbox is free. Upgrades use a funded wallet later.
Reading, searching, and push notifications are free — forever, with no per-read metering. The default address your wallet gets costs nothing and the wallet can start unfunded.
Only the optional nicer address or forwarding costs anything. When you want one, fund or import the same wallet through Zero; there is no card and no separate ZeroMail account.
To enable paid upgrades, keep a little USDC on Base in that wallet. Your agent settles the charge on your behalf when it claims the upgrade; you stay in control of the funds.
What costs what
04 A nicer address
Two ways to upgrade — pick what fits.
Both are optional, both keep the receive-only guarantee, and both are set up by your agent. The second one doubles as your send hatch (below).
Option A
A custom handle on our domain
$1 / month · paid from a funded wallet
Pick something memorable like yourname@withzero.com. Just tell your agent the name you want — it helps fund or import the inbox wallet through Zero, then claims the handle. Still strictly receive-only.
Option B
Forward from an address you own
$1 / month · keep using Gmail, Outlook, or your own domain
Keep an account you already have and forward a copy to your agent. Your agent reads the forwarded mail; you keep the original account. Here's the Gmail setup — your agent does most of it:
- Ask your agent to create a forward target. It calls ZeroMail and gives you an address to forward to.
- In Gmail: Settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP → Add a forwarding address, and paste that address.
- Gmail emails a confirmation code to that address — which is now your agent's inbox. Ask your agent to read it (it checks your new mail) and read you the code or confirmation link.
- Enter the code in Gmail and choose "Forward a copy of incoming mail." Done — new mail now reaches your agent.
Emergency send hatch
Need to send, just once in a while? Keep an account the agent can't touch.
ZeroMail is receive-only by design — neither you nor your agent can send from a ZeroMail address. That's the whole safety guarantee: an inbox you can hand to an agent with nothing it can be tricked into sending.
But sometimes a human does need to reply. That's exactly what the forward option is for. You keep your own account — say a Gmail address that can send — and forward a copy to your agent. The agent only ever reads the copy; it can never log into your account or send anything.
So if you might ever need to send from "your" address, choose Option B. Day to day, your agent reads everything; on the rare occasion you need to send, you do it yourself, from an account the agent never sees.
Ready
Hand it over and watch your agent set it up.
Copy the kickoff, paste it to your agent, and you'll have a receive-only inbox in the next minute.