--- title: "Recipe: Real-Time Email Verification in HubSpot" description: Streamline email verification in HubSpot with Kickbox integration for real-time validation by sales reps and automated workflows. image: https://tomdelaney.us/hubfs/Gemini_Generated_Image_c8rku4c8rku4c8rk.png --- [![White Modern Minimalist Signature Brand Logo (Website) (4)](https://24279033.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/24279033/White%20Modern%20Minimalist%20Signature%20Brand%20Logo%20(Website)%20(4).png)](https://tomdelaney.us) - [Resume](https://tomdelaney.us/resume) - [Blog](https://tomdelaney.us/blog) - [Portfolio](https://tomdelaney.us/portfolio) [Contact Me](https://tomdelaney.us/contact-me) Search **the website** # Recipe: **Real-Time Email Verification in HubSpot** ![](//24279033.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/24279033/raw_assets/public/@marketplace/if_else_agency/Aesthetics/assets/images/icons/arrow-down.svg) ![](https://24279033.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/24279033/Gemini_Generated_Image_c8rku4c8rku4c8rk.png) ## Share this **post** # Recipe: Real-Time Email Verification in HubSpot **A Kickbox integration served two ways — on-demand for your sales team, automated for your marketing stack.** --- ## About This Recipe Most CRM setups treat email verification as an afterthought — a bulk process run occasionally by an admin. This recipe takes a different approach: baking verification directly into HubSpot so that both individual sales reps and automated workflows can validate email quality exactly when it matters. The result is a two-component integration: a **CRM UI card** for on-demand lookups, and a **custom workflow action** for automated verification at any point in your contact lifecycle. --- | **Difficulty** | Intermediate | | --- | --- | | **Prep Time** | ~30 mins (accounts & environment setup) | | **Cook Time** | ~1 hour (full implementation) | | **Serves** | Sales reps, marketing teams, and HubSpot admins | | **Allergens** | CRM UI card requires any HubSpot **Enterprise** tier; Workflow Action requires **Operations Hub Professional** or higher; both are free on a developer test account | --- ## Ingredients **Accounts & Keys** - 1× HubSpot account with admin access — production/sandbox (Enterprise or Ops Hub Pro tier required), or a [free developer test account](https://developers.hubspot.com/get-started) which bypasses tier gates entirely - 1× [Kickbox Account](https://kickbox.com/) with an API key - 1× Postman (or any API client) — for the UI card component only **Environment** - Node.js 18 or higher - HubSpot CLI (`npm install -g @hubspot/cli`) - A code editor (VS Code recommended) - This repository: `https://github.com/Suixcity/kickbox` **From the pantry (provided in this repo)** - React 18 UI extension — the contact record card - Two serverless functions — backend verification logic - A complete HubSpot project config — ready to deploy --- ## Method ### Mise en Place — Get Your Station Ready Before you touch the stove, prep your ingredients: 1. **Choose your HubSpot account** — you can deploy to a production account, a sandbox, or a free developer test account. A test account is the safest place to start if you haven't done this before 2. Enable **CRM Development** and generate a **Personal Access Key** for that account 3. Authenticate the HubSpot CLI with that key: ``` hs account auth ``` 4. Add your two secrets — think of these as your mise en place, measured out and ready: ``` hs secret add kickbox # Your Kickbox API key hs secret add private_app # Placeholder for now — you'll swap this shortly ``` > **Chef's note:** Secret names must be exact. `kickbox` and `private_app` are referenced directly in the code. A typo here will leave your dish under-seasoned. --- ### Part One: The UI Card *A card embedded in the HubSpot contact record — one click, instant verification.* **1. Clone and deploy** Pull the recipe from the repo and upload it to HubSpot in two commands: ``` git clone https://github.com/Suixcity/kickbox cd kickbox/Kickbox hs project upload ``` HubSpot will build and deploy the project. When it finishes, a legacy app called **kickbox-verification** will appear in your HubSpot account — that's your dish coming out of the oven. **2. Glaze with the real access token** Grab the access token from the newly created legacy app (Development → Legacy Apps → kickbox-verification → Auth tab → Access Token) and update the placeholder secret: ``` hs secret update private_app ``` **3. Create the CRM properties** This step creates the 11 custom contact properties that verification results will be written into. Think of it as setting the table before the guests arrive. First, create a **property group** in HubSpot named exactly `kickbox`: > Settings → Properties → Groups → Create group: `kickbox` Then fire a batch `POST` request to the HubSpot properties API, authenticated with your legacy app token. The full JSON payload is available in the [GitHub repo](https://github.com/Suixcity/kickbox) — it creates all properties in one shot and should return a `201 COMPLETE`. Use Postman (web or desktop) or `curl` — either works fine. **4. Add the cards to contact records** Settings → Objects → Contacts → Record Customization → Default view → **+** → Card library Two cards are available: - **Kickbox Card - Tab** — full tab view on the contact record - **Email Verification Card - Side** — compact sidebar version Add one or both, save, and you're plated. **5. Taste test** Open any contact with an email address, click **"Verify Email with Kickbox"**, and confirm the results appear. A success banner and populated properties mean the dish is ready to serve. --- ### Part Two: The Workflow Action *A custom coded action for automated verification inside HubSpot workflows.* This component uses a separate secret named `kickboxapi` — note the different name from `kickbox` used in Part One. Both can coexist in the same HubSpot account. **1. Season with the secret** Add your Kickbox API key under the new secret name: ``` hs secret add kickboxapi ``` Or add it directly inside the workflow action editor in the next step. **2. Build the action** In HubSpot, go to **Automation → Workflows**, open or create a contact-based workflow, and add a **Custom Coded Action** step: - **Runtime:** Node.js 20.x - **Secret:** `kickboxapi` - **Input:** Email field → mapped to the contact's email property - **Code:** Paste the full action code from the [GitHub repo](https://github.com/Suixcity/kickbox) **3. Configure your outputs** The action returns 10 output fields — the full verification payload from Kickbox. These become data tokens usable in any downstream workflow step: | Output | Type | What it tells you | | --- | --- | --- | | `result` | Enumeration | Deliverable / Risky / Undeliverable / Unknown | | `reason` | Enumeration | The specific reason code | | `sendex` | Number | Reputation score 0–1 | | `disposable` | Boolean | Throwaway email domain? | | `accept` | Boolean | Domain accepts all mail? | | `role` | Boolean | Role address (info@, support@)? | | `free` | Boolean | Free email provider? | | `nemail` | String | Normalised email address | | `didyoumean` | String | Spelling correction suggestion | | `success` | Boolean | Did the API call succeed? | **4. Build your branching logic** With the output in hand, add an `If/Then` branch after the action — for example: ``` result = "deliverable" → Enrol in sales sequence result = "risky" → Flag for manual review result = "undeliverable" → Add to suppression list ``` This is where the flavour really comes through — email quality becomes an active signal in your automation, not a static field that gets checked once a quarter. --- ## Plating Notes - Both components write to the same set of HubSpot contact properties, so verification data is consistent whether it came from a sales rep clicking the card or an automated workflow running overnight - The Kickbox API key is never exposed client-side — all calls pass through serverless backend functions and HubSpot's encrypted secrets store - Properties are created once and persist on all contact records going forward --- ## Serving Suggestion A common pattern worth stealing: > New contact enters the CRM → Workflow action verifies email → Branch on result → Deliverable contacts route to sales → Everything else gets flagged or suppressed This ensures your sales team only ever receives contacts with verified email addresses — and your marketing lists stay clean without anyone having to run a manual bulk check. --- ## Shelf Life This recipe is built on HubSpot project platform **v2025.1** — and HubSpot's platform versioning has been, frankly, inconsistent. Features have been dropped and reintroduced between minor versions, and naming conventions have shifted mid-cycle (the CLI still calls the deployed app a `[private app]` in its output while the HubSpot UI lists it under **Legacy Apps**). The current situation: v2025.1 is unsupported after 1 August 2026. The migration target is v2025.2 — but v2025.2 removes serverless functions, which this recipe depends on for its backend. Serverless is scheduled to return in **v2026.03**, available from ~30 March 2026. **The plan:** skip v2025.2, wait for v2026.03, and update this recipe at that point. If you're reading this after March 2026 and the guides feel stale, that migration is likely the culprit — check the [HubSpot developer changelog](https://developers.hubspot.com/changelog) for the current state of play. --- ## Full Recipe The complete source code, detailed step-by-step setup guides, and the full Postman payload are available in the GitHub repository: **[github.com/Suixcity/kickbox](https://github.com/Suixcity/kickbox)** --- *Part of a professional portfolio — [view the project brief](https://tomdelaney.us/email-validation-portfolio)* ![Thomas Delaney](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/6aa77e4b15fadd044100136646f8d3a4) [**Thomas Delaney**](https://tomdelaney.us/blog/author/thomas-delaney) People are talking about this blog post ### Related blog posts [![Recipe: Channel Partners, Matched and Plated at the Table](https://24279033.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/24279033/Gemini_Generated_Image_vpvzanvpvzanvpvz.png) Recipe: Channel Partners, Matched and Plated at the Table on Mar 6, 2026 11:53:11 AM](https://tomdelaney.us/blog/recipe-channel-partners-matched) [![Recipe: Ad Network Feedback, Finally Worth Serving](https://24279033.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/24279033/Gemini_Generated_Image_eyl073eyl073eyl0.png) Recipe: Ad Network Feedback, Finally Worth Serving on Mar 6, 2026 10:49:30 AM](https://tomdelaney.us/blog/recipe-ad-network-feedback-finally-worth-serving) [![Recipe: Contracts to CRM, Delivered While Still Hot](https://24279033.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/24279033/Gemini_Generated_Image_lhgafjlhgafjlhga.png) Recipe: Contracts to CRM, Delivered While Still Hot on Mar 5, 2026 11:29:31 AM](https://tomdelaney.us/blog/recipe-contracts-delivered-while-still-hot) ## Related **blog posts** ![](https://24279033.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/24279033/Gemini_Generated_Image_vpvzanvpvzanvpvz.png) **Recipe: Channel Partners, Matched and Plated at the Table** Recipe: Channel Partners, Matched and Plated at the Table Yield: Partner assignments that live in HubSpot, not in... 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Read more ![](https://24279033.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/24279033/Gemini_Generated_Image_lhgafjlhgafjlhga.png) **Recipe: Contracts to CRM, Delivered While Still Hot** Read more ![White Modern Minimalist Signature Brand Logo (Website) (5)](https://24279033.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/24279033/White%20Modern%20Minimalist%20Signature%20Brand%20Logo%20(Website)%20(5).png) This website is the personal project of Thomas Delaney and the views and thoughts expressed are strictly his own and do not represent any other entity.  ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Thomas Delaney", "url" : "https://tomdelaney.us/blog/author/thomas-delaney" }, "dateModified" : "2026-03-04T16:46:36.617Z", "datePublished" : "2026-03-03T21:51:44.000Z", "headline" : "Recipe: Real-Time Email Verification in HubSpot", "image" : [ "https://tomdelaney.us/hubfs/Gemini_Generated_Image_c8rku4c8rku4c8rk.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://tomdelaney.us/blog/real-time-email-verification", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://tomdelaney.us/hubfs/White%20Modern%20Minimalist%20Signature%20Brand%20Logo.png" } } } ```