Building your own temporary email service can be a rewarding project, whether for personal use, learning, or as a public tool. Here’s a step-by-step overview of how such a service is typically built, using modern web technologies like Node.js, Express, and React.
- Backend Server: Start by creating a backend (e.g., with Node.js/Express) that can generate random, unique email addresses. Each address should be associated with an expiration time (commonly 10 minutes).
- Mail Receiving: Set up a mail server (like Postfix, Mailgun, or a cloud email API) to receive emails for your domain. Configure it to forward or pipe incoming messages to your backend for processing.
- Temporary Storage: Store incoming emails in memory (for small-scale use) or a database (for larger scale). Each email should be linked to its temporary address and have an expiration timestamp.
- Expiration Logic: Implement a cleanup process that deletes expired emails and addresses automatically, ensuring privacy and freeing up resources.
- REST API: Expose endpoints for generating new addresses, fetching emails for a given address, and possibly deleting addresses early.
- Frontend Application: Build a minimal, fast-loading frontend (e.g., with React and Vite) that lets users generate/copy addresses, view a countdown timer, and read received emails in real time.
- Security & Abuse Prevention: Add rate limiting, domain blacklists, and monitoring to prevent abuse and protect your infrastructure.
Optional features include notifications, dark mode, custom expiration times, and multi-language support. Remember to comply with email and privacy laws in your region if you make your service public.