A dynamic email receiving and processing system built with AWS SES, Lambda, and Next.js that allows you to programmatically manage email addresses and automatically process incoming emails.
Inbound.exon.dev enables you to:
- Dynamically manage email addresses through your API
- Automatically receive emails for managed domains using AWS SES
- Process emails via Lambda with spam/virus filtering
- Store emails in S3 temporarily (auto-deleted after 90 days)
- Send real-time webhooks to your API when emails arrive
- Retrieve full email content on-demand from S3
┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐
│ Email Sender │───▶│ AWS SES │───▶│ S3 Bucket │
│ │ │ (Spam/Virus │ │ (Email Storage) │
│ test@exon.dev │ │ Filtering) │ │ │
└─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐
│ Your API │◀───│ Lambda │◀───│ SES Trigger │
│ (Webhook │ │ (Email │ │ │
│ Endpoint) │ │ Processor) │ │ │
└─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘
│ │
▼ ▼
┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐
│ Next.js │ │ CloudWatch │
│ (Dashboard) │ │ (Logs/Metrics) │
└─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘
inbound.exon.dev/
├── 📁 aws/ # AWS Infrastructure
│ └── 📁 cdk/ # CDK Infrastructure as Code
│ ├── 📄 lib/inbound-email-stack.ts # Main CDK stack definition
│ ├── 📄 bin/inbound-email-cdk.ts # CDK app entry point
│ ├── 📄 package.json # CDK dependencies
│ └── 📄 cdk.json # CDK configuration
│
├── 📁 lambda/ # Lambda Functions
│ └── 📁 email-processor/ # Email processing Lambda
│ ├── 📄 index.ts # Lambda handler entry point
│ ├── 📄 package.json # Lambda dependencies
│ ├── 📄 tsconfig.json # TypeScript config
│ └── 📁 dist/ # Compiled Lambda code
│
├── 📁 lib/ # Shared Libraries
│ └── 📄 aws-ses.ts # Email processing library
│
├── 📁 scripts/ # Deployment Scripts
│ ├── 📄 deploy-email-system.ts # Full deployment script
│ ├── 📄 quick-deploy.ts # Quick deployment script
│ └── 📄 test-deployment.ts # Deployment verification
│
├── 📁 docs/ # Documentation
│ ├── 📄 DEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md # Complete deployment guide
│ ├── 📄 LAMBDA_DEPLOYMENT.md # Lambda-specific setup
│ └── 📄 DYNAMIC_EMAIL_MANAGEMENT.md # API integration guide
│
└── 📁 app/ # Next.js Application
├── 📁 (main)/ # Main app routes
├── 📁 api/ # API endpoints
└── 📁 components/ # React components
package.json- Main project dependencies and deployment scripts.env- Environment variables (API keys, AWS config)aws/cdk/lib/inbound-email-stack.ts- Infrastructure definitionlambda/email-processor/index.ts- Email processing logic
# 1. Install dependencies
bun install
# 2. Configure AWS CLI
aws configure
# Enter: Access Key ID, Secret Access Key, Region (us-east-2)
# 3. Bootstrap CDK (first time only)
cd aws/cdk && bun run cdk bootstrap# Create .env file with your configuration
export SERVICE_API_URL="https://inbound.exon.dev"
export SERVICE_API_KEY="your-secret-api-key"
export EMAIL_DOMAINS="exon.dev,yourdomain.com"
export AWS_REGION="us-east-2"The CDK stack now automatically outputs all required environment variables:
cd aws/cdk
npm install
./deploy.sh # Full deployment with environment variable extractionThis will deploy the infrastructure and display:
🎉 DEPLOYMENT COMPLETE!
📝 Add these environment variables to your .env file:
# AWS Configuration for Email Processing
S3_BUCKET_NAME=inbound-emails-123456789012-us-west-2
AWS_ACCOUNT_ID=123456789012
LAMBDA_FUNCTION_NAME=inbound-email-processor
AWS_REGION=us-west-2
# Make sure you also have these (from your AWS credentials):
# AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your_access_key_here
# AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your_secret_key_here1. Lambda Build → 2. CDK Synthesis → 3. AWS Deployment → 4. Verification
├─ TypeScript ├─ Infrastructure ├─ CloudFormation ├─ Stack Status
├─ Dependencies ├─ Asset Bundling ├─ S3 Bucket ├─ Lambda Test
└─ Dist Output └─ Template Gen ├─ Lambda Function ├─ SES Rules
├─ SES Rules └─ Monitoring
└─ IAM Permissions
# Deploy everything with defaults
bun run deploy:quick
# Deploy with custom configuration
SERVICE_API_URL=https://your-domain.com \
EMAIL_DOMAINS=yourdomain.com \
bun run deploy:quick# 1. Build Lambda function only
bun run deploy:lambda
# 2. Deploy CDK infrastructure only
SERVICE_API_URL=https://your-domain.com bun run deploy:cdk
# 3. Deploy with full configuration options
bun run deploy:email --service-api-url https://your-domain.com \
--email-domains exon.dev,example.com \
--aws-region us-east-2# 1. Build Lambda function
cd lambda/email-processor
bun install
bun run build
# 2. Build and deploy CDK
cd ../../aws/cdk
bun install
bun run build
SERVICE_API_URL=https://your-domain.com bun run cdk deploy# Test the deployment
bun run test:deployment
# Test with specific region
AWS_REGION=us-east-2 bun run test:deploymentExpected Output:
🧪 Testing Email System Deployment
1️⃣ Testing AWS credentials...
✅ AWS Account: 375612485665
2️⃣ Checking CloudFormation stack...
✅ Stack Status: CREATE_COMPLETE
3️⃣ Testing Lambda function...
✅ Lambda State: Active
✅ Lambda Runtime: nodejs18.x
✅ Lambda Memory: 512MB
4️⃣ Testing S3 bucket...
✅ Email bucket found: inbound-emails-375612485665-us-east-2
5️⃣ Testing SES receipt rules...
✅ Receipt rule set found with 1 rules
✅ Deployment test completed!
# Verify your domain
aws ses verify-domain-identity --domain exon.dev --region us-east-2
# Check verification status
aws ses get-identity-verification-attributes --identities exon.dev --region us-east-2Add these DNS records to your domain:
MX Record:
Type: MX
Name: @
Value: 10 inbound-smtp.us-east-2.amazonaws.com
TTL: 300
TXT Record (for domain verification):
Type: TXT
Name: @
Value: [Value from AWS SES verification]
TTL: 300
# Send email to any address at your domain
echo "Test email body" | mail -s "Test Subject" test@yourdomain.com# Watch Lambda logs in real-time
aws logs tail /aws/lambda/inbound-email-processor --follow --region us-east-2
# Check recent Lambda invocations
aws logs describe-log-streams --log-group-name /aws/lambda/inbound-email-processor --region us-east-2
# View S3 bucket contents
aws s3 ls s3://inbound-emails-375612485665-us-east-2/emails/ --recursive# Start Next.js development server
bun run dev
# Run in development mode with turbopack
bun run dev --turbo# 1. Edit lambda/email-processor/index.ts
# 2. Build and deploy
bun run deploy:lambda# 1. Edit aws/cdk/lib/inbound-email-stack.ts
# 2. Deploy changes
bun run deploy:cdk# 1. Edit lib/aws-ses.ts
# 2. Rebuild Lambda
cd lambda/email-processor && bun run build
# 3. Deploy
bun run deploy:lambda# View Lambda logs
aws logs tail /aws/lambda/inbound-email-processor --follow --region us-east-2
# Search for errors
aws logs filter-log-events --log-group-name /aws/lambda/inbound-email-processor \
--filter-pattern "ERROR" --region us-east-2
# View specific time range
aws logs filter-log-events --log-group-name /aws/lambda/inbound-email-processor \
--start-time 1640995200000 --end-time 1641081600000 --region us-east-2- Lambda: Monitor invocations, duration, errors
- S3: Check email storage and lifecycle
- SES: View receipt metrics and bounce rates
- CloudWatch: Set up alarms for errors and performance
# Check AWS configuration
aws sts get-caller-identity
# List CloudFormation stacks
aws cloudformation list-stacks --region us-east-2
# Check Lambda function details
aws lambda get-function --function-name inbound-email-processor --region us-east-2
# Test Lambda manually
aws lambda invoke --function-name inbound-email-processor \
--payload file://test-event.json response.json --region us-east-2# Update main project
bun update
# Update Lambda dependencies
cd lambda/email-processor && bun update
# Update CDK dependencies
cd aws/cdk && bun update# Destroy all AWS resources
cd aws/cdk && bun run cdk destroy
# Clean build artifacts
rm -rf lambda/email-processor/dist
rm -r
6D47
f aws/cdk/cdk.out# Start Docker Desktop
open -a Docker
# Or use pre-built Lambda approach (already configured)
bun run deploy:quick# Check Lambda TypeScript config
cd lambda/email-processor
bun run build
# Fix import paths if needed# Verify AWS credentials
aws sts get-caller-identity
# Check IAM permissions for SES, S3, Lambda, CloudFormation- Check MX records:
dig MX yourdomain.com - Verify domain in SES console
- Check SES sandbox mode
- Monitor CloudWatch logs
- AWS CLI configured and working
- Domain verified in AWS SES
- MX records pointing to AWS SES
- Lambda function deployed and active
- S3 bucket created with proper permissions
- SES receipt rules configured
- CloudWatch logs showing activity
- Full Deployment Guide - Complete setup instructions
- Lambda Deployment - Lambda-specific configuration
- Dynamic Email Management - API integration
- AWS SES Documentation - Official AWS docs
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch
- Make your changes
- Test thoroughly
- Submit a pull request
Ready to receive emails? Run bun run deploy:quick and follow the setup steps! 🎉