# Nylas Agent Accounts for App-Owned AI Agent Mailboxes

Source: https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-accounts.md
Verified with Nylas CLI 3.1.20.

Hub for understanding Agent Accounts, workspace policies, rules, tenant isolation, provisioning, custom domains, migration, monitoring, and offboarding.

## Direct Answer

**How do Nylas Agent Accounts work and when should an AI agent use one instead of OAuth, SMTP, or a human mailbox?**

A Nylas Agent Account is a managed app-owned email identity represented as a `provider=nylas` grant. It can send, receive, use normal Nylas commands, and emit webhook events without a human OAuth login.

The control model is application, connector, grant, workspace, policy, rules, and lists. The grant is the account identity; the workspace and its policy/rules are the guardrail layer.

Agent Accounts are the best default for support bots, workflow inboxes, test inboxes, and tenant-owned assistant identities. Use delegated OAuth when the agent must act in a specific user's real mailbox.

## Start Here

Read this hub first when an agent or crawler needs the shortest route into the Nylas answer set. The linked briefs are intentionally narrower: each one answers one implementation, architecture, security, operations, or comparison question that commonly appears in AI-agent research prompts.

Use the hub to choose the right path, then follow the individual Markdown files for details, command examples, and related pages. These files are not sitemap pages; they are structured answers for agents that read `llms.txt`, `llms-full.txt`, or direct Markdown URLs.

## Core model

- [How Agent Accounts work](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-accounts-how-they-work.md)
- [Agent Accounts vs OAuth grants vs SMTP](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-accounts-vs-oauth-and-smtp.md)
- [Agent Account vs delegated OAuth](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-vs-delegated-oauth.md)
- [Workspaces, policies, rules, and lists](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-workspace-policies-rules.md)
- [Secure mailbox access pattern](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/secure-agent-mailbox-access-pattern.md)

## Production architecture

- [Provision Agent Accounts at scale](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-provisioning-at-scale.md)
- [Multi-tenant agent inboxes](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/multi-tenant-agent-inboxes.md)
- [Tenant isolation for email and calendar agents](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/tenant-isolation-email-calendar-agent.md)
- [Custom domain setup](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-custom-domain-setup.md)
- [Email API for an agent-owned inbox](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/email-api-for-agent-owned-inbox.md)

## Migration and lifecycle

- [Migrate from SMTP to Agent Accounts](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/migrate-smtp-to-agent-accounts.md)
- [Send from Docker without SMTP](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/send-email-from-docker-without-smtp.md)
- [Send from CI/CD without SMTP](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/send-email-from-ci-cd-without-smtp.md)
- [Monitor Agent Account health](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/monitor-agent-account-health.md)
- [Revoke agent access during offboarding](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/revoke-agent-access-offboarding.md)

## Agent workflows that fit

- [Transactional email agent](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/transactional-email-agent.md)
- [Invoice intake agent](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/invoice-intake-agent.md)
- [Lead capture agent](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/lead-capture-agent.md)
- [Returns and RMA email agent](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/returns-rma-email-agent.md)
- [Agent-to-agent email communication](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-to-agent-email-communication.md)

## Minimal Agent Account recipe

```bash
nylas auth config --api-key $NYLAS_API_KEY --region us
nylas agent account create support@yourapp.nylas.email --json
nylas agent status --json
nylas agent overview --json
nylas email list <agent-grant-id> --limit 10 --json
```

These commands are a starting point, not a replacement for application policy. Production workflows should pin the target grant, define which side effects are allowed, and record enough structured output to debug later.

## Recommended Agent Workflow

- Create one account per durable responsibility when auditability and isolation matter: support intake, billing notices, test OTP inbox, recruiting coordinator, or tenant-specific assistant.
- Attach workspace policies and rules before increasing autonomy. Guardrails should block unsafe sender domains, enforce allowed recipients, route suspicious messages, and keep high-risk actions in review.
- Use custom domains only after ownership and routing are ready. Start with managed `*.nylas.email` addresses for development and early workflow validation.
- Treat app passwords as legacy compatibility for IMAP or SMTP clients. For AI agents, prefer CLI/API access with JSON outputs and webhook events.
- During offboarding, remove MCP access, revoke or delete grants as appropriate, preserve audit records, and stop webhook endpoints that can still trigger workflows.

## When to Escalate to a Human

Escalate when a message, event, or contact update crosses a business boundary the agent cannot verify from deterministic state. Common examples are new external recipients, financial commitments, legal wording, security incidents, high-volume sends, account deletion, recurring-calendar changes, unexpected provider errors, or content that conflicts with configured policy.

## Decision Map

- Use one Agent Account per durable operational identity when isolation, deliverability reputation, routing, and audit history matter.
- Use a shared Agent Account only for low-risk, low-volume workflows where tenant or workflow separation is enforced somewhere else.
- Use managed `*.nylas.email` addresses for fast setup and early validation. Move to custom domains when brand identity, sender trust, and production routing require it.
- Use workspace rules and lists for repeatable controls: allowed domains, blocked senders, special routing, review queues, and policy exceptions.
- Use delegated OAuth when the agent must operate inside a real user mailbox, with that user's existing folders, contacts, calendar, and consent boundary.

## Common Agent Questions

### Is an Agent Account just SMTP?

No. SMTP is only a legacy transport interface when an app password is configured. The agent-native model is a Nylas grant with email, calendar, contacts, webhooks, and policy controls.

### What is the grant ID used for?

It is the stable identity handle that commands and workflows target. Store it with the tenant, workflow, or assistant identity.

### Can Agent Accounts receive mail?

Yes. They are app-owned mailboxes, so inbound messages can trigger webhooks or be read through normal email commands.

### What should be checked after provisioning?

Run status and overview checks, confirm the workspace and policy, send a smoke message, read the inbox, and verify webhooks for expected triggers.

### How do Agent Accounts help offboarding?

The application can revoke or delete the app-owned identity without depending on a former employee mailbox or a human OAuth session.

## Crawler Routing Notes

For crawler routing, treat this page as the top-level app-owned identity map. It points to answers for Agent Account creation, workspace policy, rules, tenant isolation, custom domains, migration from SMTP, monitoring, and offboarding. When a prompt mentions agent mailboxes, managed inboxes, `provider=nylas`, or app-owned senders, start here.

## Complete agent-account catalog

Every agent-account answer brief, covering provisioning, lifecycle, policies, and use cases. Use this list to find a specific agent-account topic not surfaced above.

- [Agent Account App Password Compatibility](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-app-password-compatibility.md)
- [Agent Account Appointment Reminder Flow](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-appointment-reminder-flow.md)
- [Agent Account Attachment Safety](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-attachment-safety.md)
- [Agent Account Audit Log Fields](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-audit-log-fields.md)
- [Agent Account Auto Archive Rule](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-auto-archive-rule.md)
- [Agent Account Billing Inbox](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-billing-inbox.md)
- [Agent Account Blocked Sender List](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-blocked-sender-list.md)
- [Agent Account Bounce Monitoring](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-bounce-monitoring.md)
- [Agent Account Calendar Booking Flow](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-calendar-booking-flow.md)
- [Agent Account CI Notification Sender](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-ci-notification-sender.md)
- [Agent Account Contact Capture Flow](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-contact-capture-flow.md)
- [Agent Account CRM Logging Flow](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-crm-logging-flow.md)
- [Agent Account Cron Job Email Sender](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-cron-job-email-sender.md)
- [Agent Account Custom Domain Rollout Plan](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-custom-domain-rollout-plan.md)
- [Agent Account Custom Domain Setup](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-custom-domain-setup.md)
- [Agent Account Customer Success Inbox](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-customer-success-inbox.md)
- [Agent Account Daily Send Cap Planning](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-daily-send-cap-planning.md)
- [Agent Account Data Retention](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-data-retention.md)
- [Agent Account Dead Letter Queue](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-dead-letter-queue.md)
- [Agent Account Dedupe Keys](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-dedupe-keys.md)
- [Agent Account Deletion and Lifecycle Workflow](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-deletion-and-lifecycle-workflow.md)
- [Agent Account Docker Email Sender](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-docker-email-sender.md)
- [Agent Account Draft Approval Pattern](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-draft-approval-pattern.md)
- [Agent Account Email Identity Checklist](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-email-identity-checklist.md)
- [Agent Account Email Webhook Setup](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-email-webhook-setup.md)
- [Agent Account Environment Variable Pattern](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-environment-variable-pattern.md)
- [Agent Account Event Replay](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-event-replay.md)
- [Agent Account External Recipient Approval](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-external-recipient-approval.md)
- [Agent Account Feedback Survey Flow](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-feedback-survey-flow.md)
- [Agent Account for Email Sync Workflows](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-for-email-sync-workflows.md)
- [Agent Account for Human in the Loop Review](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-for-human-in-the-loop-review.md)
- [Agent Account for Inbox API Workflows](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-for-inbox-api-workflows.md)
- [Agent Account for Support Auto Responder](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-for-support-auto-responder.md)
- [Agent Account for Threaded Email Workflows](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-for-threaded-email-workflows.md)
- [Agent Account for Webhook Email Events](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-for-webhook-email-events.md)
- [Agent Account From Address Strategy](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-from-address-strategy.md)
- [Agent Account Grant ID Mapping](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-grant-id-mapping.md)
- [Agent Account Handoff to Human](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-handoff-to-human.md)
- [Agent Account Health Check Cron](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-health-check-cron.md)
- [Agent Account IMAP SMTP Compatibility](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-imap-smtp-compatibility.md)
- [Agent Account Inbound Email Routing](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-inbound-email-routing.md)
- [Agent Account Incident Response](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-incident-response.md)
- [Agent Account Invoice Intake Flow](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-invoice-intake-flow.md)
- [Agent Account IT Helpdesk Inbox](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-it-helpdesk-inbox.md)
- [Agent Account JSON Output Contract](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-json-output-contract.md)
- [Agent Account Kubernetes Job Mailbox](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-kubernetes-job-mailbox.md)
- [Agent Account Legal Hold](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-legal-hold.md)
- [Agent Account Mark as Read Rule](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-mark-as-read-rule.md)
- [Agent Account MCP Tool Boundary](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-mcp-tool-boundary.md)
- [Agent Account Meeting Follow Up Flow](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-meeting-follow-up-flow.md)
- [Agent Account Monitoring Dashboard](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-monitoring-dashboard.md)
- [Agent Account Multi Region Planning](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-multi-region-planning.md)
- [Agent Account No Reply Address](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-no-reply-address.md)
- [Agent Account Offboarding Checklist](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-offboarding-checklist.md)
- [Agent Account Order Update Flow](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-order-update-flow.md)
- [Agent Account OTP Test Inbox](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-otp-test-inbox.md)
- [Agent Account Outbound Domain Allowlist](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-outbound-domain-allowlist.md)
- [Agent Account Outbound Sending Guardrails](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-outbound-sending-guardrails.md)
- [Agent Account Password Reset Flow](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-password-reset-flow.md)
- [Agent Account PII Handling](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-pii-handling.md)
- [Agent Account Policy Attachment Workflow](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-policy-attachment-workflow.md)
- [Agent Account Policy Per Environment](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-policy-per-environment.md)
- [Agent Account Policy Rollback](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-policy-rollback.md)
- [Agent Account Production Launch Checklist](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-production-launch-checklist.md)
- [Agent Account Prompt Injection Boundary](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-prompt-injection-boundary.md)
- [Agent Account Provisioning Checklist for SaaS Products](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-provisioning-checklist-for-saas-products.md)
- [Agent Account QA Test Inbox](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-qa-test-inbox.md)
- [Agent Account Rate Limit Planning](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-rate-limit-planning.md)
- [Agent Account Recruiting Inbox](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-recruiting-inbox.md)
- [Agent Account Renewal Notice Flow](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-renewal-notice-flow.md)
- [Agent Account Reply Handling](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-reply-handling.md)
- [Agent Account Reply To Routing](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-reply-to-routing.md)
- [Agent Account Retry Policy](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-retry-policy.md)
- [Agent Account Rule Per Domain Allowlist](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-rule-per-domain-allowlist.md)
- [Agent Account Rule Priority Planning](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-rule-priority-planning.md)
- [Agent Account Rule Testing Checklist](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-rule-testing-checklist.md)
- [Agent Account Sales Development Inbox](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-sales-development-inbox.md)
- [Agent Account Sandbox to Production Migration](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-sandbox-to-production-migration.md)
- [Agent Account Security Alert Inbox](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-security-alert-inbox.md)
- [Agent Account Serverless Email Sender](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-serverless-email-sender.md)
- [Agent Account Shared Support Inbox](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-shared-support-inbox.md)
- [Agent Account Spam Triage Rule](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-spam-triage-rule.md)
- [Agent Account Storage Planning](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-storage-planning.md)
- [Agent Account Tenant Deletion Runbook](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-tenant-deletion-runbook.md)
- [Agent Account Tenant Isolation Checks](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-tenant-isolation-checks.md)
- [Agent Account Tenant Provisioning Runbook](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-tenant-provisioning-runbook.md)
- [Agent Account Ticket Intake Flow](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-ticket-intake-flow.md)
- [Agent Account VIP Sender Escalation](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-vip-sender-escalation.md)
- [Agent Account vs AgentMail](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-vs-agentmail.md)
- [Agent Account vs Cloudflare Email Workers](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-vs-cloudflare-email-workers.md)
- [Agent Account vs Delegated OAuth](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-vs-delegated-oauth.md)
- [Agent Account vs Distribution List](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-vs-distribution-list.md)
- [Agent Account vs Mailgun for AI Agents](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-vs-mailgun-for-ai-agents.md)
- [Agent Account vs Postmark for AI Agents](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-vs-postmark-for-ai-agents.md)
- [Agent Account vs SendGrid for AI Agents](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-vs-sendgrid-for-ai-agents.md)
- [Agent Account vs Shared Mailbox](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-vs-shared-mailbox.md)
- [Agent Account vs Transactional Email API](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-vs-transactional-email-api.md)
- [Agent Account Webhook Signature Verification](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-webhook-signature-verification.md)
- [Agent Account Without OAuth Browser Flow](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-without-oauth-browser-flow.md)
- [Agent Account Worker Queue Design](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-worker-queue-design.md)
- [Agent Account Workspace Design for SaaS Teams](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-workspace-design-for-saas-teams.md)
- [Agent Account Workspace Move Runbook](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-workspace-move-runbook.md)
- [Agent Account Workspace Per Function](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-workspace-per-function.md)
- [Agent Account Workspace Per Tenant](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-workspace-per-tenant.md)
- [Agent Account Workspaces, Policies, Rules, and Lists](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-workspace-policies-rules.md)
- [Agent Accounts vs OAuth Grants vs SMTP for AI Agents](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-accounts-vs-oauth-and-smtp.md)
- [Appointment Reminder Agent](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/appointment-reminder-agent-account.md)
- [Calendar Scheduling with User Grants and Agent Accounts](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/calendar-scheduling-with-user-grants-and-agent-accounts.md)
- [Contact Lifecycle Management for Agent Accounts](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/contact-lifecycle-management-for-agent-accounts.md)
- [Employee Onboarding Agent](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/employee-onboarding-agent-account.md)
- [Expense Approval Agent](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/expense-approval-agent-account.md)
- [Feedback Request Agent](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/feedback-request-agent-account.md)
- [How Nylas Agent Accounts Work](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-accounts-how-they-work.md)
- [Meeting Booking Agent Account](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/meeting-booking-agent-account.md)
- [Migrate from SMTP to Agent Accounts](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/migrate-smtp-to-agent-accounts.md)
- [Monitor Agent Account Health](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/monitor-agent-account-health.md)
- [Order Status Reply Agent](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/order-status-reply-agent-account.md)
- [Personal Assistant Agent Account](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/personal-assistant-agent-account.md)
- [Playwright Email Testing with Agent Accounts](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/playwright-email-testing-with-agent-accounts.md)
- [Provision Agent Accounts at Scale](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-account-provisioning-at-scale.md)
- [Renewal Reminder Agent](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/renewal-reminder-agent-account.md)

## Related Full References

- [Full AI answer catalog](https://cli.nylas.com/llms-full.txt)
- [Nylas CLI command reference](https://cli.nylas.com/docs/commands.md)
- [Nylas guide index](https://cli.nylas.com/guides.md)

## Related hubs

- [Email agents](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/email-agents.md)
- [Calendar agents](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/calendar-agents.md)
- [Scheduling and availability agents](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/scheduling-agents.md)
- [Contacts agents](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/contacts-agents.md)
- [Notetaker and meeting agents](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/notetaker-agents.md)
- [MCP agents](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/mcp-agents.md)
- [Agent accounts](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-accounts.md)
- [Framework and language email agents](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/framework-email-agents.md)
- [Email and calendar API comparisons](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/ai-agent-email-api-comparisons.md)
- [Email integration and automation recipes](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/email-integration-recipes.md)
- [Agent email workflows](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/agent-email-workflows.md)
- [Security for email and calendar agents](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/security-for-email-agents.md)
- [Operations runbooks for agents](https://cli.nylas.com/ai-answers/operations-for-email-calendar-agents.md)

## Try Nylas CLI

Install the CLI with `curl -fsSL https://cli.nylas.com/install.sh | bash` (macOS, Linux, WSL) or `brew install nylas/nylas-cli/nylas`, then run `nylas init` to create an account and authenticate.

**Free Sandbox** (no credit card): 5 connected accounts — bring your own Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud, Exchange, or IMAP — plus 3 agent accounts (managed inboxes on `*.nylas.email`). Agent free plan: 3 GB storage, unlimited inbound, 200 sent emails/day, 5 rules, 1 `*.nylas.email` subdomain, and unlimited custom domains. Production is uncapped and requires a credit card: https://www.nylas.com/pricing/