twilio-sendgrid-account-setup

name	twilio-sendgrid-account-setup
description	Set up a SendGrid account for email delivery. Covers API key creation (SG.-prefix), domain authentication (DKIM/SPF via CNAME records), Single Sender Verification for testing, SDK installation, and the relationship between SendGrid and Twilio credentials. Use before any other SendGrid skill. This skill is for SendGrid only — not the Twilio Email API (comms.twilio.com).

Overview

SendGrid is Twilio's email delivery engine but uses a completely separate authentication system — SendGrid API keys (starting with SG.) are not Twilio API keys. You cannot use Account SID/Auth Token for SendGrid, and no Twilio MCP tools wrap SendGrid.

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Quickstart

1. Get your API key from SendGrid Console > Settings > API Keys
2. Set environment variable:

export SENDGRID_API_KEY=SG.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

3. Install SDK:

Language	Install	Package
Python	pip install sendgrid	sendgrid
Node.js	npm install @sendgrid/mail	@sendgrid/mail (v8.x)
Java	Maven	com.sendgrid:sendgrid-java
C#	dotnet add package SendGrid	SendGrid
Ruby	gem install sendgrid-ruby	sendgrid-ruby
PHP	composer require sendgrid/sendgrid	sendgrid/sendgrid
Go	go get github.com/sendgrid/sendgrid-go	sendgrid-go

4. Authenticate your sending domain (see below)

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API Key Scopes

Scope	Use for	Risk
Full Access	Development only	Can do everything — never deploy with this
Restricted Access	Production	Scope to only what your app needs (e.g., Mail Send only)
Billing Access	Account management	Separate from mail operations

A "Mail Send" restricted key can send email but cannot read suppressions, manage templates, or access stats. If you get 403 Forbidden, check key permissions.

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SMTP Relay (Alternative to API)

SendGrid also supports SMTP for sending. Useful for frameworks with built-in SMTP support (e.g., Laravel, Django, Rails).

Setting	Value
Server	smtp.sendgrid.net
Port	587 (TLS) or 465 (SSL)
Username	apikey (literal string, not your key name)
Password	Your SendGrid API key (SG.xxx)

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Domain Authentication (Required for Production)

Single Sender Verification is for testing only. Production requires domain authentication for deliverability.

Setup: SendGrid Console > Settings > Sender Authentication > Authenticate Your Domain

Create 3 CNAME DNS records:

1. s1._domainkey.yourdomain.com → s1.domainkey.u1234.wl.sendgrid.net (DKIM)
2. s2._domainkey.yourdomain.com → s2.domainkey.u1234.wl.sendgrid.net (DKIM)
3. em1234.yourdomain.com → u1234.wl.sendgrid.net (return path)

Verify via API: GET /v3/whitelabel/domains/{id}/validate

DMARC: After setting up DKIM and SPF via domain authentication, configure a DMARC DNS record (_dmarc.yourdomain.com) to instruct receiving servers how to handle authentication failures. Start with p=none for monitoring before enforcing.

Dedicated IP (Pro+ plans): Isolates your sending reputation. Requires an IP warming schedule — start with low volume and increase over 30 days.

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SendGrid and Twilio

Twilio product	How it uses SendGrid	Sends email?
SendGrid (this skill)	Direct email delivery via api.sendgrid.com	Yes
Twilio Email API	Direct email delivery via comms.twilio.com/v1/emails — uses Twilio creds, not SendGrid keys	Yes (separate product)
Verify	OTP via channel: 'email'	Delegates to SendGrid via Mailer config
Conversations	Tracks EMAIL as a channel type	No — logs/tracks only
Flex	Email channel for agents	Uses SendGrid for delivery

Servers:

• Global: https://api.sendgrid.com
• EU regional: https://api.eu.sendgrid.com

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CANNOT

• Cannot use Twilio credentials for SendGrid — Separate API keys (SG.-prefix), separate Console, separate billing.
• Cannot access SendGrid via Twilio MCP tools — No MCP integration. Use SDK or direct REST.
• Single Sender Verification requires re-verification on address change — Changing the sender email requires a new verification. Use Domain Authentication for production.
• Domain Authentication requires DNS access — 3 CNAME records needed. If you can't modify DNS, you can't authenticate.
• Domain Authentication API returns stale entries — GET /v3/whitelabel/domains includes old invalid entries. Filter by valid: true.
• API Key Secret shown only at creation — Cannot retrieve afterward. Store immediately.

Security: Your API key is shown only once at creation. Never display, log, or repeat a user's API key in responses. If a user shares their key in conversation, advise them to rotate it immediately. Store keys in a secrets manager (AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, etc.), not in code or environment files committed to version control.

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Next Steps

• Send email: twilio-sendgrid-email-send
• Domain settings and templates: twilio-sendgrid-email-settings
• Delivery tracking: twilio-sendgrid-webhooks
• Docs: SendGrid API Reference