Getting Started Tutorials

Choose your deployment method below to get started with Serverless Inbox. The target is less than 15 minutes from zero to sending and receiving your first email.

Choose Your Path

AWS CDK (For Developers)

Deploy Serverless Inbox using Infrastructure-as-Code.

You should choose this if:

You’re a developer or DevOps engineer
You want to modify or extend the infrastructure
You want full version control of your deployment
Your team has CI/CD pipelines

What you’ll do:

Clone the CDK repository
Configure AWS credentials
Run cdk deploy
Customize infrastructure (optional)

Time required: ~30 minutes
Difficulty: Medium
Customization: Full control

Deploy with CDK →

CloudFormation Templates (For Operations)

Deploy via CloudFormation template without writing code.

You should choose this if:

You’re an operations engineer
Your organization uses CloudFormation for deployments
You want template-based rollouts for repeatability
You need approval workflows for infrastructure

What you’ll do:

Download CloudFormation template
Upload to CloudFormation console
Configure parameters (region, sizes, etc.)
Review and launch

Time required: ~20 minutes
Difficulty: Low
Customization: Template parameters only

Deploy with CloudFormation → (Coming soon)

Prerequisites for All Deployments

Regardless of which option you choose, you’ll need:

✅ AWS Account with permissions to create Lambda, DynamoDB, SES, and related resources
✅ AWS Credentials configured (AWS CLI or console access)
✅ Understanding of AWS regions (us-east-1 recommended)
✅ Budget awareness - See Cost Estimate below

Optional but Recommended

AWS CLI v2 installed (for troubleshooting)
Basic understanding of AWS Lambda and API Gateway
A coffee

First-Timer Checklist

Before you start any tutorial, verify:

AWS account is active and logged in
You have permissions to create resources (or contact administrator)
You’ve chosen your deployment method (see above)
You’ve read System Architecture to understand what you’re deploying
You have 15-30 minutes available
You’ve noted your preferred AWS region (default: us-east-1)

Cost Estimate

Serverless Inbox is designed to keep AWS costs very low. At single-user to small-team scale you should expect well under $1/month:

Service	Monthly Cost	Notes
Lambda	~$0	1M invocations/month free tier
DynamoDB	Variable	Scales with email volume; minimal at low usage
SES	~$0	Free to receive; $0.10/1,000 emails sent
API Gateway	~$0	1M REST API calls/month free tier
S3	Variable	Scales with stored email volume; minimal at low usage
Route 53	~$0.50	One hosted zone per domain
Total	< $1/mo	At single-user to small-team scale

There are no always-on resources (no NAT gateway, no reserved capacity) that create fixed charges. DynamoDB and S3 costs grow with email volume but stay minimal at typical personal and small-team usage.

What Happens During Deployment?

All deployment methods create the same infrastructure:

✅ AWS Lambda functions (Email processor, APIs, WebSockets)
✅ DynamoDB tables (Email storage)
✅ SQS queues (Email processing pipeline)
✅ S3 buckets (Search index, backups, static files)
✅ IAM roles and security policies
✅ CloudWatch logging and monitoring
✅ API Gateway endpoints (REST APIs, WebSocket)
✅ VPC and networking (customizable per method)

See System Architecture for details.

After You Deploy

Once your deployment is running, follow these next steps:

Complete Initial Setup (10 min)
- Verify deployment and configure your account
- Create admin user
Add Email Identity (15 min)
- Verify domain with SES
- Configure email sending
Manage Users (10 min)
- Invite colleagues as admins
- Set up user roles
Try the Webmail UI (5 min)
- Send/receive test emails
- Explore features

Troubleshooting Deployments

See the individual tutorial pages for:

✅ Step-by-step commands
✅ Expected output at each stage
✅ Common issues and solutions
✅ How to verify success

Common issues:

Permission denied → Check AWS credentials and IAM permissions
Region not supported → Some resources require specific regions
Insufficient capacity → Try different availability zone or region

See Deployment Troubleshooting for detailed solutions.

FAQ: Choosing Your Path

Q: I’m not sure if I should use CDK or CloudFormation → Read Deployment Models for detailed comparison

Q: Can I start with one method and switch to another? → Yes, but you’d need to migrate resources. Best to choose carefully upfront.

Q: Which is cheapest? → Both create identical infrastructure with identical costs.

Q: Can I deploy to multiple regions? → CDK: Yes, easily code-driven. CloudFormation: Yes, but manual per region.

Next Steps

Ready? Pick your deployment method above and follow the tutorial.

If you have questions:

Check FAQ
Search troubleshooting guides
Review System Architecture to understand what you’re deploying

Last updated: March 2026