> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developer.lemlist.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
> Retrieves a specific lead by their email address.
# Get Lead by Email
export const SnippetObjectReference = ({objectName, objectPath = null}) => {
const lowerCaseObjectName = objectName.toLowerCase();
if (lowerCaseObjectName === 'lead' || lowerCaseObjectName === 'leads') {
return
This endpoint uses the {objectName} object. Make sure to also check the {lowerCaseObjectName === 'lead' ? 'Contact' : 'Lead'} object to understand the distinction between the two.
;
}
return
This endpoint uses the {objectName} object.
;
};
You must set the mandatory query parameter *version* to `version=v2`.
## Lead Status
Lead status can be:
* `notInterested`
* `interested`
* `unsubscribed`
* `review` - to launch in the app
* `scanning` - enriching in the app
* `running` - in progress in the app
* `paused`
* `done` - completed in the app
## OpenAPI
````yaml get /leads/{email}
openapi: 3.0.0
info:
title: lemlist API
version: 1.0.0
description: >-
Welcome to the lemlist Developer Documentation.
lemlist is very customizable and open. You'll find on this page all the API
and integration you can do with lemlist.
# Rate Limit
lemlist's API rate limits requests in order to prevent abuse and overload of
our services.
Rate limits are applied on all routes and per API key performing the
request.
The rate limits are **20** requests per **2** seconds.
The response provides any information you may need about it:
| Header | Description |
| --- | --- |
| Retry-After | The number of seconds in which you can retry |
| X-RateLimit-Limit | The maximum requests in that time |
| X-RateLimit-Remaining | The number of remaining requests you can make |
| X-RateLimit-Reset | The date when the rate limit will reset |
_Example of values for the rate limit headers_
``` json
{
"Retry-After": 2,
"X-RateLimit-Limit": 20,
"X-RateLimit-Remaining": 7,
"X-RateLimit-Reset" : "Tue Feb 16 2021 09:02:42 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time)"
}
```
# Definitions
## Team
A team is the entity of lemlist that can handle users and billing.
## Credits
Credits are the coins a team uses to enrich emails, LinkedIn URLs, etc. via
the enrich route. Each enrichment feature needs a certain amount of credits
to run.
## User
You use a user account to connect to lemlist and send messages via the
connected emails or LinkedIn account.
## Campaign
A campaign is the entity to automate outreach. A campaign has multiple
sequences composed of steps.
## Lead
A lead is a person that you try to contact via a campaign.
## Activity
An activity is the history of all the steps.
## Unsubscribe
An unsubscribe occurs when a person decides they don't want to receive
emails from you anymore.
# Authentication
All API routes use the dedicated subdomain `api.lemlist.com`.
lemlist uses API keys to allow access to the API. You can get your lemlist
API key at our [integration
page](https://app.lemlist.com/settings/integrations).
You need to add the `Authorization` header using the `Basic` authentication
type. `login:password` **where the login is always empty and the password is
the API key**.
⚠️ **Don't forget to add the semicolon (**`:`**) before your API key in curl
command.**
> To authorize, use this code:
``` shell
curl https://api.lemlist.com/api/team \
--user ":YourApiKey"
```
**Make sure to replace** **`YourApiKey`** **with your API key.**
# Give feedback
If you want to report a bug, ask for data, or share with us a use case,
please fill this [form](https://lemlist.typeform.com/to/mfVlkyGf). It will
help us centralize your needs!
servers:
- url: https://api.lemlist.com/api
security:
- basicAuth: []
paths:
/leads/{email}:
parameters:
- name: email
in: path
required: true
description: The email address of the lead
example: john.doe@domain.com
schema:
type: string
format: email
get:
tags:
- Leads
summary: Get Lead by Email
parameters:
- name: version
in: query
required: false
description: API version. v2 is the only option
example: v2
schema:
type: string
default: v2
enum:
- v2
responses:
'200':
description: Success
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: array
items:
type: object
properties:
_id:
type: string
description: Unique lead identifier
updatedAt:
type: string
format: date-time
description: Last update timestamp
isPaused:
type: boolean
description: Whether the lead is paused
state:
type: string
description: Current state of the lead (e.g., scanned, contacted)
status:
type: string
description: Current status (e.g., review, done)
personalized:
type: boolean
description: Whether the lead has personalized content
source:
type: string
description: Source of the lead (e.g., api, csv)
variables:
type: object
description: Custom variables associated with the lead
additionalProperties: true
contactId:
type: string
description: Associated contact ID
enrichment:
type: object
description: Enrichment data
properties:
emailStatus:
type: string
description: Email verification status
campaign:
type: object
description: Campaign information
properties:
id:
type: string
description: Campaign ID
name:
type: string
description: Campaign name
status:
type: string
description: Campaign status
sendingUser:
type: object
description: Sending user information
additionalProperties: true
example:
- _id: lea_fiDpiGV585wy3Oii2
updatedAt: '2025-10-28T00:40:39.230Z'
isPaused: false
state: scanned
status: review
personalized: false
source: api
variables:
firstName: John
lastName: Doe
companyName: lemlist
jobTitle: GTM Engineer
companyDomain: example.com
email: support@lemlist.com
contactId: ctc_xW8Ou6C03Csv8vatp
enrichment:
emailStatus: deliverable
campaign:
id: cam_bSn8EORHQxbWPjHvu
name: NEW TO DELETE
status: draft
sendingUser: {}
'400':
description: Bad team
content:
text/plain:
example: Bad team
'401':
description: Unauthorized
'404':
description: Lead not found
content:
text/plain:
example: Lead not found
components:
securitySchemes:
basicAuth:
type: http
scheme: basic
````