How to set up and use Snov API for automating lead generation tasks

If you're tired of repetitive lead generation and want to actually automate some of the grunt work, this guide is for you. We're diving into how to set up and use the Snov API—not just what’s in the docs, but what actually matters in practice. If you’re a marketer, growth hacker, or just the “techie one” on your sales team, read on.

Why (and When) to Use the Snov API

The Snov API lets you automate a bunch of tasks that, frankly, no one wants to do by hand: finding emails, verifying them, adding prospects to campaigns, and so on. If you’re running outreach at any scale, or want to tie Snov into your CRM or internal tools, the API is a pretty direct way to do it.

A few honest takes before you start:

  • Don’t bother with the API if you only need a few leads a week. The web app is easier for small jobs.
  • The API is solid, but not magic. You’ll still need decent input data, and it won’t find emails that don’t exist.
  • Respect the rate limits. If you hammer the API too fast, you’ll get blocked or throttled.

Step 1: Get Access to the Snov API

First, you need an account with Snov. Their free plans have pretty tight limits, so if you’re serious about automation, expect to pay.

  1. Sign up or log in to your Snov account.
  2. Go to your account settings and look for “API” or “API Keys.”
  3. Generate a new API client ID and client secret.

Pro tip: Store your keys somewhere safe. Don’t check them into GitHub or share them in Slack.

Step 2: Understand the Authentication Flow

Snov uses OAuth2 for authentication. It’s not complicated, but it’s not just an API key in the header.

  1. Get an access token
    You’ll need to call Snov’s /oauth/token endpoint using your client ID and client secret. Here’s how it looks in plain curl:

bash curl -X POST "https://api.snov.io/v1/oauth/access_token" \ -d "grant_type=client_credentials&client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID&client_secret=YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET"

This returns a JSON with an access_token. You’ll need this for every API call.

  1. Keep track of token expiry
    Tokens expire after a set time (usually an hour). Automate refreshing them if you’re running long scripts.

Heads up: If you’re just poking around, Postman is handy for testing API calls before you start coding.

Step 3: Pick the Right API Endpoints

Snov’s API is pretty broad, but here’s what’s actually useful for automating lead gen:

  • Email Finder: Find emails by domain, company name, or person.
  • Email Verifier: Check if emails are valid before you bother reaching out.
  • Prospect Management: Add or update leads in your Snov account.
  • Drip Campaigns: Add leads directly to campaigns (if you’re using Snov’s email outreach).

Here’s what doesn’t get much real-world use:

  • Social URL search: Hit or miss, and often outdated.
  • Bulk domain search: Looks cool, but be wary of burning through credits on junk data.

Step 4: Make Your First API Call

Let’s do a real example: finding an email address for someone at a company.

1. Find a Prospect’s Email

Suppose you know the person’s name and the company domain.

bash curl -X POST "https://api.snov.io/v1/get-emails-from-names" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "firstName": "Jane", "lastName": "Doe", "domain": "example.com" }'

You’ll get a JSON response with possible emails, confidence scores, and sources.

Tip: Don’t just grab the first email—check the confidence score. Low-confidence emails = more bounces.

2. Verify the Email

Before you add any email to your CRM or cold email list, verify it.

bash curl -X POST "https://api.snov.io/v1/email-verifier" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "email": "jane.doe@example.com" }'

Look for result: "valid" in the response. If it’s invalid or catch-all, be careful—those are more likely to bounce.

3. Add the Prospect to Snov

If you want to use Snov’s built-in email sequences, add the prospect:

bash curl -X POST "https://api.snov.io/v1/prospect/add" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "email": "jane.doe@example.com", "firstName": "Jane", "lastName": "Doe" }'

You can also assign them to a list or campaign with extra parameters.

Debugging Common Errors

  • 401 Unauthorized: Check your access token and headers.
  • 403 Forbidden: You may have hit a rate limit or used an expired token.
  • No results: Garbage in, garbage out. Double-check your input data.
  • Credits exceeded: Snov is strict about quotas. If you’re blocked, you’ll need to wait or buy more credits.

Step 5: Automate and Integrate

Now that you’ve got the basics, the real payoff comes from automating this stuff.

Popular ways to use the Snov API:

  • Zapier or Make.com: Trigger API calls from form fills, website visits, or CRM updates.
  • Custom Scripts (Python/Node/etc.): Build your own lead pipeline, fetch and verify emails in bulk, sync with your CRM.
  • Google Sheets: Use Apps Script to connect Snov to a spreadsheet for simple workflows.

Sample Python snippet:

Here’s a barebones example of fetching and verifying an email:

python import requests

Step 1: Get access token

token_resp = requests.post( "https://api.snov.io/v1/oauth/access_token", data={ "grant_type": "client_credentials", "client_id": "YOUR_CLIENT_ID", "client_secret": "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET" } ) token = token_resp.json()["access_token"]

Step 2: Find email

email_resp = requests.post( "https://api.snov.io/v1/get-emails-from-names", headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}"}, json={ "firstName": "Jane", "lastName": "Doe", "domain": "example.com" } ) emails = email_resp.json().get("emails", [])

Step 3: Verify email

if emails: email = emails[0]['email'] verify_resp = requests.post( "https://api.snov.io/v1/email-verifier", headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}"}, json={"email": email} ) print(verify_resp.json()) else: print("No emails found.")

Heads up: Don’t expect perfect matches every time. Sometimes Snov can’t find the email, or the verification comes back uncertain. That’s just reality.

Step 6: Respect Rate Limits and Data Privacy

A few things to keep you out of trouble:

  • Rate limits: Snov’s docs say 60 requests per minute per endpoint, but this can change. Build in retries and error handling.
  • Credits: Every lookup and verification burns credits. Monitor your usage.
  • Data privacy: Don’t scrape or store more data than you need. Respect privacy laws, or you’ll regret it.

What Works (and What Doesn’t)

What works:

  • Pulling emails for specific people at target companies, then verifying them.
  • Automating email enrichment for inbound leads.
  • Feeding clean, verified data into your outreach tool or CRM.

What doesn’t:

  • Mass scraping tens of thousands of emails at once. You’ll burn credits, get blocked, or end up with junk.
  • Relying on Snov alone for all your lead data. It’s good, but not perfect—cross-check what matters.
  • Ignoring confidence scores. Low-quality data leads to high bounce rates and spam folder hell.

Final Word: Keep It Simple, Iterate Fast

Setting up Snov’s API isn’t rocket science, but it’s easy to overcomplicate. Start by automating one piece of your process—maybe just email verification or enrichment. See what works for your team, then build from there. The goal isn’t to build some overengineered monster, but to save yourself time on the boring stuff, so you can focus on what actually moves the needle.