Lightreach: free, self-hosted Instantly alternative for cold email outreach. No monthly fees, no vendor lock-in — runs on your own SMTP mailboxes via SQLite. Multi-step sequences w/ spintax + variable fallbacks, mailbox rotation, IMAP reply/warmup detection, CSV lead import, send-window scheduling w/ daily caps + jitter. Built-in MCP server — control campaigns, sequences, leads, inbox straight from Claude or any MCP client. One `pnpm dev` and you're sending.

Hey hunters 👋 Built Lightreach as free, self-hosted alternative to Instantly / Smartlead / lemlist. Why: paid cold-email tools charge per-seat/per-mailbox, lock sending data behind their platform. Lightreach runs on your own infra — SQLite + your SMTP creds, one command self-host. What's in v1: - Multi-step sequences w/ spintax + variable fallbacks - Mailbox rotation across multiple SMTP/IMAP connections - Reply + warmup detection via IMAP polling - CSV lead import w/ column mapping - Send-window scheduling, daily caps, jitter delays - Built-in MCP server — manage campaigns/sequences/leads/inbox from Claude or any MCP client - Docker Compose deploy, one .env key to set Free, no seat limits, no email volume tax. Feedback welcome — esp. what's missing vs Instantly for your workflow.

Finally, a cold email tool that doesn't nickel and dime you per seat. The MCP integration with Claude is genuinely useful, I had it pulling replies and pausing sequences without touching the dashboard.

Finally something that doesn't lock you into a monthly fee just to send emails. The MCP server hooked up to Claude was a genuinely nice touch, made tweaking sequences on the fly feel weirdly natural.

Lightreach (Free Outreach Emails)

Instantly alternative — self-hosted cold email, free

Instantly alternative — self-hosted cold email, free