DebugMail is a fake SMTP server designed for testing outgoing traffic of web apps or websites in the development environment without deploying it to production. This simple email testing tool offers developers a way to catch and debug emails without cluttering real mailboxes, or sending emails to real users. By setting up mailcatching on DebugMail, you can test the correctness of sending triggered emails, scheduled marketing emails, or ensure the accuracy of attachments, senders’ addresses, and more.
You can integrate DebugMail with your web project or app using two methods: code snippet or credentials.
How to integrate DebugMail with a code snippet
Follow these steps:
Go to the Debug Mail website https://debugmail.io/ and login to your account using your Google, Github, or email credentials. After logging in, you must create a team and a project for the app or online store you wish to test.
To test an app or online store, first login and create a team and project.
Choose the technology from the list of presets. Copy the generated code and then paste it to your project.
Integrating DebugMail with a code snippet.
Run your email sending code and check how it was sent to DebugMail.
DebugMail workspace.
How to integrate DebugMail with SMTP credentials
You can also use SMTP credentials and we assume that you’re already logged in.
To find unique credentials for your project, scroll down past technology and snippets to the bottom of the page. You will see the following information:
Host: app.debugmail.io
Port: 25 or 9025
Username: unique to your project
Password: unique to your project
Integrating DebugMail with SMTP credentials.
Paste them to your project and run the email sending code. And then check the email in DebugMail.
We also have an API for managing DebugMail, which we’ll cover in another article.
Our goal was to provide a straightforward and simple guide to getting started with DebugMail, and we hope you found it useful. Also check out our comparison of DebugMail vs. Google SMTP to see how easy it is to integrate DebugMail into your project.
Email testing is an essential part of any email development process, ensuring that the email message is delivered correctly and looks as intended across different email clients and devices. Also helps to identify and fix any issues before the mail is sent to a live audience.
In this article, we will explore two methods of email testing Google SMTP and DebugMail, compare their advantages and disadvantages, provide tips on how to set up a test environment for effective mailcatching.
To test email delivery, you can use Google SMTP, which is one of the most popular options for email testing. Follow these step-by-step instructions to set up a Google account for receiving emails:
Click on the gear icon in your Gmail account and select See all settings.
Go to the Google Mail settings.
Navigate to the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab and enable IMAP access.
In the Gmail settings page, find the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab, and check the Enable IMAP checkbox to configure email access through IMAP protocol.
Click on your account icon and select Manage your Google Account.
Click on the icon located at the top right-hand corner of the screen.
Go to the Security section and scroll down to the Signing in to Google block.
Access the Google Account settings page and navigate to the Security section.
If the App passwords tab is not visible, enable two-step verification.
Access the App passwords tab, enter your account password, and specify the data for which you want to generate a password for the application.
Configure password settings to establish a connection between the application and Google SMTP.
Click Generate, and copy the generated password to paste it into the code.
Copy the password that was generated and paste it into the code of your application.
To complete the process, specify your Gmail account data, including login, password, port, and host (which are set as default values to smtp.gmail.com and 587, respectively). Then, run the script. Once the script has executed, go to the test recipient’s page to read the message that was sent.
The final view of an outgoing email from an application or online service.
Setting up DebugMail for Mailcatching and Debugging
Go to the DebugMail website https://debugmail.io/ and log in to your account.
Go to the DebugMail website.
Log in to your account.
Create a team and a project within that team.
Create a team to work on projects.
Create a project, for example, with the name of your app or online store.
Click on the gear icon and go to Settings.
Each project has its own individual settings.
Select the desired code generation method.
Choose the technology that you would like to integrate with DebugMail.
Copy the generated code.
Use the pre-made add-in to integrate with DebugMail.
Paste the code into your project and run it.
Go to DebugMail to check how the email was sent.
DebugMail workspace.
Setting up everything will only take 2 minutes of your time.
Comparing Google SMTP and DebugMail
Pros and Cons
Google SMTP
DebugMail
Pros
Widely used and trusted email service provider.
Trusted email testing service with clear legal documentation.
High level of customization and control.
Integration in 2 minutes.
Provides Gmail API.
Quick project and team creation.
Reliable email delivery.
Comfy and cheap plans.
Unlimited acceptance of emails per day.
Cons
Time-consuming setup and configuration process.
No spam rating.
Daily sending limits may affect email testing.
When choosing between Google SMTP and DebugMail, it’s important to consider factors such as the size and complexity of the project, budget, and level of customization required. Ultimately, the decision will depend on the specific needs and preferences of the developer or development team.
Features and Functionality
Google SMTP provides email logs that can be accessed through the Google Admin console or via third-party email tracking tools. These logs include information such as the sender and recipient of the email, the date and time it was sent, and the status of the message (e.g. delivered, bounced, etc.). This can be helpful for tracking email delivery and troubleshooting any issues that may arise. Additionally, Google SMTP allows users to customize their email signature, which can help to give a more professional look to their test emails.
DebugMail offers a convenient email management solution with the ability to create teams and projects for each site or application. Projects can store, sort, group and delete all captured emails, which is useful for team collaboration. DebugMail also offers an API for integrating email testing into existing workflows, making email testing more efficient for developers. Role customization is also available, allowing users to pay a monthly subscription if there are multiple team admins.
While Google SMTP may be a simpler option for individual developers, the additional features and functionality of DebugMail make it a powerful tool for teams and projects. DebugMail also eliminates the risk of accidentally sending a test email to a real subscriber before the tester has verified that the outgoing emails of the project being developed are correct.
Conclusion
Google SMTP and DebugMail offer great solutions for email testing in development. We hope this article has helped you determine which option is right for your individual needs. If you’re interested in learning more, check out the additional resources below.
