New Feature: Debug Mail Activity and Publishing

Jeff P

A new feature allows viewing recent activity across the account – inbound email messages, web socket publishing, webhooks, and Slack webhook posts.

From the dashboard, go to Usage & Analytics, then Recent Mail Activity Log.

The debug log shows all inbound, outbound, and publishing actions by 15 minute intervals. Business Plans and higher get access to at least 6 months of history. Free and Indie Plans can see the most recent 15 minutes.

We intend to continue improving this feature by including extended debugging information, response codes, bounces, and other useful information. Please share your experiences with us, and report any problems.

This is a good time to mention you can view have inbound and outbound message counts and bandwidth, up to 30 days currently visible.

This tool helps make it easier to understand how many messages your app is sending – whether it is a custom email app built atop Mailsac, or QA integration testing team.

New Delete Messages Flag When Releasing a Private Email Address

Michael M Leave a comment

When releasing a private address, there is now an option to “empty the inbox” – deleting all messages associated with the private address. You can find the option by clicking the settings button when managing your private addresses.

The API endpoint DELETE /api/addresses/:email now supports the query string deleteAddressMessages. When deleteAddressMessages=true is passed, all messages associated with the inbox will be deleted.

Please note that all messages are deleted, including starred/saved messages. It is immediate and irreversible.

Brand New Look To Dashboard

Michael M Leave a comment

The Mailsac dashboard has a brand new look. Our commonly used services are easier discover. You may find out about features you never new existed.

Setting up disposable or test email for a domain has never been easier. With the Mailsac Zero-Setup-Subdomain, choose you subdomain name and start receiving emails within minutes.

We do our best to build simple, indispensable APIs and tools for Quality Assurance teams. End to end testing of emails sent by web applications is easy with Mailsac. API Keys are included with all Mailsac accounts, including our free tier with generous API call limits.

Increase your privacy by using the Mailsac’s free disposable email service. Send to virtually any @mailsac.com address and view the email without ever signing in. To see all messages in an inbox and to view images you will need to sign up for a free account. With the free account you can star messages you need to keep and make them hidden to other users. If you find yourself needing extra email addresses that nobody else can see. They are available as an addon.

Authentication Changes

Michael M Leave a comment

Mailsac now requires authentication on all API routes and many parts of the website. The API key for your account can be created and viewed from the dashboard. If you are using the website to view emails you will need to create an account and sign in to view the body, images, and headers.

API Authentication

Many API routes required authentication prior to this change. If you are a customer with an existing API key and using it to make your API requests, there are no changes you need to make.

If you were using anonymous access, you will need to create an account and create an API key.

There are three methods for authenticating to the API. HTTP Header, Query String Parameter, and Request JSON Body. To use the HTTP Header create the request header Mailsac-Key and use the value of your API key. To use the query string parameter append the query string parameter _mailsacKey to the query section (after ?) in the url. Example: https://mailsac.com/api/addresses/[email protected]/messages?_mailsacKey=eoj1mn7x5y61w0egs25j6xrv
During a POST or PUT operation a JSON field _mailsacKey can be used.

For a complete list of API Routes check out the API documentation.

Website Authentication

The content of the most recent email received is still available without logging in. Older messages, images, and headers will require an account. You can register for an account for free.

Email Forwarding Changes

Michael M Leave a comment

Email can be forwarded using websockets, webhooks, slack, and catchall. The way email is forwarded has been changed for consistency. Reserved addresses, which are part of a catchall domain, will now be the inbox email is saved to. Catchall forwarding will still take place on websockets, webhooks, and slack webhooks.

Examples:

Improved SMTP Responses and Throttling Changes

Michael M Leave a comment

SMTP Responses

The robustness of our SMTP server has been improved by providing better response codes.

  • Response code 553 when email is missing a recipient
  • Response code 421 when inbound email is being throttled and the server is unable to accept the message until a later time
  • Response code 554 with meaningful error message describing the cause (blacklisting or internal server error)

Throttling Improvements

Incoming SMTP connections will be queued based on system load. The connection will stay open while waiting for system resources. If the SMTP connection cannot be completed in a reasonable period of time the server will issue a response code of 421. This situation may be encountered while sending a large amount of email from a specific server or to Mailsac hosted email address.

We offer custom domains to get around throttling, in all but the heaviest DDOS scenarios. Also, Enterprise customers can visit mailsac.com/enterprise to view higher performance or dedicated deployments.