Capture test mail through cloud SMTP
3 minute read · Email
Cloud SMTP capture is useful when the test app cannot reach your computer’s local receiver. Create a credential for that app, then find its captured messages in Vortex.
- Set up a cloud capture credential
- Keep credentials separate from captured content
- Diagnose receipt and display separately
- Keep capture and message review distinct
Set up a cloud capture credential
Sign in to the intended account, create a named SMTP credential and reveal/copy its settings only through the authorized UI. Configure the development app using the actual host, port, transport and authentication details provided. Send a fictional test message and verify that it appears with the expected cloud source and credential name.
Vortex fetches pending cloud messages and acknowledges received messages so you can inspect them in Mail. If another device or shared credential is involved, check which source and access context you are viewing. A local SMTP message and a cloud SMTP message do not necessarily have the same deletion or acknowledgement behavior.
Keep credentials separate from captured content
A credential can be enabled, disabled or deliberately deleted. Existing sharing controls preserve their own permissions. Disabling ingestion is useful when a test app should stop sending; it does not make earlier mail vanish. Retention removes eligible old captured content within its category, not the SMTP credential needed to configure the app.
Keep the SMTP password out of chat, repository examples and public logs. Captured messages can contain reset links or personal data even though they were sent to a test catcher. Cloud mail is not covered by a blanket promise that all server data is end-to-end encrypted.
Diagnose receipt and display separately
If SMTP authentication fails, check whether the credential is enabled and that the app loaded the current settings. If sending succeeds but the desktop does not show the message, inspect account access, selected source and fetch/acknowledgement state. An app-side queued message still needs its queue worker to run.
Removing a captured message does not retract email already delivered by another real mail service. Use cloud capture only for the intended development flow. Mail inspection describes how to check the content once received.
Keep capture and message review distinct
Name an SMTP credential for the test application that uses it. After sending one fictional message, filter Mail to the cloud source and confirm its originating credential. Open the message and inspect attachments deliberately. A server-side capture and a desktop display can happen at different times, so account access and receiver connectivity matter after a successful SMTP send.
Disable a credential when its test app should stop submitting mail; review existing history separately. If you rotate or replace credentials in the sending app, verify that its active configuration and any long-running mail worker have reloaded them. Do not paste the revealed password into chat or a bug report.
Cloud capture processes test mail for delivery into Vortex; it is not the same encryption boundary as personal workspace sync. Choose appropriate fictional data and read message inspection for HTML safety and the limits of local analysis.
Related guides: message inspection, storage policy.