Local SMTP catchers stop at send()
Mailpit and MailHog prove your app called the mailer. They do not prove the message left staging, crossed the internet, passed SPF/DKIM/DMARC, and arrived. Those are the failures that reach users.
Developers · Email testing
A real inbox for
every test run.
Your alias API creates the address. The missing half is reading the message. Emcognito is testing a test-inbox API for signup, OTP, magic-link, and password-reset email — real inboxes, an HTTP read, and a signed webhook.
The alias API is live today. Reading message bodies is not. This page is a demand test: join the waitlist and tell us what you would pay.
Founding beta · $9/month · no card, no charge today
01
A shared Gmail inbox is not a test fixture.
Local SMTP catchers stop at
Parallel runs collide in a shared inbox
Two CI workers, one Gmail account, and a test that waits for “the” confirmation email. It passes alone and flakes in the suite. A per-run address removes the shared state.
The half you already built
Emcognito already has paid alias creation and a mail host that accepts anything. What is missing is the read: storing the body and exposing it over HTTP. That is the part this page tests.
02
What the founding beta would include.
A small, sharp surface for CI and staging tests. No SMTP server to run, no shared human inbox, no polling a mailbox you cannot isolate.
- 10 real inboxes on
emcognito.com - 5,000 received messages per month
- 72-hour message retention
- HTTP read API with a per-inbox key
- Signed
mailbox.receivedwebhook - Playwright and Cypress examples at launch
The beta is planned, not live. We will confirm scope and billing before charging anyone.
03
Tell us what you need to test.
One question matters more than the rest: would you pay for this? The answer decides whether the read API gets built.
- No account needed.
- No charge, no card.
- We will only email you about this beta.
Already using the alias API? The creation endpoints are live now.
04
The details.
Is this available today?
No. Alias creation through the API is live. Reading message bodies is not. This page measures whether the read half is worth building.
Why $9?
It is the beta price, not a permanent one. The waitlist asks whether $9 or $19 is the more honest number. The answer, not the guess, sets the launch price.
What would the beta include?
10 inboxes, 5,000 received messages a month, 72-hour retention, an HTTP read API, and a signed webhook. Planned scope; we will confirm it before charging.
Can I use it with Playwright or Cypress?
That is the point. Any test runner that can make an HTTP request can use it. The beta ships with examples for both.
What about privacy?
This is a test surface. Do not send personal data, credentials, or anything you would not put in a staging environment. Message bodies in the beta would expire after 72 hours.
Will this replace my current test-inbox tool?
Only if it is better for your workflow. The differentiator is the same mail pipeline and domain that already forward your aliases, plus a read API that fits the alias API you already pay for.
Last updated 31 October 2026.