mailtrap-sending-emails – Marketing & SEO skill for AI agents

Sending emails (Mailtrap)

Overview

Mailtrap sends live email over Email API (REST) or SMTP. Two streams apply for API/SMTP: Transactional (non-promotional, app-generated) and Bulk (promotional / marketing volume). Batch is not a third stream: it is how you submit many messages in one request on whichever stream matches the content. Campaigns are a separate product path for promotional mail to Mailtrap contacts. Pair this sheet with the [Transactional](https://docs.mailtrap.io/developers/email-sending/transactional.md) / [Bulk](https://docs.mailtrap.io/developers/email-sending/bulk.md) developer pages when building or debugging integrations (including with AI-assisted coding).

When to Use

Use when integrating, configuring, or troubleshooting Mailtrap live email sending with Email API, SMTP, transactional streams, bulk streams, or batch requests.

Sending authority and delivery checks

Live send examples deliver externally. Before any send, confirm the approved sender, exact recipient list, final content/template variables, stream and message count. Integration or troubleshooting alone does not authorize sending. Use the sandbox for tests unless live delivery is requested; do not treat example recipients as real targets. Keep tokens out of logged process arguments (use protected header stdin/config or the SDK), redact responses, and check delivery state before retrying an uncertain POST to avoid duplicate mail. Account limits and suppression behavior require current docs; do not bypass unsubscribes or suppressions.

How to integrate (preference order)

Preferred order:

1. Plugin or integration for the user's platform (no-code or minimal-config) _where available_

2. Official SDK for your language when one exists (maintained clients, typed helpers, less room for URL/auth mistakes).

3. HTTP Email API when there is no SDK or the SDK does not fit (direct POST to /api/send or /api/batch with JSON).

4. SMTP only when you really need it (legacy stack, host/platform that only speaks SMTP, or hard constraints that rule out HTTP).

Choosing how to send

| Approach | Use when |

| --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |

| Transactional, single message | Email generated by your app (password resets, receipts, notifications, alerts). One logical message per POST https://send.api.mailtrap.io/api/send |

| Bulk | Promotional email to contacts that you manage on your side and send at volume through Mailtrap. Not the same as "batch": bulk is the stream, not the batch endpoint. |

| Batch | You have multiple different messages to hand off at the same time (up to 500 per request). Cuts HTTP overhead; can be applied to both transactional and bulk |

| Campaigns | Promotional email to recipients stored as Mailtrap contacts, using Mailtrap Campaigns (audiences, scheduling, reporting in the product). Recommended to avoid implementing contact management and email sending logic; requires UI setup before sends flow—this skill does not replace that workflow. |

Before generating SDK code: read the README of the relevant SDK repository linked in the SDKs section below for current method signatures, constructor options, and examples. Do not rely on memory.

Related skills: mailtrap-testing-with-sandbox (safe testing) and mailtrap-setting-up-sending-domain (verification before send).

When not to use

• Sandbox only—capturing mail without delivery, reading messages in a sandbox (mailtrap-testing-with-sandbox).
• The main ask is webhooks, step-by-step Campaigns UI setup, or deliverability deep-dives.
• Exhaustive API reference—once the user's path is clear, link the official send docs for full schemas, optional fields, and edge cases.

Quick reference

Email API

| Stream | Send Endpoint | Batch Endpoint | Authorization Header |

| ------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |

| Transactional | POST https://send.api.mailtrap.io/api/send | POST https://send.api.mailtrap.io/api/batch | Authorization: Bearer $MAILTRAP_API_TOKEN |

| Bulk (promotional / marketing volume) | POST https://bulk.api.mailtrap.io/api/send | POST https://bulk.api.mailtrap.io/api/batch | Authorization: Bearer $MAILTRAP_API_TOKEN |

SMTP

| Setting | Transactional | Bulk |

| -------- | --------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |

| Host | live.smtp.mailtrap.io | bulk.smtp.mailtrap.io |

| Port | 587 (also 25, 2525, 465 with SSL) | 587 (also 25, 2525, 465 with SSL) |

| Username | api | api |

| Password | API token ($MAILTRAP_API_TOKEN) | API token ($MAILTRAP_API_TOKEN) |

Tokens

Use $MAILTRAP_API_TOKEN in either Authorization: Bearer ... or Api-Token: .... The same token works on both send.api.mailtrap.io and bulk.api.mailtrap.io as long as its scope covers the stream. Store tokens in environment variables or a secrets manager and rotate them when access changes.

Rate limits

| Scope | Limit | Window |

| ----------------------- | ------------ | ---------- |

| Sending API (per token) | 150 requests | 10 seconds |

Use backoff on 429.

JSON body (non-template)

Typical fields include from, to, subject, and text and/or html. Optional: category, custom_variables. Exact request bodies: [Transactional send](https://docs.mailtrap.io/developers/email-sending/transactional.md#post-api-send) and [Bulk send](https://docs.mailtrap.io/developers/email-sending/bulk.md#post-api-send).

Examples (curl)

Transactional send (send.api.mailtrap.io):

curl -X POST https://send.api.mailtrap.io/api/send \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAILTRAP_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "from": {"email": "[email protected]", "name": "Your App"},
    "to": [{"email": "[email protected]"}],
    "subject": "Hello",
    "text": "Plain text body"
  }'

Bulk stream uses the same path and JSON shape on the bulk host (same env var; the token only needs bulk-stream scope):

curl -X POST https://bulk.api.mailtrap.io/api/send \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAILTRAP_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "from": {"email": "[email protected]", "name": "Your App"},
    "to": [{"email": "[email protected]"}],
    "subject": "Promotional",
    "html": "<p>HTML body</p>"
  }'

Batch (array of messages; up to 500 per request — see API docs for full schema):

curl -X POST https://send.api.mailtrap.io/api/batch \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAILTRAP_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"messages":[{"from":{"email":"[email protected]"},"to":[{"email":"[email protected]"}],"subject":"One","text":"..."}]}'

JSON body (template)

Use template_uuid and template_variables instead of raw text/html to use a template hosted by Mailtrap. Minimal example:

curl -X POST https://send.api.mailtrap.io/api/send \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAILTRAP_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "from": {"email": "[email protected]", "name": "Your App"},
    "to": [{"email": "[email protected]"}],
    "template_uuid": "your-template-uuid",
    "template_variables": {"user_name": "Jane"}
  }'

Use the same API operations as non-template sends.

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… (full content is in the download package)