# inbucket/inbucket

Disposable webmail server (similar to Mailinator) with built in SMTP, POP3, RESTful servers; no DB required.

Repository: https://github.com/inbucket/inbucket
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/inbucket
Homepage: https://inbucket.org/
Language: Go
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: golang, smtp, smtp-server, pop3, integration-testing, windows, linux, osx, webmail, go, pop, mail, mailserver
Last push: 2026-04-02T07:14:36+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 64/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 75, release rhythm 28, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5079, "days_push": 153, "days_rel": 270, "gap_med": 198.5, "n_releases_24m": 3}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2263, forks 219 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:32.009645+00:00)

## What it is
Inbucket is a self-hosted disposable webmail (email testing) server that accepts messages for any address via built-in SMTP and exposes them through web, REST, and POP3 interfaces. It stores mail as flat files with no external database or dependencies, and is written in Go and Elm.

## Use cases
- test outbound emails from a web app in integration tests
- self-hosted mailinator alternative behind a firewall
- capture emails in a staging environment without leaking to real users
- load test email sending without hitting the corporate mail server
- view email HTML rendering and attachments during development
- inspect SMTP message source and headers while debugging

## When to choose
- you need to verify emails sent by your application during automated testing
- you want a zero-dependency, self-hosted catch-all mail server
- you need SMTP, POP3, web UI, and REST API in a single binary or Docker image

## When to avoid
- you need to actually deliver email to real recipients
- you need a full production mail server with authentication and spam filtering
- you need persistent, secure long-term mailbox storage

## Facets
- artifact type: service
- maturity: stable
- function: email, http-server, testing
- domain: email, testing, developer-tools, self-hosted
- platform: windows, self-hosted, go
- tags: disposable-webmail, smtp-server, pop3, mail-testing, integration-testing, rest-api, mailinator-alternative, linux, macos, docker

## Member repositories
- inbucket/inbucket (main) score 64

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:32.009645+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:42:28.712523+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/inbucket/inbucket (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:32.009645+00:00, sha 78000900e90c)
  - homepage: https://inbucket.org/ (fetched 2026-08-29T10:22:54.064691+00:00, sha 27d5cc1cf0e8)
  - site_page: https://inbucket.org/about (fetched 2026-08-29T10:22:54.073674+00:00, sha faba2b14f79f)
  - site_page: https://inbucket.org/installation/linux.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:22:54.075396+00:00, sha e7f143a7acac)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.