# sj26/mailcatcher

Catches mail and serves it through a dream.

Repository: https://github.com/sj26/mailcatcher
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/mailcatcher
Homepage: http://mailcatcher.me
Language: Ruby
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: smtp, mail, server, ruby, rails, rubygems, development, devtools
Last push: 2026-08-26T05:43:19+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 67/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5792, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 6778, forks 605 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:48.536113+00:00)

## What it is
MailCatcher is a Ruby gem that runs a lightweight fake SMTP server which catches all outgoing mail from an application and displays it in a web interface. It is designed for local development and testing, letting developers inspect emails without sending them to real recipients.

## Use cases
- test email sending locally without delivering real mail
- inspect HTML and plain text emails during development
- view email attachments from my Rails app in a browser
- replace the SMTP server in dev config with a catch-all
- debug email content and source in a web UI
- catch mail from PHP apps using a sendmail replacement

## When to choose
- developing Rails, PHP, or any SMTP-capable app and need to preview outgoing email locally
- you want a zero-configuration fake SMTP server with a web UI
- you need to inspect raw email source, HTML rendering, and attachments during development

## When to avoid
- you need a production mail server or actual mail delivery
- you need persistent email storage or multi-user access
- your stack cannot point SMTP delivery at a local address

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: email, http-server, web-framework
- domain: developer-tools, email, testing, web-development
- platform: ruby, cli, cross-platform
- tags: smtp-server, fake-smtp, mail-testing, devtools, web-interface, daemon, web-server

## Member repositories
- sj26/mailcatcher (main) score 67

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:48.536113+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 2026-08-29T17:42:23.181120+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/sj26/mailcatcher (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:48.536113+00:00, sha 14d2a91d7610)
  - homepage: http://mailcatcher.me (fetched 2026-08-29T08:38:20.726609+00:00, sha 6d8c55107237)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.