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Overview

Keystone’s email testing system enables automated tests to create temporary email inboxes, receive emails, and extract verification codes, links, and other data. This feature is essential for testing email-based workflows like user registration, password resets, and order confirmations.

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Key Features

  • On-demand inbox creation - Generate unique email addresses for each test
  • Real-time email delivery - Receive emails via SendGrid webhooks
  • Data extraction - Extract codes, links, and custom patterns from emails
  • Organization isolation - Complete separation between different organizations
  • Auto-cleanup - Inboxes automatically expire after 24 hours

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How It Works

The email testing workflow follows these steps:
  1. Create Inbox → Generate a unique test email address
  2. Use in Application → Fill forms with the test email
  3. Wait for Email → Poll until the email arrives
  4. Extract Data → Get verification codes, links, or custom content
  5. Continue Testing → Use extracted data in subsequent steps

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Email Address Format

Email addresses follow this format: +@withkeystonemail.com Examples:
  • acmecorp123456+signup-test@withkeystonemail.com
  • testorg7890ab+password-reset@withkeystonemail.com
Components:
  • org_prefix: Unique identifier for your organization (auto-generated)
  • inbox_name: Your chosen inbox identifier
  • @withkeystonemail.com: Keystone’s email domain

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Email Testing Steps

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EMAIL_CREATE_INBOX

Creates or retrieves a test email inbox for receiving emails during test execution.
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inboxName
string
required
Unique name for the inbox. Use timestamps or random values for uniqueness across test runs.
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email
string
Custom email address to use instead of auto-generated format
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storeAs
string
required
Variable name to store the generated email address

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WAIT_FOR_EMAIL

Waits for an email to arrive in the specified inbox with optional filtering.
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inbox
string
required
Email address to check. Supports variable interpolation.
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timeout
number
default:"60"
Maximum wait time in seconds
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fromAddress
string
Filter by sender address (partial match)
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subject
string
Filter by email subject (partial match)
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storeAs
string
Variable name to store the received email data

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EMAIL_EXTRACT

Extracts specific data from a received email.
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emailVariable
string
required
Variable containing email data from WAIT_FOR_EMAIL
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extractType
enum
required
Type of extraction:
  • code - Extract verification codes (6-digit, 4-digit, alphanumeric)
  • link - Extract URLs from the email
  • subject - Get the email subject line
  • sender - Get the sender email address
  • custom - Use custom regex pattern
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linkText
string
For link type: text of the link to find
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pattern
string
For custom type: regex pattern to match
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storeAs
string
required
Variable name to store the extracted value

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Complete Examples

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User Signup Flow

  1. Create email inbox
    • Step type: EMAIL_CREATE_INBOX
    • Inbox name: signup-
    • Store as: TEST_EMAIL
  2. Fill signup form
    • Type email address using variable
    • Type password
    • Click signup button
  3. Wait for verification email
    • Step type: WAIT_FOR_EMAIL
    • Check inbox:
    • Subject filter: “Verify your email”
    • Timeout: 30 seconds
    • Store as: VERIFY_EMAIL
  4. Extract verification code
    • Step type: EMAIL_EXTRACT
    • From variable: VERIFY_EMAIL
    • Extract type: code
    • Store as: VERIFY_CODE
  5. Complete verification
    • Type verification code using
    • Click verify button

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Password Reset Flow

  1. Setup test email
    • Step type: EMAIL_CREATE_INBOX
    • Inbox name: reset-pw-test
    • Store as: USER_EMAIL
  2. Request password reset
    • Navigate to forgot password page
    • Type email using
    • Click reset button
  3. Get reset link from email
    • Step type: WAIT_FOR_EMAIL
    • Check inbox:
    • Subject filter: “Reset your password”
    • Store as: RESET_EMAIL
  4. Extract reset link
    • Step type: EMAIL_EXTRACT
    • From variable: RESET_EMAIL
    • Extract type: link
    • Link text: “Reset Password”
    • Store as: RESET_URL
  5. Complete password reset
    • Navigate to
    • Type new password

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Order Confirmation

  1. Setup customer email
    • Step type: EMAIL_CREATE_INBOX
    • Inbox name: order-test
    • Store as: CUSTOMER_EMAIL
  2. Complete purchase
    • (Your checkout steps here)
  3. Wait for order confirmation
    • Step type: WAIT_FOR_EMAIL
    • Check inbox:
    • From filter: orders@shop.com
    • Subject filter: “Order Confirmation”
    • Store as: ORDER_EMAIL
  4. Extract order number
    • Step type: EMAIL_EXTRACT
    • From variable: ORDER_EMAIL
    • Extract type: custom
    • Pattern: Order #(\w+)
    • Store as: ORDER_ID
  5. Verify order
    • Navigate to order status page using

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Advanced Usage

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Using Timestamps for Unique Inboxes

To ensure unique inbox names across test runs:
  • Step type: EMAIL_CREATE_INBOX
  • Inbox name: test-
  • Store as: UNIQUE_EMAIL
The variable automatically generates a unique identifier.

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Multiple Email Filtering

When expecting multiple emails, use filters to find the right one:
  • Step type: WAIT_FOR_EMAIL
  • Check inbox:
  • From filter: billing@company.com
  • Subject filter: “Invoice”
  • Timeout: 120 seconds
  • Store as: INVOICE_EMAIL

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Extracting Multiple Values

You can extract different data from the same email: First extraction - Get verification code:
  • Step type: EMAIL_EXTRACT
  • From variable: SIGNUP_EMAIL
  • Extract type: code
  • Store as: CODE
Second extraction - Get activation link:
  • Step type: EMAIL_EXTRACT
  • From variable: SIGNUP_EMAIL
  • Extract type: link
  • Link text: “Activate”
  • Store as: ACTIVATION_URL

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Code Pattern Recognition

The system automatically recognizes various code formats:
  • 6-digit codes: 123456
  • 4-digit codes: 1234
  • Alphanumeric: ABC123
  • Labeled codes: Code: 123456, PIN: 1234
  • OTP formats: OTP: 567890

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Troubleshooting

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Common Issues

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Best Practices

  1. Use unique inbox names - Add timestamps or random values
  2. Set reasonable timeouts - 30-60 seconds usually sufficient
  3. Use filters wisely - Only when multiple emails expected
  4. Store email data - Always use storeAs in WAIT_FOR_EMAIL
  5. Test incrementally - Verify each step works before adding more

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Debug Information

Email data structure contains these fields:
  • id: Unique email identifier
  • subject: Email subject line
  • from: Sender email address
  • to: Recipient email address
  • text: Plain text email body
  • html: HTML email body
  • headers: Email headers (Message-ID, Date, etc.)
  • received_at: Timestamp when email was received

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Technical Details

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Infrastructure

  • Email Domain: withkeystonemail.com
  • Provider: SendGrid Inbound Parse
  • Storage: PostgreSQL
  • Cleanup: Automatic after 24 hours
  • Rate Limits: 100 emails/hour per organization

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Security

  • Organization-level isolation
  • No cross-organization email access
  • Automatic expiration
  • API key authentication for runners

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Limitations

  • Maximum email size: 10MB
  • Attachment support: Basic (stored references)
  • Custom domains: Not currently supported
  • Email sending: Receive-only system

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Email Flow Architecture

The email testing system follows this flow:
  1. Your Application → Sends email via your email service
  2. SendGrid → Receives and processes the email
  3. Webhook Delivery → SendGrid forwards to Keystone
  4. Keystone Backend → Stores email in database
  5. Test Runner → Polls for new emails
  6. Email Retrieved → Test continues with email data
The email system is idempotent - re-running tests with the same inbox name will clear previous emails and start fresh.