How do I inspect email API requests?

If you want to inspect email API requests, the exact method depends on which email service or client you’re using, but the general options are:

1. Use your browser’s developer tools

If the email app is web-based:

• Open DevTools (F12 / Ctrl+Shift+I / Cmd+Option+I)
• Go to the Network tab
• Perform the email action you want to inspect
• Look for requests to endpoints like:
  • /send
  • /messages
  • /api/email
  • GraphQL or REST endpoints
• Click a request to inspect:
  • Headers
  • Payload / Request body
  • Response
  • Cookies / auth tokens

2. Capture traffic with a proxy tool

For desktop apps, mobile apps, or cases where DevTools isn’t enough:

• Use tools like:
  • Charles Proxy
  • Fiddler
  • mitmproxy
  • Wireshark (more low-level)
• Configure the device/app to route traffic through the proxy
• Inspect HTTP/HTTPS requests and responses

3. Check API logs on the server

If you control the backend:

• Add logging in the email API route
• Log:
  • request method
  • URL
  • headers
  • body
  • response status
  • errors
• Be careful not to log secrets or full email contents unless necessary

4. Use provider-specific tools

Some email providers offer built-in request tracing or logs:

• SendGrid: API activity logs
• Mailgun: logs/events
• AWS SES: CloudWatch logs, event destinations
• Postmark: message stream logs

5. Reproduce with cURL or Postman

If you have the endpoint:

• Copy the request from DevTools as cURL
• Paste into a terminal or Postman
• Adjust headers/body to test and inspect behavior

What to look for

When inspecting an email API request, check:

• Authorization header
• Content-Type
• JSON payload fields like:
  • to
  • from
  • subject
  • text / html
  • attachments
• Response codes like:
  • 200 success
  • 400 invalid request
  • 401/403 auth issues
  • 500 server errors

If you tell me which email API or app you’re using, I can give exact steps.