Skip to main content

Validate Before Sending With dryRun

Use dryRun: true when you want Motorical to validate an email request without queueing delivery work or writing an email log.

Dry-run validation is useful during setup, CI checks, onboarding flows, and AI-generated integrations.

What dryRun Checks​

dryRun validates the same send request shape used by real sends:

  • Motor Block API key format and authorization
  • sender address and Motor Block domain match
  • DNS readiness for the sending domain
  • recipient shape
  • subject length
  • body presence and body size

It does not send email.

cURL Example​

curl -X POST "https://api.motorical.com/v1/send" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey $MK_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "from": "sender@yourdomain.com",
    "to": ["recipient@example.com"],
    "subject": "Dry-run validation",
    "text": "Validate this message before sending.",
    "html": "<p>Validate this message before sending.</p>",
    "dryRun": true
  }'

Expected Response​

{
  "success": true,
  "dryRun": true,
  "data": {
    "status": "validated",
    "domain": "yourdomain.com",
    "recipientCount": 1,
    "bodySize": 42
  }
}

CI or Setup Check​

Add a dry-run check to a deployment or setup script before enabling real sends.

const response = await fetch('https://api.motorical.com/v1/send', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    Authorization: `ApiKey ${process.env.MK_API_KEY}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    from: process.env.TEST_EMAIL_FROM,
    to: [process.env.TEST_EMAIL_TO],
    subject: 'Motorical setup validation',
    text: 'This is a validation-only request.',
    dryRun: true
  })
});

const result = await response.json();
if (!response.ok || !result.success || result.data.status !== 'validated') {
  throw new Error(result.error || 'Motorical dry-run validation failed');
}

When To Use Real Sends Instead​

Use a real send when you need to test:

  • downstream provider acceptance
  • actual inbox placement
  • webhook event delivery
  • delivery timelines and logs

Use a unique Idempotency-Key for real sends that may be retried.