MailDev Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Deploy MailDev hosting and catch your apps' outgoing email in a password-protected web inbox on your own domain. xCloud runs the pinned MailDev 3.0.0 image behind a small nginx gateway, generates separate web and SMTP passwords, keeps captured messages on a persistent volume and publishes the inbox over HTTPS in minutes.

Deploy your MailDev

No terminal
No technical skills needed
No lock-in, cancel anytime

What is MailDev?

MailDev is an SMTP testing server with a web inbox and REST API. You point your application's outgoing mail at it and read every message instead of delivering it.

On xCloud it runs behind HTTPS with Basic Auth on the inbox and API and a username and password on SMTP. MailDev is licensed under the MIT licence.

From Sign-Up to a Live MailDev In Just 3 Easy Steps

A MailDev setup normally means a container, a gateway that protects the live-update path, two sets of credentials, a volume, a domain and a certificate. This is the same result without assembling any of it.

Step 01
Sign Up
Create your xCloud account and pick MailDev from the OneClick catalog. Choose your domain and target server — there are no extra fields to fill in.
Step 02
We Deploy It For You
One click. We bring up the official MailDev image, pinned by immutable digest, with a small nginx gateway in front of the web inbox, generate the web and SMTP passwords, mount the maildev_data volume and publish the inbox over HTTPS.
Step 03
Send A Test Message
Save the passwords from the protected installation credentials, open your HTTPS URL and sign in as admin. Then set your app's SMTP host, port, username smtp and password (no encryption) and send a test message.

Everything MailDev Does, On Your Own Server

MailDev runs in full here: an SMTP catcher with a live inbox and API, behind credentials you did not have to invent.

Test Email Without Sending It
Test transactional email from dev or staging apps without sending real mail.
Live Web Inbox
View HTML and plain-text bodies, headers and attachments; new messages appear live.
REST API
Read captured mail from automated tests through the REST API.
Protected SMTP Ingress
SMTP requires user smtp and a generated password; unauthenticated access was rejected in verification.
Optional Relay
Relay to a real SMTP server by configuring it in the Environment editor.
Messages Survive A Restart
The newest 1000 captured messages by default are kept on the maildev_data volume and survived an xCloud Restart.

Everything You Need To Run Your Email Testing Server 24/7

Managed hosting for MailDev, so the parts that keep it online are not your problem.

MailDev 3.0.0 deployed instantly
Official image pinned by digest
Generated web and SMTP passwords
Persistent maildev_data volume
Free SSL certificate
Server backups and snapshots
Server security updates included
30+ server locations
Unused balance refunded

What You Can Do With MailDev

Test transactional email in staging
Send sign-up, reset and receipt emails from a dev or staging app and read them in the inbox.
Inspect HTML, text and headers
Open each captured message to check its HTML and plain-text views, headers and attachments.
Assert on email in automated tests
Read captured mail through the REST API from your test suite.
Relay selected mail onward
Configure an optional relay to a real SMTP server in the Environment editor.

MailDev vs Alternatives

Mailpit: Mailpit is another email and SMTP testing tool with a web UI and API; this page covers MailDev, with its live web inbox and REST API.
Sending test mail to real inboxes: Real recipients can receive test messages; MailDev only stores what it receives unless you configure a relay.
Reading mail in application logs: Logs show that a message was sent; MailDev shows the HTML and plain-text views, headers and attachments.

Simple Pricing. Everything Included.

Dedicated Cloud VPS sizes, pre-configured for MailDev hosting. Pick the one that fits, and resize any time.

Cloud VPS 6 GB

Cloud VPS 16 GB

More headroom if MailDev shares the server with your test environments.

$59.99per month

16 GB RAM
6 vCPU cores
200 GB NVMe SSD
30 TB
Unlimited

Get started

Every size is a dedicated Cloud VPS we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Billed monthly with no lock-in — delete the server and the unused balance comes back to your account. MailDev itself is licensed by its maintainers under MIT.

Docker hosting

Already Have a Server? Bring Your Own

Connect any VPS — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Hetzner or bare metal — and deploy MailDev on it through the same panel, for a per-server management fee instead of a Cloud VPS rental.

Free

Start your journey without cost.

$0forever

1 server
10 sites

Start free

Starter

Professional

The same platform, discounted at 6–10 servers.

$4per server / month

6–10 servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Agency

The same platform, discounted at 11+ servers.

$3per server / month

11+ servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Priced per connected server, so your rate adjusts automatically as you add or remove servers. You pay your own provider for the server itself.

Self-managed hosting

Ready To Run Your Own Email Testing Server?

MailDev on xCloud runs on a dedicated Cloud VPS that we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Deploy faster. Own the server. Stay in control.

Fast Provisioning
Deploy faster using an xCloud Managed Server built with optimized stacks and high-speed SSDs.
Enterprise-grade security
Protect your infrastructure with a free SSL certificate and more advanced security features at no additional cost.
Intuitive Control Panel
From Server creation to application deployment, everything can be managed from our intuitive control panel.

Hear what people are saying about us

See why agencies, developers, startups, and growing businesses choose xCloud to power their projects.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

Does MailDev deliver mail to real recipients?

No. It only stores what it receives unless you configure a relay.

How do I sign in?

Use admin and the web password in the installation credentials.

What are the SMTP settings?

Use your site's host, the published SMTP port, username smtp and the SMTP password, with no encryption.

Is SMTP encrypted?

No. SMTP has no TLS, so credentials and mail travel in clear text: send from the same server or a private network and open the SMTP port only to sending hosts.

Who opens the SMTP port?

You do. The SMTP endpoint is a public TCP port and the operator opens their own firewall for it.

What runs alongside it?

An nginx gateway container that fronts the web inbox and requires the same credentials on the live-update path.

How do I change the passwords?

Keep them private and change them in the Environment editor, then Save & Redeploy.

How many messages are kept?

The newest 1000 by default, on the maildev_data volume.

What should I back up?

The maildev_data volume and the stable .env values, if captured mail matters.

Backups in xCloud

Does xCloud automatically back up or update MailDev?

No. The template pins MailDev 3.0.0 by immutable digest; existing sites are not automatically upgraded. Back up first, read the upstream release notes, then bump the readable tag and digest together on your own schedule. Server-level backups and snapshots are available on every Cloud VPS.

What are the server requirements, and why does this page sell 6 GB?

The template's baseline asks for 1 CPU core, 256 MB of RAM and 2 GB of disk; measured idle use in QA was about 65 MiB. This page sells the 6 GB tier as the entry rung, with real headroom above that baseline.

Is xCloud officially partnered with MailDev?

No. No official partnership or endorsement between xCloud and the MailDev project has been verified. This is a deployment and server-management option for the open-source MailDev project.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. There is no lock-in — cancel any time. Hosting is billed monthly and charged for what you actually use, so when you delete the server the unused balance is refunded to your account, less up to 10% in payment-processing fees.