SMTP quickstart

Private beta

Mailway currently onboards teams by invitation, one at a time. Join the waitlist and we'll email your invite — everything below works the moment you're in.

If your application already sends mail over SMTP, switching to Mailway is a configuration change — no code. Your app authenticates against smtp.mailway.net, and Mailway relays each message through the providers you attached to the project, byte-for-byte.

1. Create an SMTP credential.

   In the console, open SMTP credentials and create a credential for the project that should own this traffic. You get a username (mw_user_… — the credential’s own ID) and a password (mw_pass_… — the secret of the pair). Store the password in your secret manager; if you lose it, you can re-reveal it from the project’s Credentials tab.

2. Point your app at Mailway.

   Environment

   SMTP_HOST=smtp.mailway.net
   SMTP_PORT=587
   SMTP_USERNAME=mw_user_…
   SMTP_PASSWORD=mw_pass_…
   SMTP_ENCRYPTION=tls   # STARTTLS

   Laravel

   MAIL_MAILER=smtp
   MAIL_HOST=smtp.mailway.net
   MAIL_PORT=587
   MAIL_USERNAME=mw_user_…
   MAIL_PASSWORD=mw_pass_…
   MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls

   Nodemailer

   import nodemailer from 'nodemailer';
   
   const transport = nodemailer.createTransport({
     host: 'smtp.mailway.net',
     port: 587,
     secure: false, // STARTTLS is negotiated automatically
     auth: {
       user: process.env.SMTP_USERNAME,
       pass: process.env.SMTP_PASSWORD,
     },
   });

3. Send something.

   Trigger any mail your app already sends. That’s it — the message shows up in the console’s Mails log within seconds, with its full delivery pipeline attached. If it doesn’t appear or shows an error, troubleshooting maps the symptom to a fix.

Ports

Mailway listens on seven SMTP ports, so there is always one your host can reach:

Port	Protocol	Notes
587	SMTP + STARTTLS	The standard submission port — use this if you can.
465	SMTPS (implicit TLS)	Legacy secure SMTP.
25	SMTP + STARTTLS	Standard relay port.
2525, 2587, 588	SMTP + STARTTLS	Alternates for clouds that block the standard ports.
2465	SMTPS (implicit TLS)	Alternate for 465.

The alternates matter more than they look: GCP blocks outbound port 25 permanently, DigitalOcean blocks outbound 25, 465 and 587, and AWS blocks 25 by default. If your platform can’t reach a standard port, use 2587 (STARTTLS) or 2465 (implicit TLS) with the same credentials.

Authentication

• Mechanisms: PLAIN and LOGIN.
• TLS is required before AUTH — the server refuses authentication on a plaintext connection. Use STARTTLS on the submission ports or implicit TLS on 465/2465.
• Credentials are per-project. A credential can only send through the project it belongs to, so a leaked key is contained.

Deliverability is still yours

Mailway relays through your provider account, so inbox placement lives where it always did: verify your sending domain at your provider and keep SPF/DKIM/DMARC green on your DNS — see Deliverability for what each record does. If you’re on SES, the setup guide covers the exact records — including wiring real delivery/bounce events back into Mailway.

Testing without delivering

For staging and CI, use the sandbox: the same SMTP config against smtp.mailway.dev, or the Send API against api.mailway.dev with a mw_test_… key. Messages are accepted, stored, and visible in the console, but never forwarded automatically — nothing reaches a provider or a recipient unless you explicitly release a capture from the console.