A stable domain for repeatable tests
Some applications admit accounts only from an approved email domain. Random addresses on a shared public domain make that rule awkward to test. PigeonProbe lets your organization choose a hosted name such as acorn-qa.pigeonprobe.net and provision addresses beneath it.
Allow that exact domain in the application you control, then create a different local part for each run. The domain stays consistent across fixtures and CI configuration while messages remain attributable to individual tests.
Build the allowed case
- Choose the receiving name. Create a hosted subdomain and a mailbox that uses it. Hosted names are permanent, so choose one that suits the project beyond a single run.
- Configure your application. Add the exact hosted subdomain to its allowed-domain rule. Keep the parent
pigeonprobe.netoutside that rule unless your application deliberately allows it. - Provision a recipient. Create an address such as
signup-1042@acorn-qa.pigeonprobe.netin PigeonProbe before sending mail to it. - Assert the outcome. Submit the signup, confirm the permitted path, and inspect any verification email at that recipient.
Only provisioned addresses receive mail. Create them through the app or HTTP API; a name written into a test fixture does not create an inbox by itself.
Keep the excluded case alongside it
Each organization can claim two hosted subdomains. Use a second name, such as acorn-outside.pigeonprobe.net, for an address that is absent from your application's allowlist. Give it a mailbox of its own and exercise the rejected signup path.
Assert the rejection in your application. If its policy says no verification email should be sent, check that recipient during a bounded interval as a separate assertion. A lack of email alone is not a substitute for checking the application response.
Addresses can expire or be revoked after a run. Hosted subdomain names cannot be renamed, released or reassigned, and each mailbox uses one hosted domain.
When the provider asks for DNS verification
An allowlist in your own application and a provider's domain-ownership check are different steps. For Google Cloud Identity or Microsoft Entra ID, PigeonProbe can publish the supported verification TXT at an enabled hosted subdomain while mail keeps arriving here.
Both providers have accepted records published through PigeonProbe on our Steeltype test subdomain. Read the verification workflow and contact support to request activation for your domain before setting it up. Creating an account or selecting a plan does not automatically enable managed verification.
For a third-party signup, check whether that service accepts hosted subdomains and test-email addresses. PigeonProbe provides the receiving subdomain; the service you are testing decides its admission rules.
Put it into your next test run
Try this workflow with your normal sender and a PigeonProbe test address. Open the received message in the app, then bring the same check into CI when you are ready. Compare plans and trial limits.
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