Title: Smackcoders MailPilot Author: Smackcoders Inc., Published: October 27, 2026 Last modified: October 27, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/smackcoders-mailpilot/assets/banner-772x250.jpg?rev=3767914) ![](https://ps.w.org/smackcoders-mailpilot/assets/icon.svg?rev=3767914) # Smackcoders MailPilot By [Smackcoders Inc.,](https://profiles.wordpress.org/smackcoders/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/smackcoders-mailpilot.1.0.zip) * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/smackcoders-mailpilot/#description) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/smackcoders-mailpilot/#reviews) * [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/smackcoders-mailpilot/#installation) * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/smackcoders-mailpilot/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/smackcoders-mailpilot/) ## Description **MailPilot** fixes the most common reason your WordPress site email goes missing: the default PHP `mail()` function, which most hosts either throttle, block outright, or simply never deliver. MailPilot replaces it with **a proper SMTP connection or a dedicated transactional email API**, then gives you a **Dashboard**, an **Email Log**, and a **Test Email** tool so you never have to guess whether your site’s password resets, order confirmations, or contact form notifications actually went out. Every feature in the free version is fully functional with no trial period, usage limit, or license key. **[MailPilot Pro](https://www.smackcoders.com/mailpilot-wordpress-smtp-plugin.html?utm_source=mailpilot&utm_medium=plugin&utm_campaign=readme)** exists as a separate, optional upgrade (sold on our website) for teams that need failover, smart routing, analytics, and other advanced capabilities, covered further down. ### What Can MailPilot Do? * Replace unreliable PHP `mail()` with a real SMTP connection or a transactional email API * Walk you through first-run setup with a guided, five-step wizard * Show 7-day send health, failure counts, and your active mailer on one Dashboard * Log every email your site sends, with configurable retention, filtering, manual purge, and GDPR delete * Send a test email or validate your mailer connection without sending anything * Force a consistent From name and From email across every plugin and theme ### Dashboard The **Dashboard** is the first screen MailPilot opens to, built around one question, is outgoing mail actually working right now. It shows how many emails sent successfully in the last 7 days, how many failed, and which mailer is currently active, then backs all three with **Quick Actions** for sending a test email, jumping to Providers/ Mailer, or opening the full Email Log. If nothing has been logged yet, the Dashboard says so plainly instead of showing empty numbers. ### Setup Wizard New installs land in a short, five-step **Setup Wizard**, Welcome, Mailer, From email, Test, and Done. It walks you through choosing a mailer, entering the From address your site should send as, and optionally firing off a first test email before you ever touch a settings page directly. Once setup is marked complete, the wizard stays available to revisit at any time, it simply stops interrupting your Dashboard with a setup reminder. ### Providers / Mailer Connect WordPress to the mailer of your choice from one screen. MailPilot supports** Generic SMTP** plus a wide set of free API mailers, with several marked as recommended for most sites: * Generic SMTP * SendLayer * Brevo * SMTP.com * Mailgun * SendGrid * Postmark * SparkPost * Gmail via App Password * Elastic Email * Mailjet * MailerSend * SMTP2GO * Resend Pick a mailer, fill in its specific credentials, such as an app password and port for Gmail, and save, MailPilot handles the rest of the SMTP or API handshake. ### Email Log Every email MailPilot sends is recorded in the **Email Log**, with the recipient, subject, timestamp, and success or failure status, filterable by status and date range. It provides email logging with configurable retention, manual purge, and a **GDPR-style delete-by-recipient** tool for removing a specific person’s logged emails on request. ### Test Email Before trusting a new mailer with real traffic, use the **Test Email** screen to either validate the connection without sending anything, or send an actual test message to an address of your choice with a custom subject. A **Test Send History** table underneath keeps a running record of exactly which tests you’ve sent, when, and whether each one succeeded. ### Settings Set the **From name** and **From email** WordPress should use for every outgoing message, configure email logging preferences, and optionally enable **Force From email for all outgoing mail** so individual plugins and themes can’t quietly override it with their own value. A separate Privacy option, **Delete all MailPilot data on uninstall**, controls whether MailPilot deletes its own settings and logs automatically when the plugin is uninstalled. ### Free vs Pro **MailPilot’s free version is permanently free, it is not a limited trial of MailPilot Pro.** The six capabilities above, Dashboard, Setup Wizard, a full set of SMTP and API mailers, Email Log, Test Email, and Settings, are everything most single-site WordPress installs need to **send mail reliably**. **[MailPilot Pro](https://www.smackcoders.com/mailpilot-wordpress-smtp-plugin.html?utm_source=mailpilot&utm_medium=plugin&utm_campaign=readme)** is a separate, optional upgrade for sites and agencies that need deeper delivery control, reporting, and automation on top of the free foundation: * Automatic Failover, switching to a backup mailer once your primary mailer crosses a failure threshold * Smart Routing, sending each email through the first mailer that matches your own rules * Async Queue, holding sends with automatic retry, throttling, and dead-letter handling for messages that still fail * Failure Alerts, notifying you by Email, Slack, Teams, Discord, or a custom Webhook the moment a send fails * Analytics, charting sent, failed, opens, and clicks over time, with CSV export * Open & Click Tracking, an invisible open pixel plus link click tracking * WooCommerce Integration, mapping a specific mailer to each WooCommerce email type with its own notification controls * Multisite Network Mailer, one network-wide mailer configuration with per-site overrides * White Label, rebranding MailPilot’s own admin screens under your name * DMARC Insights, surfacing DMARC alignment data for your sending domain * Reputation Tools, tracking sender reputation signals over time * Additional Pro Mailers, Amazon SES, Microsoft 365 OAuth, Gmail OAuth, Mandrill, and Zoho Mail None of this is required to use MailPilot well, it is there for sites that have outgrown a single mailer and need advanced routing or analytics. ### Privacy MailPilot stores the following in your WordPress database: * Email Log entries: recipient, sender name and email, subject, timestamp, send status, provider message ID, error message (if any), headers (which may include CC/BCC addresses), and attachment file names. MailPilot does not store message bodies or attachment contents. * Test Send History: recipient, subject, time, and result of each test email. * Mailer settings and credentials (API keys, SMTP passwords), stored in the wp_options table. Credentials are stored unencrypted, as with most WordPress plugin settings, so only trusted administrators should have database access. Logs are deleted automatically after the retention period you choose (default 7 days), or kept until you delete them. You can purge all logs, or delete all entries for one recipient, from the Email Log screen. MailPilot does not send any data to Smackcoders. Email content is sent only to the mail provider or SMTP server you configure (see External services). If you enable “Delete all MailPilot data on uninstall”, all settings and logs are removed when the plugin is deleted. ### External services MailPilot sends your site’s email through the third-party provider you choose. It connects only to the single provider you set as your active mailer, and only when: 1. WordPress sends an email, 2. you send a test email, or 3. you click “Validate connection” (this sends only your credentials, no message). With each request MailPilot sends your API key or SMTP credentials for authentication. When sending email, it also sends the recipient(s), sender name and email, subject, message body, headers, and attachments. Below are the external services supported by MailPilot: * **SendLayer** - Service: Cloud-based transactional email delivery API (https://console.sendlayer. com/api/v1). - Data sent: Recipient email address, sender name and email, subject, message body (HTML and plain text), attachments, and headers sent upon email dispatch or connection testing. - Terms of Service: https://sendlayer.com/terms-of-service/ - Privacy Policy: https://sendlayer.com/privacy-policy/ * **SMTP.com** - Service: Transactional email delivery and sender reputation API (https://api. smtp.com/v4). - Data sent: Sender email, recipient email, subject line, message body, headers, and attachments sent during email sending or channel validation. - Terms of Service: https://www.smtp.com/policies/terms-of-service/ - Privacy Policy: https://www.smtp.com/policies/privacy-policy/ * **Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)** - Service: Transactional email delivery API (https://api.brevo.com/v3). - Data sent: Recipient, sender name/email, subject, email body, headers, and attachments sent upon email delivery or connection validation. - Terms of Service: https://www.brevo.com/legal/termsofuse/ - Privacy Policy: https://www.brevo.com/legal/privacypolicy/ * **SendGrid (Twilio)** - Service: Transactional email delivery API (https://api.sendgrid.com/v3). - Data sent: Recipient email address, sender email, subject, email content, headers, and attachments sent upon email dispatch. - Terms of Service: https://www.twilio.com/en-us/legal/tos - Privacy Policy: https://www.twilio.com/en-us/legal/privacy * **Mailgun** - Service: Transactional email delivery API (https://api.mailgun.net or https:// api.eu.mailgun.net). - Data sent: Recipient email address, sender email address, subject, message body, headers, and attachments sent upon email dispatch. - Terms of Service: https://www.mailgun.com/legal/terms/ - Privacy Policy: https://www.mailgun.com/legal/privacy-policy/ * **Postmark** - Service: Transactional email delivery API (https://api.postmarkapp.com). - Data sent: Recipient, sender, subject line, HTML/text body, headers, and attachments sent upon email dispatch or connection testing. - Terms of Service: https://postmarkapp.com/terms-of-service - Privacy Policy: https://postmarkapp.com/privacy-policy * **SparkPost** - Service: Cloud email delivery API (https://api.sparkpost.com/api/v1 or https:// api.eu.sparkpost.com/api/v1). - Data sent: Recipient address, sender address, subject, email body, headers, and attachments sent during email transmission. - Terms of Service: https://www.sparkpost.com/policies/terms/ - Privacy Policy: https://www.sparkpost.com/policies/privacy/ * **Elastic Email** - Service: Email delivery API (https://api.elasticemail.com/v4). - Data sent: Recipient email address, sender email address, subject, email body, attachments, and headers sent during email dispatch. - Terms of Service: https://elasticemail.com/resources/usage-policies/terms- of-use - Privacy Policy: https://elasticemail.com/resources/usage-policies/privacy- policy * **Mailjet** - Service: Transactional email delivery API (https://api.mailjet.com/v3.1). - Data sent: Recipient email address, sender email address, subject, email content, attachments, and headers sent during email transmission. - Terms of Service: https://www.mailjet.com/legal/terms-and-conditions/ - Privacy Policy: https://www.mailjet.com/legal/privacy-policy/ * **MailerSend** - Service: Transactional email delivery API (https://api.mailersend.com/v1). - Data sent: Recipient email, sender name/email, subject, body, attachments, and headers sent during email transmission. - Terms of Service: https://www.mailersend.com/legal/terms-of-service - Privacy Policy: https://www.mailersend.com/legal/privacy-policy * **SMTP2GO** - Service: Outbound email delivery API (https://api.smtp2go.com/v3). - Data sent: Recipient, sender, subject, email body, attachments, and headers sent during email dispatch or connection validation. - Terms of Service: https://www.smtp2go.com/terms/ - Privacy Policy: https://www.smtp2go.com/privacy/ * **Resend** - Service: Modern email delivery API (https://api.resend.com/emails). - Data sent: Recipient, sender, subject line, email body, attachments, and headers sent during email dispatch. - Terms of Service: https://resend.com/legal/terms-of-service - Privacy Policy: https://resend.com/legal/privacy-policy * **Google / Gmail (App Password)** - Service: Google SMTP relay service (smtp.gmail.com). - Data sent: Outbound email messages are transmitted via secure SMTP through Google servers using your Gmail address and application password. - Terms of Service: https://policies.google.com/terms - Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy * **Other / Custom SMTP** - Service: Any custom third-party or hosting SMTP server configured by the administrator. - Data sent: Outbound email messages are routed directly to the host specified in your SMTP settings. Your use is governed by the terms and privacy policy of your SMTP host. ### Documentation and Support [MailPilot Documentation](https://www.smackcoders.com/documentation/mailpilot?utm_source=mailpilot&utm_medium=plugin&utm_campaign=readme) [MailPilot Product Page](https://www.smackcoders.com/mailpilot-wordpress-smtp-plugin.html?utm_source=mailpilot&utm_medium=plugin&utm_campaign=readme) [MailPilot Support](https://www.smackcoders.com/support.html?utm_source=mailpilot&utm_medium=plugin&utm_campaign=readme) ## Screenshots [⌊Dashboard: 7-day send health, failure count, active mailer and Quick Actions⌉⌊ Dashboard: 7-day send health, failure count, active mailer and Quick Actions⌉[ Dashboard: 7-day send health, failure count, active mailer and Quick Actions [⌊Setup Wizard: guided five-step first-run setup⌉⌊Setup Wizard: guided five-step first-run setup⌉[ Setup Wizard: guided five-step first-run setup [⌊Providers / Mailer: choose and configure any supported SMTP or API mailer⌉⌊Providers/ Mailer: choose and configure any supported SMTP or API mailer⌉[ Providers / Mailer: choose and configure any supported SMTP or API mailer [⌊Email Log: filter, purge and GDPR-delete logged emails⌉⌊Email Log: filter, purge and GDPR-delete logged emails⌉[ Email Log: filter, purge and GDPR-delete logged emails [⌊Test Email: validate your connection or send a test message⌉⌊Test Email: validate your connection or send a test message⌉[ Test Email: validate your connection or send a test message [⌊Settings: set your From name and email and control data removal⌉⌊Settings: set your From name and email and control data removal⌉[ Settings: set your From name and email and control data removal ## Installation #### Install From the WordPress Dashboard 1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard. 2. Go to **Plugins Add New**. 3. Search for **MailPilot**. 4. Click **Install Now**. 5. Click **Activate**. 6. Open **MailPilot** from the WordPress dashboard, this opens the Setup Wizard automatically on a fresh install. 7. Follow the wizard to choose your mailer, set your From email, and optionally send a first test email. #### Manual Installation 1. Download MailPilot from WordPress.org. 2. Extract the plugin ZIP file. 3. Upload the `smackcoders-mailpilot` directory to `/wp-content/plugins/`. 4. Log in to WordPress. 5. Go to **Plugins Installed Plugins**. 6. Activate **MailPilot**. 7. Open MailPilot and complete the Setup Wizard to configure your mailer. ## FAQ ### Is MailPilot really free? Yes. The Dashboard, Setup Wizard, all 14 free mailers, Email Log, Test Email and Settings are included permanently. There is no trial period. ### Why isn’t WordPress sending email at all? Most shared hosts either block or badly throttle PHP’s built-in `mail()` function, which is what WordPress uses by default for password resets, notifications, and contact form messages. Installing MailPilot and completing the **Setup Wizard** replaces that unreliable default with a proper SMTP connection or transactional email API, which is usually enough to fix delivery immediately. ### Which mailers does the free version support? Generic SMTP, plus a set of free API mailers, SendLayer, Brevo, SMTP.com, Mailgun, SendGrid, Postmark, SparkPost, Gmail via App Password, Elastic Email, Mailjet, MailerSend, SMTP2GO, and Resend. Additional mailers, including Amazon SES, Microsoft 365 OAuth, Gmail OAuth, Mandrill, and Zoho Mail, are available in **[MailPilot Pro](https://www.smackcoders.com/mailpilot-wordpress-smtp-plugin.html?utm_source=mailpilot&utm_medium=plugin&utm_campaign=readme)**. ### Can I use my Gmail account to send WordPress email? Yes, using a Google App Password. Select **Google / Gmail (App Password)** on the Providers / Mailer screen, enter your full Gmail address and a 16 character App Password, and save. Gmail OAuth, which avoids managing an App Password, is available in [MailPilot Pro](https://www.smackcoders.com/mailpilot-wordpress-smtp-plugin.html?utm_source=mailpilot&utm_medium=plugin&utm_campaign=readme). ### Does MailPilot log the emails my site sends? Yes. Every email is recorded on the **Email Log** screen with its recipient, subject, timestamp, and success or failure status, filterable by status and date range. You can configure the retention period or purge logs manually. ### How do I send a test email? Open **Test Email**, enter a recipient address and subject, and click **Send test email**. You can also click **Validate connection** first if you only want to confirm your mailer settings without actually sending a message. ### Can I delete a specific person’s logged emails? Yes. The **Email Log** screen includes a GDPR-style delete option, enter the recipient’s address and MailPilot removes every logged email sent to that address. ### What happens to my settings and logs if I uninstall MailPilot? That’s your choice. A toggle on the Settings screen, **Delete all MailPilot data on uninstall**, controls whether uninstalling the plugin also deletes all of MailPilot’s stored settings and logs, it is off by default so nothing is removed automatically. ### Can other plugins override the From email I’ve set? Not if you enable **Force From email for all outgoing mail** on the Settings screen. Once switched on, MailPilot applies your saved From email to every outgoing message regardless of what an individual plugin or theme tries to set. ### What is the difference between MailPilot and MailPilot Pro? MailPilot, the free version, covers everything needed to send, log, and test WordPress email reliably, a Dashboard, Setup Wizard, a broad set of SMTP and API mailers, Email Log, Test Email, and Settings. **[MailPilot Pro](https://www.smackcoders.com/mailpilot-wordpress-smtp-plugin.html?utm_source=mailpilot&utm_medium=plugin&utm_campaign=readme)** adds failover, smart routing, an async send queue, failure alerts, analytics, open and click tracking, WooCommerce integration, multisite support, white labeling, DMARC insights, reputation tools, and additional mailers for sites that need that extra depth. ### Where can I find documentation or get help? Documentation is available at the [MailPilot Documentation Hub](https://www.smackcoders.com/documentation/mailpilot?utm_source=mailpilot&utm_medium=plugin&utm_campaign=readme), and you can reach the team directly through [MailPilot Support](https://www.smackcoders.com/support.html?utm_source=mailpilot&utm_medium=plugin&utm_campaign=readme). ## Reviews There are no reviews for this plugin. ## Contributors & Developers “Smackcoders MailPilot” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ Smackcoders Inc., ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/smackcoders/) * [ fenzik ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/fenzik/) * [ Prema Iruthayarajan ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/premairuthayarajan/) * [ smackdevsupport ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/smackmarketing/) [Translate “Smackcoders MailPilot” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/smackcoders-mailpilot) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/smackcoders-mailpilot/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/smackcoders-mailpilot/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/smackcoders-mailpilot/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/smackcoders-mailpilot/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 1.0 * Added: Dashboard with 7-day send health and quick actions. * Added: Setup wizard for first-run mailer, From address, and optional test send. * Added: Generic SMTP and Free API mailers (SendLayer, Brevo, SMTP.com, Mailgun, SendGrid, Postmark, SparkPost, Gmail App Password, Elastic Email, Mailjet, MailerSend, SMTP2GO, Resend). * Added: Email logging with filters, purge, GDPR delete, and configurable retention. * Added: Test email and connection check tools. * Added: Settings for From name/email, Force From, and uninstall data wipe. ## Meta * Version **1.0** * Last updated **4 days ago** * Active installations **Fewer than 10** * WordPress version ** 6.2 or higher ** * Tested up to **7.1.4** * PHP version ** 8.1 or higher ** * Tags * [email](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/email/)[email log](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/email-log/) [mailer](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/mailer/)[smtp](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/smtp/) [wp-mail](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/wp-mail/) * [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/smackcoders-mailpilot/advanced/) ## Ratings No reviews have been submitted yet. [Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/smackcoders-mailpilot/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/smackcoders-mailpilot/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ Smackcoders Inc., ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/smackcoders/) * [ fenzik ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/fenzik/) * [ Prema Iruthayarajan ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/premairuthayarajan/) * [ smackdevsupport ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/smackmarketing/) ## Support Got something to say? Need help? [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/smackcoders-mailpilot/) ## Donate Would you like to support the advancement of this plugin? [ Donate to this plugin ](https://www.smackcoders.com/contact-us.html)