smartmta/test/readme.md

Mailer SMTP Test Suite (Deno)

Comprehensive SMTP server and client test suite ported from dcrouter to Deno-native testing.

Test Framework

• Framework: Deno native testing (Deno.test)
• Assertions: @std/assert from Deno standard library
• Run Command: deno test --allow-all --no-check test/
• Run Single Test: deno test --allow-all --no-check test/suite/smtpserver_commands/test.cmd-01.ehlo-command.test.ts

Test Infrastructure

Helpers (test/helpers/)

• server.loader.ts - Test SMTP server lifecycle management

  • Start/stop test servers with configurable options
  • TLS certificate handling
  • Mock email processing
  • Port management utilities

• utils.ts - SMTP protocol test utilities

  • TCP connection management (Deno-native)
  • SMTP command sending/receiving
  • Protocol handshake helpers
  • MIME message creation
  • Retry and timing utilities

• smtp.client.ts - SMTP client test utilities

  • Test client creation with various configurations
  • Email sending helpers
  • Connection pooling testing
  • Throughput measurement

Fixtures (test/fixtures/)

• test-cert.pem - Self-signed certificate for TLS testing
• test-key.pem - Private key for TLS testing

Test Suite Organization

All tests follow the naming convention: test.<category-id>.<description>.test.ts

Test Categories

1. Connection Management (CM) - smtpserver_connection/

Tests for SMTP connection handling, TLS support, and connection lifecycle.

ID	Test	Priority	Status
CM-01	TLS Connection	High	✅ PORTED
CM-02	Multiple Simultaneous Connections	High	Planned
CM-03	Connection Timeout	High	Planned
CM-06	STARTTLS Upgrade	High	Planned
CM-10	Plain Connection	Low	Planned

2. SMTP Commands (CMD) - smtpserver_commands/

Tests for SMTP protocol command implementation.

ID	Test	Priority	Status
CMD-01	EHLO Command	High	✅ PORTED
CMD-02	MAIL FROM Command	High	✅ PORTED
CMD-03	RCPT TO Command	High	✅ PORTED
CMD-04	DATA Command	High	✅ PORTED
CMD-06	RSET Command	Medium	✅ PORTED
CMD-13	QUIT Command	High	✅ PORTED

3. Email Processing (EP) - smtpserver_email-processing/

Tests for email content handling, parsing, and delivery.

ID	Test	Priority	Status
EP-01	Basic Email Sending	High	✅ PORTED
EP-02	Invalid Email Address Handling	High	Planned
EP-04	Large Email Handling	High	Planned
EP-05	MIME Handling	High	Planned

4. Security (SEC) - smtpserver_security/

Tests for security features and protections.

ID	Test	Priority	Status
SEC-01	Authentication	High	✅ PORTED
SEC-03	DKIM Processing	High	Planned
SEC-04	SPF Checking	High	Planned
SEC-06	IP Reputation Checking	High	✅ PORTED
SEC-08	Rate Limiting	High	Planned
SEC-10	Header Injection Prevention	High	Planned

5. Error Handling (ERR) - smtpserver_error-handling/

Tests for proper error handling and recovery.

ID	Test	Priority	Status
ERR-01	Syntax Error Handling	High	✅ PORTED
ERR-02	Invalid Sequence Handling	High	✅ PORTED
ERR-05	Resource Exhaustion	High	Planned
ERR-07	Exception Handling	High	Planned

Currently Ported Tests

✅ CMD-01: EHLO Command (test.cmd-01.ehlo-command.test.ts)

Tests: 5 total (5 passing)

• Server startup/shutdown
• EHLO response with proper capabilities
• Invalid hostname handling
• Command pipelining (multiple EHLO)

Key validations:

• ✓ Server advertises SIZE capability
• ✓ Server advertises 8BITMIME capability
• ✓ Last capability line uses "250 " (space, not hyphen)
• ✓ Server handles invalid hostnames gracefully
• ✓ Second EHLO resets session state

✅ CMD-02: MAIL FROM Command (test.cmd-02.mail-from.test.ts)

Tests: 6 total (6 passing)

• Valid sender address acceptance
• Invalid sender address rejection
• SIZE parameter support
• Command sequence enforcement

Key validations:

• ✓ Accepts valid email formats
• ✓ Accepts IP literals (user@[192.168.1.1])
• ✓ Rejects malformed addresses
• ✓ Supports SIZE parameter
• ✓ Enforces EHLO before MAIL FROM

✅ CMD-03: RCPT TO Command (test.cmd-03.rcpt-to.test.ts)

Tests: 7 total (7 passing)

• Valid recipient address acceptance
• Multiple recipients support
• Invalid recipient address rejection
• Command sequence enforcement
• RSET clears recipients

Key validations:

• ✓ Accepts valid recipient formats
• ✓ Accepts IP literals and subdomains
• ✓ Supports multiple recipients per transaction
• ✓ Rejects invalid email addresses
• ✓ Enforces RCPT TO after MAIL FROM
• ✓ RSET properly clears recipient list

✅ CMD-04: DATA Command (test.cmd-04.data-command.test.ts)

Tests: 7 total (7 passing)

• Email data transmission after RCPT TO
• Rejection without RCPT TO
• Dot-stuffing handling
• Large message support
• Command sequence enforcement

Key validations:

• ✓ Accepts email data with proper terminator
• ✓ Returns 354 to start data input
• ✓ Returns 250 after successful email acceptance
• ✓ Rejects DATA without MAIL FROM
• ✓ Handles dot-stuffed content correctly
• ✓ Supports large messages (10KB+)

✅ CMD-06: RSET Command (test.cmd-06.rset-command.test.ts)

Tests: 8 total (8 passing)

• RSET after MAIL FROM
• RSET after RCPT TO
• Multiple consecutive RSET commands
• RSET without active transaction
• RSET clears all recipients
• RSET with parameters (ignored)

Key validations:

• ✓ Responds with 250 OK
• ✓ Resets transaction state after MAIL FROM
• ✓ Clears recipients requiring new MAIL FROM
• ✓ Idempotent (multiple RSETs work)
• ✓ Works without active transaction
• ✓ Clears all recipients from transaction
• ✓ Ignores parameters as per RFC

✅ CMD-13: QUIT Command (test.cmd-13.quit-command.test.ts)

Tests: 7 total (7 passing)

• Graceful connection termination
• QUIT after MAIL FROM
• QUIT after complete transaction
• Idempotent QUIT handling
• Immediate QUIT without EHLO

Key validations:

• ✓ Returns 221 Service closing
• ✓ Works at any point in SMTP session
• ✓ Properly closes connection
• ✓ Handles multiple QUIT commands gracefully
• ✓ Allows immediate QUIT after greeting

✅ CM-01: TLS Connection (test.cm-01.tls-connection.test.ts)

Tests: 8 total (8 passing)

• Server advertises STARTTLS capability
• STARTTLS command initiates upgrade
• Direct TLS connection support
• STARTTLS not available after already started
• STARTTLS requires EHLO first
• Connection accepts commands after TLS
• Server lifecycle management

Key validations:

• ✓ STARTTLS advertised in EHLO capabilities
• ✓ STARTTLS command responds with 220 Ready
• ✓ Direct TLS connections work (with self-signed certs)
• ✓ Second STARTTLS properly rejected
• ✓ STARTTLS before EHLO handled correctly
• ✓ TLS upgrade process validated

✅ EP-01: Basic Email Sending (test.ep-01.basic-email-sending.test.ts)

Tests: 7 total (7 passing)

• Complete SMTP transaction flow (CONNECT → EHLO → MAIL FROM → RCPT TO → DATA → CONTENT → QUIT)
• Email with MIME attachment (multipart/mixed)
• HTML email (multipart/alternative)
• Email with custom headers (X-Custom-Header, X-Priority, Reply-To, etc.)
• Minimal email (body only, no headers)
• Server lifecycle management

Key validations:

• ✓ Complete email lifecycle from greeting to QUIT
• ✓ MIME multipart messages with attachments
• ✓ HTML email with plain text fallback
• ✓ Custom header support (X-*, Reply-To, Organization)
• ✓ Minimal email content accepted
• ✓ Email queuing and processing confirmed

✅ SEC-06: IP Reputation Checking (test.sec-06.ip-reputation.test.ts)

Tests: 7 total (7 passing)

• IP reputation check accepts localhost connections
• Known good senders accepted
• Multiple connections from same IP handled
• Complete SMTP flow with reputation check
• Infrastructure placeholder test
• Server lifecycle management

Key validations:

• ✓ IP reputation infrastructure in place
• ✓ Localhost connections accepted after reputation check
• ✓ Legitimate senders and recipients accepted
• ✓ Multiple concurrent connections handled properly
• ✓ Complete email transaction works with IP checks
• ✓ IPReputationChecker class exists (placeholder implementation)

Note: Current implementation uses placeholder IP reputation checker that accepts all legitimate traffic. Infrastructure is ready for future implementation of real IP reputation databases, blacklist checking, and suspicious pattern detection.

✅ ERR-01: Syntax Error Handling (test.err-01.syntax-errors.test.ts)

Tests: 10 total (10 passing)

• Rejects invalid commands
• Rejects MAIL FROM without brackets
• Rejects RCPT TO without brackets
• Rejects EHLO without hostname
• Handles commands with extra parameters
• Rejects malformed email addresses
• Rejects commands in wrong sequence
• Handles excessively long commands
• Server lifecycle management

Key validations:

• ✓ Invalid commands rejected with 500/502 error codes
• ✓ MAIL FROM requires angle brackets (501 error if missing)
• ✓ RCPT TO requires angle brackets (501 error if missing)
• ✓ EHLO requires hostname parameter (501 error if missing)
• ✓ Extra parameters on QUIT handled (501 syntax error)
• ✓ Malformed email addresses rejected (501 error)
• ✓ Commands in wrong sequence rejected (503 error)
• ✓ Excessively long commands handled gracefully

✅ ERR-02: Invalid Sequence Handling (test.err-02.invalid-sequence.test.ts)

Tests: 10 total (10 passing)

• Rejects MAIL FROM before EHLO
• Rejects RCPT TO before MAIL FROM
• Rejects DATA before RCPT TO (RFC 5321 compliance)
• Allows multiple EHLO commands
• Handles second MAIL FROM without RSET
• Rejects DATA without MAIL FROM
• Handles commands after QUIT
• Recovers from syntax errors in sequence
• Server lifecycle management

Key validations:

• ✓ MAIL FROM requires EHLO first (503 error if missing)
• ✓ RCPT TO requires MAIL FROM first (503 error if missing)
• ✓ DATA requires RCPT TO with at least one recipient (503 error if missing)
• ✓ Multiple EHLO commands allowed (resets session state)
• ✓ Commands after QUIT handled correctly (connection closed)
• ✓ Session recovers from syntax errors without terminating
• ✓ RFC 5321 compliance: strict command sequence enforcement

Running Tests

Run All Tests

deno test --allow-all --no-check test/

Run Specific Category

# SMTP commands tests
deno test --allow-all --no-check test/suite/smtpserver_commands/

# Connection tests
deno test --allow-all --no-check test/suite/smtpserver_connection/

Run Single Test File

deno test --allow-all --no-check test/suite/smtpserver_commands/test.cmd-01.ehlo-command.test.ts

Run with Verbose Output

deno test --allow-all --no-check --trace-leaks test/

Test Development Guidelines

Writing New Tests

1. Use Deno.test() format:

Deno.test({
  name: 'CMD-XX: Description of test',
  async fn() {
    // Test implementation
  },
  sanitizeResources: false,  // Required for network tests
  sanitizeOps: false,        // Required for network tests
});

2. Import assertions from @std/assert:

import { assert, assertEquals, assertMatch } from '@std/assert';

3. Use test helpers:

import { startTestServer, stopTestServer } from '../../helpers/server.loader.ts';
import { connectToSmtp, sendSmtpCommand } from '../../helpers/utils.ts';

4. Always cleanup:

• Close connections with closeSmtpConnection() or conn.close()
• Stop test servers with stopTestServer()
• Use try/finally blocks for guaranteed cleanup

5. Test isolation:

• Each test file uses its own port (e.g., CMD-01 uses 25251, CMD-02 uses 25252)
• Setup and cleanup tests ensure clean state

Key Differences from dcrouter Tests

Framework

• Before: @git.zone/tstest/tapbundle (Node.js)
• After: Deno.test (native)

Assertions

• Before: expect(x).toBeTruthy(), expect(x).toEqual(y)
• After: assert(x), assertEquals(x, y), assertMatch(x, regex)

Network I/O

• Before: Node.js net module
• After: Deno Deno.connect() / Deno.listen()

Imports

• Before: .js extensions, Node-style imports
• After: .ts extensions, Deno-style imports

Test Priorities

Phase 1: Core SMTP Functionality (High Priority) ✅ COMPLETE

• ✅ CMD-01: EHLO Command
• ✅ CMD-02: MAIL FROM Command
• ✅ CMD-03: RCPT TO Command
• ✅ CMD-04: DATA Command
• ✅ CMD-13: QUIT Command
• ✅ CM-01: TLS Connection
• ✅ EP-01: Basic Email Sending

Phase 2: Security & Validation (High Priority)

• 🔄 SEC-01: Authentication
• ✅ SEC-06: IP Reputation
• 🔄 SEC-08: Rate Limiting
• 🔄 SEC-10: Header Injection Prevention
• ✅ ERR-01: Syntax Error Handling
• ✅ ERR-02: Invalid Sequence Handling

Phase 3: Advanced Features (Medium Priority)

• 🔄 SEC-03: DKIM Processing
• 🔄 SEC-04: SPF Checking
• 🔄 EP-04: Large Email Handling
• 🔄 EP-05: MIME Handling
• 🔄 CM-02: Multiple Connections
• 🔄 CM-06: STARTTLS Upgrade

Phase 4: Complete Coverage (All Remaining)

• All performance tests
• All reliability tests
• All edge case tests
• All RFC compliance tests
• SMTP client tests

Current Status

Infrastructure: ✅ Complete

• Deno-native test helpers (utils.ts, server.loader.ts, smtp.client.ts)
• Server lifecycle management
• SMTP protocol utilities with readSmtpResponse helper
• Test certificates (self-signed RSA)

Tests Ported: 11/100+ test files (82 total tests passing)

• ✅ CMD-01: EHLO Command (5 tests passing)
• ✅ CMD-02: MAIL FROM Command (6 tests passing)
• ✅ CMD-03: RCPT TO Command (7 tests passing)
• ✅ CMD-04: DATA Command (7 tests passing)
• ✅ CMD-06: RSET Command (8 tests passing)
• ✅ CMD-13: QUIT Command (7 tests passing)
• ✅ CM-01: TLS Connection (8 tests passing)
• ✅ EP-01: Basic Email Sending (7 tests passing)
• ✅ SEC-06: IP Reputation Checking (7 tests passing)
• ✅ ERR-01: Syntax Error Handling (10 tests passing)
• ✅ ERR-02: Invalid Sequence Handling (10 tests passing)

Coverage: Complete essential SMTP transaction flow

• EHLO → MAIL FROM → RCPT TO → DATA → QUIT ✅
• TLS/STARTTLS support ✅
• Complete email lifecycle (MIME, HTML, custom headers) ✅

Phase 1 Status: ✅ COMPLETE (7/7 tests, 100%)

Phase 2 Status: 🔄 IN PROGRESS (3/6 tests, 50%)

• ✅ SEC-06: IP Reputation
• ✅ ERR-01: Syntax Errors
• ✅ ERR-02: Invalid Sequence
• 🔄 SEC-01: Authentication
• 🔄 SEC-08: Rate Limiting
• 🔄 SEC-10: Header Injection

Next Steps:

1. Port SEC-01: Authentication test
2. Port SEC-08: Rate Limiting test
3. Port SEC-10: Header Injection Prevention test
4. Continue with Phase 3 (Advanced Features)

Production Readiness Criteria

Gate 1: Core Functionality (>90% tests passing)

• Basic SMTP command handling
• Connection management
• Email delivery
• Error handling

Gate 2: Security (>95% tests passing)

• Authentication mechanisms
• TLS/STARTTLS support
• Rate limiting
• Injection prevention

Gate 3: Enterprise Ready (>85% tests passing)

• Full RFC compliance
• Performance under load
• Advanced security features
• Complete edge case handling

Contributing

When porting tests from dcrouter:

1. Maintain test IDs and organization
2. Convert to Deno.test() format
3. Use @std/assert for assertions
4. Update imports to .ts extensions
5. Use Deno-native TCP connections
6. Preserve test logic and validations
7. Add sanitizeResources: false, sanitizeOps: false for network tests
8. Update this README with ported tests

Resources

• Deno Testing
• Deno Standard Library - Assert
• RFC 5321 - SMTP
• RFC 5322 - Internet Message Format