When you implement email delivery in a web application, you inevitably run into questions like:
- Was this email actually sent?
- Why didn’t a specific user receive it?
These investigations come up on a regular basis.
In some cases, delivery stats in the admin panel are enough.
But tracing details such as when an email was sent, what state it ended up in, or whether it was bounced or opened often turns into a surprisingly tedious task.
Recently, I noticed that SendGrid has added a feature called Email Logs
(I’m not sure exactly when it was released).
Since I haven’t seen many articles covering it, this post focuses on how Email Logs are useful in real-world operations.
What Are Email Logs?
Email Logs let you inspect individual emails sent via SendGrid and see their status directly in the dashboard, including:
- Sent
- Delivered
- Bounced
- Dropped
Unlike Stats, which are meant for aggregated data, Email Logs allow you to trace the history of a single email.
Difference from Activity Feed
SendGrid already has a similar feature called Activity Feed, but it comes with limitations:
- On the free plan, history is limited to 3 or 7 days
- Viewing the last 30 days requires a paid plan
With Email Logs, although there is a limit of up to 1,000 entries, you can view a list of emails sent within the last 30 days directly in the dashboard.
Why This Is Useful
Email Logs can be filtered using conditions such as:
- Recipient email address
- Message ID
- Status (Delivered / Bounced, etc.)
- Time range
This makes it possible to find:
“That email we sent to this user yesterday”
in just a few seconds.
For common questions during support or internal checks —
“Was that email really sent?” — Email Logs let you answer almost immediately.
Summary
Email Logs aren’t a flashy new feature, but they significantly reduce friction in day-to-day operations, especially for:
- Initial investigation during incidents
- Quick checks between customer support and engineers
- Verifying email delivery in production
If you’re using SendGrid, this feature is well worth a look.
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