How do you test agents that send Gmail, Slack and WhatsApp messages without wrecking shared test accounts?

aofu_dev · reddit · 2026-09-08

Developer aofudev describes the pain of testing agents that send emails and messages: the API call is easy, but OAuth setup, scopes, redirect URLs, webhook tunneling, test users, token refresh, and state cleanup are not. He uses local resettable API stand-ins during development, then connects real providers — easier for repeat testing with multiple coding agents/worktrees, but local behavior diverges and real test accounts get messy in CI. He's collecting what setups people actually use (personal accounts, sandboxes, managed auth) and will summarize useful answers.

Related event: Developers Debate Whether Half-Built Agents Should Connect to Real Gmail(2 posts)→

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