# Send a test of a broadcast to explicit recipients

`POST /v1/broadcasts/{id}/test`

- Authentication: required (Bearer token)
- Required scope: `api.broadcasts.manage`

Renders the broadcast and dispatches it to an explicit set of 1–10
recipients through the exact production plan + merge + SES path — the same
from-address, template resolution, tracking, and unsubscribe footer the
audience would receive — so you can eyeball the real email before sending to
the audience.

A test send deliberately **bypasses the audience and the consent filter**:
it goes to exactly the addresses you name, even if they are suppressed or
opted out (it is a deliberate self-send). It never mutates the broadcast or
its counts — test rows are excluded from `GET /v1/broadcasts/{id}/results`
and from the broadcast's rollup. Allowed in any state; testing a draft is the
common case.

`sample_data` overlays the broadcast's `default_template_data` for this
render, so you can preview merge output for addresses that aren't contacts
(for example, inject a rendered `body_html`). A recipient who *is* a contact
still renders from their own attributes, which win over the sample.

Because it delivers real email, a test send is rate-limited per org
(default 10/hour) on top of the general API limit — `429 rate_limited` when
the window is exhausted. An `Idempotency-Key` is accepted and ignored (test
sends are intentionally repeatable). Returns `200` with one outcome per
recipient, in request order.

## Path parameters

- `id` (string<uuid>, required) — Resource UUID. An unparseable id reads as a clean `404 not_found`.

## Request body

Content type: `application/json`

```json
{
  "recipients": [
    "user@example.com"
  ],
  "sample_data": {}
}
```

## Example request

```bash
curl -X POST 'https://api.sendops.dev/v1/broadcasts/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/test' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SENDOPS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"recipients":["user@example.com"],"sample_data":{}}'
```

## Responses

### 200 — Per-recipient test-send outcomes, in request order

Content type: `application/json`

```json
{
  "sent": 0,
  "total": 0,
  "recipients": [
    {
      "email": "user@example.com",
      "status": "sent",
      "message_id": "string",
      "error": "string"
    }
  ]
}
```

### 401 — Missing, malformed, or unknown API key

Content type: `application/problem+json`

```json
{
  "type": "https://example.com",
  "title": "string",
  "status": 0,
  "detail": "string",
  "code": "invalid_key",
  "request_id": "string",
  "retry_after": 0,
  "retention_days": 0,
  "scope": "string",
  "resource": "string",
  "errors": [
    {
      "field": "string",
      "reason": "string"
    }
  ]
}
```

### 403 — Key lacks the required scope or plan limit violated

Content type: `application/problem+json`

```json
{
  "type": "https://example.com",
  "title": "string",
  "status": 0,
  "detail": "string",
  "code": "invalid_key",
  "request_id": "string",
  "retry_after": 0,
  "retention_days": 0,
  "scope": "string",
  "resource": "string",
  "errors": [
    {
      "field": "string",
      "reason": "string"
    }
  ]
}
```

### 404 — Resource not found

Content type: `application/problem+json`

```json
{
  "type": "https://example.com",
  "title": "string",
  "status": 0,
  "detail": "string",
  "code": "invalid_key",
  "request_id": "string",
  "retry_after": 0,
  "retention_days": 0,
  "scope": "string",
  "resource": "string",
  "errors": [
    {
      "field": "string",
      "reason": "string"
    }
  ]
}
```

### 422 — Query parameter or path value failed validation

Content type: `application/problem+json`

```json
{
  "type": "https://example.com",
  "title": "string",
  "status": 0,
  "detail": "string",
  "code": "invalid_key",
  "request_id": "string",
  "retry_after": 0,
  "retention_days": 0,
  "scope": "string",
  "resource": "string",
  "errors": [
    {
      "field": "string",
      "reason": "string"
    }
  ]
}
```

### 429 — Per-org rate limit exceeded

Content type: `application/problem+json`

```json
{
  "type": "https://example.com",
  "title": "string",
  "status": 0,
  "detail": "string",
  "code": "invalid_key",
  "request_id": "string",
  "retry_after": 0,
  "retention_days": 0,
  "scope": "string",
  "resource": "string",
  "errors": [
    {
      "field": "string",
      "reason": "string"
    }
  ]
}
```

### 500 — Unexpected server-side failure. The `code` is `internal_error`. The
`request_id` field can be quoted to SendOps support to investigate.

Content type: `application/problem+json`

```json
{
  "type": "https://example.com",
  "title": "string",
  "status": 0,
  "detail": "string",
  "code": "invalid_key",
  "request_id": "string",
  "retry_after": 0,
  "retention_days": 0,
  "scope": "string",
  "resource": "string",
  "errors": [
    {
      "field": "string",
      "reason": "string"
    }
  ]
}
```