# Retool REST API
Retool is an AI-powered platform that lets you build internal tools, apps, and workflows through natural language prompts and visual editing. In this article, you’ll learn how to connect it to Mailtrap and add email-sending functionality to your Retool projects.
**Prerequisites**:
* A Retool account and a project.
* A Mailtrap account for sending emails.
### Step 1. Create a REST API resource (Mailtrap)
Open Retool and go to the **Resources** tab. Once there, click on **Create new** → **Resource**.
On the next page, select **REST API**.
Then, all you need to do is:
* Enter your desired resource name
* Add the Mailtrap root ULR, which is `https://send.api.mailtrap.io/`
* **Note**: This URL lets you use other endpoints later on if you wish depending on your use case (i.e., create contacts). Additionally, if you plan on sending mass emails, the root URL should be `https://bulk.api.mailtrap.io/`
* Choose **Bearer** for authentication and add your [Mailtrap API key](https://docs.mailtrap.io/email-api-smtp/setup/api-tokens)
Once you insert the required details, make sure to click **Save changes** and go back to your project.
### Step 2. Configure a query
As the next step, we'll add a query to the Query Library. Queries stored here can be reused across any of your Retool apps.
In this example, we’ll create a query that sends an email with fixed content defined in the query settings. However, you can use any Mailtrap endpoint with Retool such as managing contacts, updating email templates, or sending messages to a sandbox. For more information, please check out the official [Mailtrap email API documentation](https://docs.mailtrap.io/developers).
As for the **Query**, create a new one and:
* Select the resource you created that connects the Mailtrap email API
* Choose **POST** and add the API endpoint. In this case, it’s `api/send`
* Add a **Content-Type** header with **application/json** as value
* Choose **RAW** as the Body type and use the following code snippet for testing purposes:
```
{
"from": {
"email": "hello@demoatmailtrap.com"
},
"to": [
{
"email": "yourtestinginbox@email.com"
}
],
"subject": "hola",
"text": "Lorem ipsum"
}
```
{% hint style="info" %}
This is just an example body for sending emails from a simple form. Feel free to adjust it according to your needs. Additionally, make sure to add your `‘from’` address with a verified sending domain.
{% endhint %}
Here’s what your new query should look like:
### Step 3. Test the integration
Finally, to test your configuration, click on the **Test** button in the upper-right corner of the Query editor, and you should see the following response:
Here it is in the Gmail inbox I used as my `to` address:
And here it is in the Mailtrap [Email Logs](https://docs.mailtrap.io/email-api-smtp/analytics/logs).
Before you go: If you plan on collecting email addresses for a list, you can connect your Retool project with [Mailtrap Contacts](https://docs.mailtrap.io/email-marketing/contacts/overview) and store your addresses in the Mailtrap Lists automatically. For reference, check out the official [Mailtrap Contacts API documentation](https://docs.mailtrap.io/developers/email-marketing/contacts-api).
