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Probes overview

A probe is a saved protocol interaction belonging to a project. It stores the target host, the sequence of commands or the request body, and optional assertions. Probes can be sent standalone or assembled into chains.

ProbeProtocolWhat it does
HTTPHTTP/HTTPSSend HTTP requests and inspect responses
SMTPSMTP/SMTPS/STARTTLSSend raw SMTP command sequences
IMAPIMAP/IMAPSInteract with a mailbox
LDAPLDAP/LDAPSPerform directory operations
SpamAssassinspamdSubmit messages for spam scoring

Every time you send a probe, VirtuProbe records the result as a history entry. Each entry stores:

  • The probe configuration as it was sent (with resolved {{variable}} values)
  • The full response
  • A timestamp

History is scoped to the individual probe. Use the History panel inside the probe editor to browse past results.

[SCREENSHOT: Probe history panel with several entries, newest at top]

Most probe types support assertions — expected values checked against the response. When an assertion fails, the history entry is marked as failed.

See the individual probe pages for the assertions available per protocol.

All probe types support {{variable}} placeholders in host, commands, and body fields. Variables are resolved from the active environment at send time. The stored history entry always contains the resolved values, not the template.