Search box does not perform search in Web UI, but `/api/Messages?searchTerms=` endpoint works

[cdesign]

I have two servers with smtp4dev installed. One is on 3.15 the other is 3.16. On both servers, I cannot get the Search field to filter emails. I assume this must be a config/setup issue, but I find nothing related to search in the config. Below are the details from the 3.15 server. Thx!

Environment

• smtp4dev Version: 3.15.0+91996a4bf4a57a3ba48df4a70fff7c519482216a
• Browser: Microsoft Edge
• Windows Server deployment
• Installed from ZIP package and running as a Windows Service

Problem

The Search field in the Messages view does not perform any search.

Typing a value and pressing Enter has no effect on the message list. No network request is sent by the browser and the displayed messages do not change.

Expected Behavior

Entering a search term and pressing Enter (or otherwise activating search) should either:

• Filter the currently displayed messages, or
• Send a request to the backend search endpoint and display matching results.

Actual Behavior

• The search input accepts text normally.
• Keyboard events are received by the input element.
• Pressing Enter does nothing.
• No HTTP request is generated by the UI.
• The message list remains unchanged.

Investigation Performed

The search input has active event listeners attached:

• input
• keydown
• change
• composition events

Using browser developer tools, the following events are observed:

keydown t
input t
keydown e
input te
keydown s
input tes
keydown t
input test
keydown Enter

This confirms that the input field receives keyboard events correctly.

Backend Search Test

The backend search API appears to function correctly.

Request:

GET /api/Messages?searchTerms=test&mailboxName=Default&sortIsDescending=true

Example response:

{
  "results": [
    {
      "subject": "Test Message",
      "from": "sender@example.com",
      "to": ["recipient@example.com"]
    }
  ]
}

The endpoint returns the expected filtered results.

This suggests that the issue is in the Web UI search implementation rather than the backend API.

Additional Notes

I initially tested on version:

3.16.0-ci20260312122+pr1467...

and observed the same behavior.

I then downgraded to:

3.15.0+91996a4bf4a57a3ba48df4a70fff7c519482216a

and the issue remained.

Because the API endpoint works correctly, it appears that the search field is not invoking the search/filter logic in the UI.

Browser Console Errors

The following errors are present in the browser console:

ElementPlusError: [ElOnlyChild] no valid child node found

and

TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'size')

These errors occur within the Vue/Element Plus frontend components and may be related.

Reproduction Steps

1. Open smtp4dev Web UI.
2. Navigate to Messages.
3. Enter a search term known to exist in a message subject.
4. Press Enter.
5. Observe that:
   • No network request is generated.
   • The message list does not change.
   • The backend API search endpoint continues to return correct results when called directly.

Questions

• Is pressing Enter expected to trigger search in the current UI?
• Is the search intended to be client-side filtering only?
• Is there a known issue affecting the search input in the current Vue/Element Plus frontend?

[cdesign]