Add a sending domain

This guide walks you through adding a sending domain, publishing its DNS records and verifying it. It takes a few minutes of work, plus however long your DNS provider takes to publish the records.

Before you begin

• You need access to the DNS settings of the domain, or someone who has it. You can email the records to them.
• Decide which domain you’ll send from. Using a subdomain such as mail.acme.com keeps your sending reputation separate from your root domain. See Root domain or subdomain?
• Check that your plan has room for another domain. See Domain limits.
• For the API, use an API key with Full Access. Sending-only keys can’t manage domains.

Domain name rules

• Enter the bare domain: acme.com or mail.acme.com. Don’t include http://, https:// or a www. prefix.
• Use letters, digits, hyphens and dots, with a top-level domain of at least two letters. Emailit stores the name in lowercase.
• Subdomains at any depth are allowed, for example eu.mail.acme.com. Each one is a separate domain with its own records.
• A name can only be added once per workspace. Adding it again returns 409 Domain with this name already exists.

Add the domain

curl https://api.emailit.com/v2/domains \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $EMAILIT_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "name": "mail.acme.com" }'

{
  "object": "domain",
  "id": "dom_2kq8Vt4xLm7Rz",
  "name": "mail.acme.com",
  "verification_status": "pending",
  "manual_review_required": false,
  "spf_status": "pending",
  "dkim_status": "pending",
  "return_path_status": "pending",
  "dns_records": [
    {
      "required": true,
      "type": "MX",
      "name": "emailit.mail.acme.com",
      "value": "feedback-smtp.ffdc-1.emailit.com",
      "priority": 10,
      "ttl": "auto",
      "status": "pending",
      "error": null
    },
    {
      "required": true,
      "type": "TXT",
      "name": "emailit.mail.acme.com",
      "value": "v=spf1 include:_spf.emailit.com ~all",
      "priority": null,
      "ttl": "auto",
      "status": "pending",
      "error": null
    }
  ]
}

There’s no separate switch for outgoing or incoming mail. A verified domain can send, and it receives inbound email as soon as its inbound MX record is published. The API accepts outgoing and incoming flags for compatibility, but they don’t change how the domain behaves.

Publish the DNS records

Add the records at the company that hosts your domain’s DNS. That’s often your registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap) or a DNS service (Cloudflare, Amazon Route 53).

Most DNS providers want only the part before your domain in the host field (emailit, not emailit.acme.com). DNS records has the exact values, provider-specific tips and common mistakes.

If your domain uses Cloudflare DNS, the domain page offers Set up with Cloudflare, which creates the records for you. See Set up DNS with Cloudflare.

Send the records to someone else

If someone else manages your DNS, email them the records from the dashboard.

1. Open the domain. In Email API›Domains, select the domain.

2. Select Send to email. It’s in the top-right corner of the DNS Setup card.

3. Enter their address. In Recipient Email, type the address of your developer or IT administrator and select Send Instructions.

They receive an email from Emailit with every record and its value. Ask them to tell you when the records are published so you can run the check.

Check DNS and verify

curl https://api.emailit.com/v2/domains/mail.acme.com/verify \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $EMAILIT_API_KEY"

The domain is verified when SPF, DKIM and the return path all show OK. DMARC, tracking and inbound are optional and don’t affect verification.

Verify it worked

• The domain shows Verified in Email API›Domains, and the SPF, DKIM and Return Path columns show OK.
• Send a test message from an address on the domain. On the Emails page, select Compose, or call Send an email.

If the domain shows Pending verification, it’s waiting for a manual review. This applies to Pay as you go domains registered less than 30 days ago. See Domain verification.

Troubleshooting

Domain verification covers more cases.

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