How-toBeta
Forward inbound email with automations
Use the Forward received email automation to send every received message, or only matching ones, to another inbox without writing code.
This guide sets up a no-code forwarder: every message that arrives on your inbound subdomain is sent on to another address, such as a shared team inbox. It uses the Forward received email automation template. Automations are in beta.
Before you begin
- Inbound is set up for a verified domain.
- If your workspace isn’t verified yet, the forwarding address must be a workspace member’s account email. See Production access.
- Enough credits. Each forwarded message costs 5 credits in total: 1 to receive it, 3 for the automation run and 1 for the forwarded email.
Create the forwarder
-
Start a new automation. Go to Email MarketingAutomations and select New automation.
-
Choose the Email context. In Choose automation context, select Email (“Trigger automations from any email activity”).
-
Pick the template. In Choose a template, select Forward received email (“Forward every received email to a specified address”).
-
Name it. Enter a name, for example
Forward support mail, add an optional description, and select Create. The automation is created as a draft with two steps: the Email received trigger and a Forward email action. -
Narrow the trigger (optional). On the Editor tab, select the Email received step. Under Filter events (optional), add rules on From, To or Subject. For example, To equals
support@inbound.acme.comforwards only mail for that address, and From ends with@example.comforwards only mail from one sender domain. Choose whether all rules or any rule must match. Without rules, every received message is forwarded. -
Set the destination. Select the Forward email step and enter the Forward to address, for example
team@acme.com. -
Start the automation. Select Start. Emailit validates the steps and the automation starts running. It only acts on messages received after it starts.
You can edit the steps again only while the automation is a draft or paused. Pause it first, make your changes, then start it again.
What the forwarded message looks like
The Forward email action copies the received message’s body and attachments as they are, and builds new envelope headers around them:
| Header | Value |
|---|---|
| From | The original sender’s address |
| To | Your Forward to address |
| Subject | Fwd: followed by the original subject |
| Message-ID | A new ID on your domain |
Other original headers, such as Reply-To, Cc and Date, aren’t carried over. The forwarded message is sent through the domain that received it and is DKIM-signed by that domain. It shows up on the Outgoing tab of Email APIEmails like any other send.
Verify it worked
- Send a test message to an address the trigger matches, for example
support@inbound.acme.com. - Open the automation and check the Runs tab. A completed run means the forward was queued.
- Check the destination inbox, and find the forwarded email on the Outgoing tab of Email APIEmails.
If a run fails, open it on the Runs tab to see which step failed and why. Common causes are insufficient credits, a domain that is no longer verified, and a forwarding address that an unverified workspace isn’t allowed to send to. See Automation runs.
Alternatives
| Approach | When to use it |
|---|---|
Webhook and API. Subscribe to email.received, fetch the message, and send a new email with Send an email. |
You want full control: your own From address, reply_to set to the original sender, a summary instead of the full message, or routing logic based on content. See Process with webhooks. |
| Other automation steps. Replace or follow the Forward email step with Send email (a template), Create contact, or Add to suppressions. | Auto-replies, adding senders to your contacts, or blocking addresses that write in. See Automation steps. |
| The Forward action on an email. | Not available for received mail. Forward in the dashboard and Forward an email only work for outgoing emails. |