OltranoConnecting your domain
Four kinds of record. Three of them decide whether your mail arrives at all, and most of the advice on the internet about them is a decade out of date.
Add the domain
Domains → Add a domain. We show you exactly the records to create, with the values already filled in. If the domain is on Cloudflare and you connect your account, we write them for you and verify them — that is the one-click path, and it removes the single most common cause of a broken setup, which is a typo in a long key.
What each record is for
| MX | Where mail for your domain is delivered. Without it, nothing arrives. |
|---|---|
| SPF | Which servers are allowed to send as your domain. One TXT record, one v=spf1. Two SPF records is an error, not a belt-and-braces. |
| DKIM | A signature on every outgoing message proving it came from you unaltered. We hold the private key, so you never have to rotate it by hand. |
| DMARC | What receivers should do with mail that fails the first two, and where to send the reports. |
If you already have mail somewhere else
You cannot have two MX setups for the same domain at once — mail goes to one place. If you are moving from another provider, the order that keeps you working is: set up the mailboxes here, copy the mail across, and switch the MX last. See the migration guide; it is designed to be run twice safely.
If you only want to test, use a subdomain or a second domain. Many people add a spare domain first and move the real one once they are satisfied.
Verification
We re-check pending domains automatically — DNS takes time to spread, and refreshing a page does not make it faster. You will see the domain go active on its own, usually within minutes and occasionally within hours.
After it is active
Create mailboxes and aliases, and read SPF, DKIM and DMARC if your mail is landing in spam.
Questions people actually ask
Can I keep my current email provider while testing?
Yes, on a different domain or subdomain. You cannot split one domain’s MX between two providers — mail is delivered to one place.
How long does DNS take?
Usually minutes, sometimes hours, depending on the TTL your records had before the change. We keep re-checking so you do not have to.
Who holds the DKIM key?
We do, which means the signing keys can be rotated and the servers moved without you touching your DNS zone again.
Next
- Mailboxes, aliases, groups and catch-allWhat costs money, what is free, and when to use which.
- SPF, DKIM and DMARC without the folkloreWhat each one does, what breaks them, and what to actually set.
- Move your mail from Google, Zoho or anywhereIMAP migration you can run twice without duplicating anything.