Domains
Where your emails are sent from: setup, DNS records, tracking and receiving.
What it's for
A domain is the address your emails are sent from (for example, mail.lojaexemplo.com.br). So that Postal can send on its behalf, and so that providers trust your emails, you publish a few records in the domain's DNS and Postal checks them. This area shows what to publish, the verification status, and the tracking and receiving options.
When to use: Before your first send, when a record goes missing, when turning on open and click tracking, and when receiving emails at an address of yours.
#Domain list
Where to find it: Developers › Domains. Address: app.postal.so/domains.
| Item | What it does |
|---|---|
| View code | Shows how to add a domain through the API (POST /domains). |
| Add domain | Opens the add form, explained below. |
| Search domains | Searches by name. |
| Filters | Status (All statuses clears it) and Region (only shown when the team has more than one region available). See how the button works. |
| Export | Generates a CSV of the domains. |
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Domain | The name (a link to the details). |
| Status | The verification status: Not started, Verifying (Postal checks the records on its own and the screen updates), Partially verified, Confirming sending (all records were found and the final confirmation is pending, 5 to 30 minutes), Verified, Partially failed or Failed (72 hours went by without finding the records). Below it, a warning when a record of a verified domain has gone missing (see below). |
| Region | Where the emails are sent from, with the flag: São Paulo (sa-east-1), N. Virginia (us-east-1), Ohio (us-east-2), Ireland (eu-west-1) or Tokyo (ap-northeast-1). |
| Created | When the domain was added. |
Add a domain
| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| Domain | Use a domain you control. We recommend a subdomain, such as mail.suaempresa.com.br, so it doesn't get mixed up with your everyday email. |
| Advanced options | Region (where the emails will be processed) and Return subdomain (Return-Path), where the MX and SPF records for bounces live; change it if the default name is already used by another service. |
| Preview | Shows how the sender (Sending as) and the Bounce return (Return-Path) will look. |
If the domain is already registered to another account (a former employee's or an old test), the screen warns you and offers Transfer to my account: you prove you control the DNS with a TXT record (Verify TXT) and the domain moves to your team, with new DKIM keys. Then publish the new records.
See also: Domains and DNS · Domains (API) · Getting started: the domain.
#Domain details
Where to find it: Developers › Domains, by opening a domain. Address: app.postal.so/domains.
The header shows the name, the status, the region, Last checked and, when Postal recognizes the DNS provider (Registro.br, Cloudflare, GoDaddy and others), a DNS at ... link straight to its panel.
| Item | What it does |
|---|---|
| History | Opens the domain's timeline: Domain added, Verification started, DNS records found, Domain verified, Verification failed, Tracking updated, DNS record not found, DNS records back, Verification lost and provider errors. |
| Send instructions by email | Sends the DNS records and the step-by-step guide to whoever looks after your DNS (IT or an agency), who doesn't need a Postal account. Fill in To (up to 5 addresses) and a Message (optional), with no links. |
| Verify DNS | Checks the records right away. It is highlighted when something is missing. Disabled on an already verified domain, or while the final confirmation is in progress. |
| Remove domain | The trash icon. Sending from this domain stops immediately and this can't be undone (the screen asks for confirmation). |
Two tabs: DNS records and Configuration.
Configuration tab
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| TLS mode | Opportunistic (uses TLS when the receiving server supports it) or Enforced (only delivers over an encrypted connection; if the receiving server doesn't accept it, the message is not delivered). |
| Tracking | Shows whether opens and clicks are on and leads to Configure, the tracking page. |
See also: Verification status · TLS · Send instructions (API).
#DNS records
In the DNS records tab, the dashboard tells you exactly what to publish in the domain's DNS. It groups them into sections, each with its On or Off badge and the table of records:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Type | The record type (TXT, CNAME, MX). |
| Name | The record name, with a copy button. In the name field of your provider, use exactly the value shown: most panels add the domain on their own. |
| Value | The content, with a copy button. If something is wrong, the diagnosis below the value explains what the last check found. |
| Priority | Only on MX records. |
| Status | The state of each record. |
| Section | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Sending | DKIM (proves the emails are yours), SPF and Return-Path (receive bounces and complaints). They are required to send. |
| Open and click tracking | The link subdomain record only appears if you use your own subdomain (see Tracking). |
| Receiving (inboxes) | The MX to receive emails on the domain. See Receiving. |
| DMARC (recommended) | Gmail and Yahoo require DMARC for bulk sending. If the domain doesn't have one yet, start with a TXT record at _dmarc with the value v=DMARC1; p=none;. |
How verification progresses
- A bar shows N of M records found.
- At Not started, the screen asks you to add the records in the domain's DNS panel and click Verify DNS. DNS propagation usually takes a few minutes, but it can take a few hours.
- Once all records are found, the status changes to Confirming sending (5 to 30 minutes) and the page updates on its own. When it finishes, Done! ... is verified appears with the next steps: create an API key, send the first email (View code or Use SMTP) and, optionally, tracking, receiving and DMARC.
- If 72 hours pass without finding the records, the status becomes Failed (or Partially failed): check the values and click Verify DNS to try again.
When a record disappears
After verification, the domain keeps being checked every day. If a required sending record (DKIM or the Return-Path ones) is no longer found, the domain keeps sending, but the warning Record ... not found since ... appears, with the time left (The domain keeps sending for ... more) and the Verify now button. In the list, the same information becomes a line under the status. The grace period is 72 hours; if the record doesn't come back, the domain stops sending (The domain stopped sending), but Postal keeps looking and it starts sending again by itself when the record reappears. Owners and members with domain notifications turned on get an email.
See also: DNS records · DMARC · When a record disappears.
#Open and click tracking
Where to find it: Developers › Domains, opening a domain › Configuration › Configure. Address: app.postal.so/domains.
Tracking generates the email.opened and email.clicked events and feeds the Metrics, the broadcast reports and the automations triggered by opens and clicks. You can also turn on both switches in the DNS records tab, in the tracking section.
| Item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Opens | An invisible pixel at the end of the HTML records when the email is opened. |
| Clicks | Links go through a redirect that records the click before taking the reader to the destination. |
| Link subdomain (optional) | A name of your own for tracked links (for example, links, which becomes links.seudominio.com), which keeps the links on your brand and improves deliverability. It requires a DNS record (CNAME); until it is verified, links use the default tracking domain and sending continues as usual. The Preview of a tracked link shows how it will look. |
Before turning it on
- Opens are approximate: Apple Mail downloads the images of every email (extra opens) and people who block images are never counted (missing opens).
- For sensitive transactional emails (passwords, access codes), it's best to leave click tracking off.
- Your own subdomain keeps links on your brand and improves deliverability.
See also: Tracking (DNS) · Metrics.
#Receiving (receive emails on the domain)
In Receiving (inboxes), the Receive emails switch makes Postal receive the emails sent to @seudominio and deliver them to your inboxes. After turning it on, point the domain's MX (the record appears in the table) and use the Create an inbox @seudominio link. Receiving email on your own domain depends on your plan (See plans appears when it isn't included).
Warning
If the domain already receives email somewhere else (Google, Outlook), pointing the MX to Postal makes those emails stop arriving there. That's why, before turning it on, the dashboard checks the DNS and, if it finds another provider, opens This domain already receives email somewhere else with the servers it found. The safest way is to use a subdomain only for Postal (the dashboard suggests one, with Use this subdomain); Turn on anyway goes ahead.
See also: Receiving (MX) · Inboxes (API).