Verify Your Sending Domain

Add your sending domain and its DNS records so Brew can send on your behalf, either automatically through Entri or by hand. About five minutes.

To send emails through Brew, verify a sending domain you own. This is a one-time setup that takes about five minutes. Once verified, every email comes from your own domain.

From an agent, create_domain, verify_domain, update_domain, and get_domain_health over MCP run this page without the dashboard, for a marketing domain. MCP can’t set or change a domain’s sending purpose: do that in the app or over HTTP.

Over HTTP it is POST /v1/domains (which takes sendingPurpose), POST /v1/domains/{domainId}/verify, and PATCH /v1/domains/{domainId} to change the purpose later. get_domain_health (GET /v1/domains/{domainId}/health) also reads the domain’s deliverability score. include: ["scoreHistory", "scoreRuns"] adds up to 50 saved score snapshots and the last 5 automated score runs.

Prefer a video walkthrough? Watch the YouTube tutorial.

How to Verify

Decide which domain to use before you start. A subdomain like mail.yourdomain.com keeps deliverability problems away from your root domain, and it shows in the From field. See Best practices for the rest.

1. Add your sending domain

   Open Domains in the sidebar and click Add sending domain.

   Use a subdomain, not your root domain. For example, updates.acme.com instead of acme.com.

   Deliverability problems on your root domain affect every other sending stream on it. Isolating email on a subdomain keeps issues contained.

   Good subdomain options:

   • mail.yourdomain.com
   • updates.yourdomain.com
   • news.yourdomain.com

   Click Add Domain to start verification.

2. Choose the sending purpose

   Every domain carries a sending purpose:

   • Marketing (the default): newsletters, announcements, promotions, and lifecycle flows.
   • Transactional: mail a person triggered themselves, such as a password reset or a receipt.

   The Domain Decides explains what each purpose changes about a send.

   Run the two purposes on separate subdomains, such as updates.yourdomain.com for marketing and notify.yourdomain.com for transactional. Marketing complaints then can’t drag down the reputation that delivers your password resets.

   You can change a domain’s purpose later; see Change a Domain’s Purpose.

3. Set default sender details

   Configure how your emails appear in recipients’ inboxes:

   • Sender name. Appears next to your email address. Keep it personal (a real name works well).
   • From email. The address in the “From” field.
   • Reply-to email. Where replies land. Use a monitored address, never no-reply. Replies signal value to inbox providers and improve your deliverability.

   You can override any of these per email when you send.

4. Add DNS records

   Authorize Brew to send on your behalf by adding DNS records to your domain.

   Connect automatically (recommended)

   The fastest way to add records. When you add a sending domain, the DNS records appear alongside a Connect automatically button.

   1. Click Connect automatically.
   2. A window opens to your DNS provider (Cloudflare, Vercel, GoDaddy, Namecheap, and most others are supported). Sign in and approve.
   3. Brew writes the DKIM, SPF, and DMARC records into your zone. Nothing else in your zone changes.
   4. The records verify on their own and turn green.

   Automatic connections are powered by Entri, our DNS-connection partner. If your provider isn’t supported, use the zone file or manual path instead.

   Zone file

   Download the zone file from the Brew dashboard and upload it to your DNS provider. This adds every record in a few clicks.

   Manual setup

   Copy each record from Brew and paste it into your DNS provider one at a time.

   For each record:

   1. Find the DNS section for your domain
   2. Add a new record and set the type (TXT, MX, or CNAME)
   3. Copy the Name and Value from Brew

   • Always use the Copy button in Brew. Long values may be truncated visually, and dragging to select can miss characters.
   • Some providers label the value field as “Content” instead of “Value.”
   • Leave TTL at the default.

   Records You’ll Add

   Brew groups the records in two sets. The four Required to send records must all be found before the domain can send. The two Recommended records aren’t needed to send, but both help your mail reach the inbox.

   DKIM (required)

   A cryptographic key that proves your email wasn’t altered in transit. Added as a TXT record.

   SPF (required)

   Tells receiving inboxes which servers are allowed to send for you. Added as both an MX and a TXT record.

   Sending CNAME (required)

   One CNAME record for the sending setup. Copy it exactly as Brew shows it.

   DMARC (recommended)

   Check whether your domain already has a DMARC record. Some platforms add one automatically.

   If a valid one exists, you’re good. If you have none, copy the values Brew provides. Brew’s domain health check flags a missing record (dmarc_missing) or an invalid one (dmarc_invalid), meaning malformed or more than one record.

   Link tracking (recommended)

   A CNAME record for branded click tracking, so tracked links use your own domain. Not needed to send.

   Provider-specific instructions

   GoDaddy. Sign in, open your domain, select DNS, then Add New Record for each record. In Name, enter only the part before your domain, such as mail, with no period at the start or end. For MX records, use the priority Brew shows. If you see an “invalid hostname” error, try adding a period (.) at the end of the value. GoDaddy help

   Cloudflare. Sign in, select your domain, go to DNS → Records, and click Add record. Set Proxy status to DNS only (gray cloud) on each CNAME record. MX and TXT records have no proxy setting. Cloudflare help

   Squarespace (formerly Google Domains). Sign in, select your domain, and open DNS → DNS Settings. Scroll to Custom Records and click Add record. Squarespace adds your domain to the Name field for you, so enter only the part before it. Google Domains registrations migrated here, so this is where they live now. Squarespace help

   Namecheap. Sign in, open Domain List → Manage for your domain, then the Advanced DNS tab. In Host, enter only the subdomain part, not your domain name. Click Save All Changes when you’re done. If you use Gmail/Google Workspace, switch Mail Settings to Custom MX before adding Brew’s MX records, then re-add Gmail’s MX record. Namecheap help

   AWS Route 53. Sign in, select your hosted zone, and click Create record. For MX records, put priority and value together, such as 10 mail.example.com. Wrap TXT values in double quotes, and split any value over 255 characters into several quoted strings on one line. AWS help

   Vercel. Sign in, open Domains and select your domain. Use only the subdomain part for record names. This works only if the domain uses Vercel’s nameservers. Otherwise add the records where your DNS is hosted. Vercel help

   Wix. Wix supports MX records on a subdomain that isn’t connected to a Wix site. Go to Domains, click the Domain Actions icon next to your domain, then Manage DNS records. Under Other MX records, click + Add Record and enter only the subdomain part in Host name. Wix help

   DreamHost. Open the Custom MX page in the panel and click Edit next to your subdomain. Enter the MX record with the priority first, such as 10 mail.example.com, with no @ or trailing period. Then click Change this domain to use custom MX records now! This turns off DreamHost email for that subdomain only. Add the TXT and CNAME records as custom DNS records. DreamHost help

   Don't have access to your domain registrar?

   • Add a teammate with DNS access to your Brew account
   • Share this guide with your IT team

   MX record conflicts

   If you already have an MX record for the same hostname (for example, mail.yourdomain.com), remove it before adding Brew’s.

   The MX record is for your sending subdomain, not your root domain. It won’t affect existing email on your root domain.

   If you need to keep the existing MX record, pick a different subdomain (for example, newsletter.yourdomain.com). Add it from Domains in the sidebar and re-run verification.

   Not sure who hosts your DNS? Look up your nameservers at whois.domaintools.com.

5. Verify your records

   Return to Brew and click Verify records. Records turn green as they verify; the domain status badge turns green when all records pass. Each record shows a color-coded status, so you can spot stragglers at a glance.

   DNS propagation can take up to 72 hours. If verification doesn’t happen immediately, check back later. That’s normal.

Best Practices

Use a subdomain

Sending from a subdomain like mail.yourdomain.com instead of your root domain protects your main domain’s reputation. If deliverability issues happen on a subdomain, you can isolate the problem without affecting the rest of your business.

The subdomain you choose appears in the From field, so pick something recognizable.

Use a real reply address

Use addresses like [e-mail] or [e-mail] and have someone monitor them. Replies signal to inbox providers that your content is valuable.

Align link domains with your sending domain

When email links point to the same domain you’re sending from, it builds trust and avoids spam filters. Avoid link shorteners like bit.ly in marketing emails.

FAQ

Can I change my sending domain later?

Yes. Open Domains in the sidebar and update it at any time. You’ll need to re-verify the new domain, then ramp up sending volume gradually so it builds reputation cleanly.

Why does it say my domain is already in use?

Another Brew account has already verified this domain or a related one. Once verified, a domain and all its subdomains are protected.

What to do:

• Find who set up the original Brew account on your team
• Ask them to invite you
• If you believe this is wrong, email [e-mail] with proof of domain ownership

What if I don't own a domain?

Buy one from a registrar like GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Cloudflare.

Can I change a domain's sending purpose?

Yes. Open the domain from Domains in the sidebar and change it, or send PATCH /v1/domains/{domainId} with a new sendingPurpose. Change a Domain’s Purpose covers what happens to emails and automations that still point at it.

Do I need a separate domain for transactional email?

Not strictly, but it’s the better setup. One domain can only hold one purpose, so sending both classes means two domains. Keeping them apart also protects reset and receipt delivery from marketing complaint rates.

When do I need to repeat this?

You’ll need to re-verify if you switch subdomains, change your root domain, switch DNS providers, or change nameservers.

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