Custom email sending domains and addresses

Sending Moonbase emails from your own domain (instead of the default platform sender) improves deliverability and makes the messages look like they come from you. This guide walks through the full setup: adding a sending domain, publishing the DNS records Moonbase needs, and creating the from-addresses your customers will see.

Where to find this

Go to Account settings > Email. The page has three sections, top to bottom:

• Email sending domains – authorise Moonbase to send mail on your behalf.

• Email sending addresses – the from-addresses bound to a verified domain.

• Email footer – your social profiles and other links in the footer of every email your customers get.

You need at least one verified sending domain before you can add any sending addresses.

1. Add a sending domain

In the Email sending domains section, type the domain you want to send from (for example, mail.example.com) and click Add.

Tip: use a dedicated subdomain like mail.yourbrand.com rather than your apex/root domain for any marketing emails. That way, a deliverability problem on your campaign mail won't affect the regular email on your main domain.

Once added, a card appears with the domain in Pending status and a list of DNS records you need to publish.

2. Publish the DNS records

Open your DNS provider (Cloudflare, Route 53, Namecheap, GoDaddy, etc.) and add the records exactly as shown on the domain card. Use the copy icon next to each Name and Value to grab them without typos.

DKIM (required) – two CNAME records

"Authorises Moonbase to sign emails from your domain. All DKIM records must be published for sending to work."

Both records must be published. Verification will not complete until both are live.

DMARC (recommended) – one TXT record

If your organisational domain doesn't already have a DMARC policy, add one. The card always lists it, marked Recommended: skip it if your domain already has a DMARC record.

p=none is monitor mode – it won't affect delivery. To receive aggregate reports, append rua=mailto:reports@your-domain.com. If you’re comfortable that no email is misconfigured, and you are ready to start sending marketing email, you should change the policy to quarantine or reject.

Return-Path (recommended) – one CNAME record

It routes your emails' bounce address through your own domain and completes SPF alignment, which improves delivery, notably to Outlook. Sending keeps working without it.

3. Wait for verification

Moonbase polls your DNS automatically. The status badge on the domain card moves through these states:

• Pending – "Add the records below to your DNS. Verification happens automatically once they're published."

• Provisioning – the DNS records were found and verification is under way. This usually takes a few minutes.

• Verified – everything is in place; you can now create sending addresses.

• Failed – verification didn't complete. The card shows the reason ("DKIM verification failed", or "Verification timed out after 72 hours" when the records never appear). Fix the records, then click Retry, which takes the place of Refresh on a failed domain.

The small dot next to each DNS record tells you which records still need attention:

• Configured – Moonbase can see the record at your DNS provider and it matches what's expected.

• Misconfigured – the record exists but the value doesn't match. Re-copy the value from the dashboard.

• Missing – the record hasn't been detected yet.

Click Refresh on the domain card to re-check immediately instead of waiting for the next poll.

A fully configured domain should look like this:

Common DNS pitfalls

• Auto-appended apex. Many DNS hosts add your apex automatically. If your provider shows the record as mb1._domainkey.your-domain.com.your-domain.com, paste only mb1._domainkey (without your domain) into the name field.

• Quoted CNAME values. Don't wrap the value in quotes – CNAMEs aren't quoted strings.

• Cloudflare proxying. Make sure the orange cloud is off (DNS-only / grey cloud) for these CNAMEs. Proxied records won't validate.

• Only one DKIM record. Verification needs both mb1 and mb2. Publishing only one keeps the domain stuck in Provisioning.

• Existing DMARC. If you already have a DMARC record, leave it alone – don't replace it with the default p=none policy.

4. Add a sending address

Once a domain shows the green Verified badge, scroll down to Email sending addresses and click Add address.

• Domain – pick the verified domain from the dropdown. (You can't change a sending address's domain after it's created – delete and re-add if you need a different one.)

• From address – the local-part of the address, e.g. support for support@mail.yourbrand.com.

• From name (optional) – the display name customers see. Left blank, it is your account name.

• Purpose – pick at least one:

  • Transactional – order confirmations, receipts, password resets, and similar one-to-one mail.

  • Marketing – campaigns and broadcasts.

A verified domain alone changes nothing: customer emails keep coming from no-reply@moonbase.sh until there is an address with the Transactional purpose. Campaigns need an address with the Marketing purpose.

Each purpose has one address. One address can do both, or you can use two, for example support@ for transactional and news@ for marketing.

Removing a domain or address

To remove a sending domain, click Remove on its card. The dashboard will warn you that "Removing this domain also removes any sending addresses that reference it. This cannot be undone." After removal, emails that used those addresses go out from Moonbase's default sender again, except campaigns, which can't be sent until there is a Marketing address on a verified domain.

To remove a sending address, click the trash icon in its row. Emails will stop sending from that address.

What if I don't configure a sending domain?

Moonbase still sends your transactional emails (receipts, license and account emails) from no-reply@moonbase.sh under your account name. Campaigns can't be sent without a sending address with the Marketing purpose on a verified domain. You'll get reliable delivery, but the from-address won't be branded to your business and your DMARC alignment won't include Moonbase. Setting up a custom sending domain is recommended for most production storefronts.

Emails about your Moonbase account itself (alerts, payouts, verification) always come from Moonbase, whatever sending domain you set up.