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Setting up a domain

Only the account owner can add a domain and complete most of these steps — a domain manager can see the checklist but most actions here are owner-only until the domain is handed to them. Open the admin panel, then Domains, and select Add Domain (type the domain name; a SendGrid key is only needed if this domain uses a different SendGrid account than the rest of this instance). The domain's setup page then walks you through a checklist, in order — the next thing to do is always highlighted:

  1. SendGrid API key — optional; only needed if this domain is on a different SendGrid account. Otherwise this instance's own key is used.
  2. Domain authentication — SendGrid gives you 3 CNAME records that prove you own the domain. Add them at your DNS provider:
    • If this instance has a Cloudflare connection configured, select Add these records to Cloudflare and they're added for you — nothing changes until you confirm.
    • Otherwise, copy each CNAME's host and target into your DNS provider by hand.
    • Select Check again once they're in place; SendGrid usually verifies them within a few minutes.
  3. Receive mail (Inbound Parse) — unlocked once step 2 is verified. Select Set up receiving to tell SendGrid to hand this domain's mail to this app. Spam checking is turned on for every domain set up this way — a message SendGrid scores as likely spam goes to Junk instead of Inbox (see Folders, filters & auto-reply).
  4. Mailboxes — optional; see Mailboxes. You can create some now or just let mail create them automatically later.
  5. Move mail here (MX) — do this last, since it's the actual cutover: it points the domain's mail at this app instead of wherever it goes today.
    • If Cloudflare is connected and this would move mail away from a mail service you're currently paying for (for example Google Workspace or Microsoft 365), you'll be asked to confirm first. This doesn't cancel that subscription — the other provider keeps billing you until you cancel it with them directly.
    • Existing mailboxes keep their mail through the move; any mailbox you deleted beforehand does not — restore it first if you still need what was in it.
  6. DMARC record — add the TXT record shown (or let Cloudflare add it), so other mail servers trust mail from this domain.
  7. Test sending and receiving — send a test message to an outside address, and send one to any address on this domain from outside, to confirm both directions work.

Once every step is done, the page shows "<domain> is fully set up.", and you can select Re-run all checks any time to refresh the status, or Remove domain to take it off this instance's list (this never touches SendGrid or deletes any mailbox).