# Sending domains · Verify a domain, sign every message news.example.com Sending identity Ready to send Verified Sign your messages Return-path Align your SPF identity Check the domain policy Configured From: Fieldnotes Example domain. Add the records Bird generates for your own domain. ## Authentication, without digging through DNS records. Sending domains are where deliverability starts on the [Bird Email API](/email-api). Bird generates the records, signs at the edge, and tells you the moment a domain falls out of alignment. Authentication becomes a setup step, not an ongoing investigation. ## Five steps to a signed domain. We generate every record. You publish them once, and we keep them verified. - **01** Add a domain in minutes. Paste the generated DNS records at your provider and hit verify. Most resolve within minutes of propagating. - **02** DKIM signing, SPF alignment and DMARC. Bird signs with DKIM and verifies the return-path and DMARC records. For a brand logo in supporting inboxes, publish your own BIMI record and meet the provider’s requirements. - **03** A domain for each sending stream. Run separate domains for transactional and marketing, or one per brand, each carrying its own reputation. Your workspace shows the current domain allowance. - **04** Tools for the records themselves. Grade a domain's live DMARC, SPF, DKIM, BIMI, and MX records and get back what fails and why. Paste a DMARC aggregate report and get it read back to you in plain language. Both work on any domain, with no key needed. - **05** Subdomain-friendly. Send from a dedicated subdomain to isolate your sending reputation from your corporate mail. ## One command, every record you need. Add a domain from the dashboard, the API, or the CLI. Bird returns the exact records to publish: a DKIM key to sign your mail, a return-path CNAME that aligns SPF without touching your apex record, a DMARC record, and an optional tracking CNAME for branded open and click links. Then it verifies them for you. **bird email domains create** ```bash $ bird email domains create mail.acme.com \ | jq -c '.status, (.dns_records[] | {purpose, type, host})' "pending" {"purpose":"dkim","type":"TXT","host":"bird1._domainkey.mail.acme.com"} {"purpose":"return_path","type":"CNAME","host":"send.mail.acme.com"} {"purpose":"dmarc","type":"TXT","host":"_dmarc.mail.acme.com"} {"purpose":"tracking","type":"CNAME","host":"links.mail.acme.com"} # Publish them, then check: bird email domains verify ``` ## Branded open and click tracking. Add the optional tracking CNAME and Bird measures opens and clicks under your own domain instead of a generic redirect. Opens come from a pixel in the HTML; clicks come from links rewritten through your branded hostname, so both the redirect and the link reputation stay with your brand, served over HTTPS. Tracking is its own capability, separate from sending. A domain sends the moment DKIM, the return-path, and DMARC verify, with or without the tracking record in place. [Open and click tracking](/docs/guides/email/tracking-and-metrics) switch on once the CNAME verifies and you turn them on. It's opt-in for a reason. Rewritten links change the URL a recipient sees on hover and add a redirect hop, so leave click tracking off for password resets and security mail, where a clean direct link matters more than the metric. ## Verified once, watched forever. Right after you add a domain Bird checks every couple of minutes, backs off to hourly over the first three days, then settles into a daily re-check of every active domain. If a verified record starts failing, the domain is held verified in a warning state, re-checked hourly, and your workspace is notified; it is only downgraded after a full 24 hours of failures, and any passing check inside that window clears the warning. A transient DNS blip cannot knock you offline, and a fixed record re-verifies on the next check without you asking. ## Go deeper in the docs. Add and verify a domain with the [sending domains guide](/docs/guides/email/sending-domains), and read how the records work in the [DKIM, SPF & DMARC guide](/docs/guides/email/dkim-spf-dmarc). ## Questions about sending domains ### What records do I need to verify a domain, and how long does it take? We generate the records for you: a DKIM TXT record to sign your mail, a return-path CNAME that aligns SPF (no apex SPF record required), and a DMARC TXT record. A tracking CNAME for branded open and click links is optional. Add the domain, paste the records at your DNS provider, and hit verify: most verifications resolve within minutes of DNS propagation, though it can occasionally take longer. ### What does the DMARC record actually do? DMARC tells receiving servers what to do with mail that fails DKIM or SPF alignment, and where to send the aggregate reports that show who is sending as your domain. We require a DMARC record before a domain can send, and recommend starting at p=none, which monitors without affecting delivery. Once you have confirmed every legitimate source aligns, tighten the policy to p=quarantine or p=reject. If you already publish DMARC at your domain or a parent domain, we use it as is. Major inbox providers now expect bulk senders to publish a policy, so having one is increasingly part of reaching the inbox at volume. ### Can I send from a subdomain, or use more than one domain? Yes to both, and we recommend a dedicated subdomain, since it isolates your email reputation from your corporate mail. You can also run separate domains for transactional and marketing mail, or one per brand, each with its own authentication and reputation. ## From authentication to delivery - [Sending](/email-api/features/sending): Transactional and marketing email, templates, and batch sends. - [Deliverability](/email-api/features/deliverability): Authentication, IP warmup, suppression, and per-provider visibility. - [Dedicated IPs](/email-api/features/dedicated-ips): Managed dedicated IPs and pools, warmed automatically. - [Email API overview](/email-api): The full Email API: sending, deliverability, IPs, suppression, analytics, and broadcasts. ## Scale without losing control. Organize teams in workspaces, control API access, and trace changes through audit logs. Harbor Organization Workspaces Production Sandbox ### Delivery agent API key · Customer operations team Active Permissions Access Email Read & write SMS Read & write WhatsApp Read Read & write AL Alex Lee Admin Permissions updated ### Audit log Production API key updated Alex Lee · 09:42:18 UTC Workspace Production Resource Delivery agent WhatsApp Read Read & write Succeeded [Workspaces](/docs/guides/workspaces)[Team roles](/docs/guides/users-teams-roles)[API authentication](/docs/guides/authentication) [Explore Enterprise](/enterprise) ## Start with Email. Build across channels with Bird. [Get started](/dashboard/signup?returnTo=%2Fdashboard%2Fw%2Femail) · [Contact Sales](/demo?product=email) [Email](/email-api) · [SMS](/sms-api) · [WhatsApp](/whatsapp-api) · [Apple Messages](/apple-messages-api) · [Voice](/voice-api) ## Related resources - [Getting started with email](/learn/email/getting-started-with-email) (video) - [Send your first email](/docs/get-started/send-your-first-email) (docs) - [Build your first integration](/learn/paths/integration) (course) [Get an implementation brief](/learn/workspace?topic=email)