--- title: "Inbound email. Keep talking." canonical: "https://bird.com/email-api/features/inbound" --- # Inbound email. Keep talking. Give customer replies a place in your application. Receive email on your domain or a forwarding address, retrieve its body and attachments, and let your app or agent take the next step. [Read customer stories](/customers) [Explore Enterprise](/enterprise) - [Airwallex](/customers/airwallex) - [Glovo](/customers/glovo) - [Zillow](/customers/zillow) - Uber - [Binance](/customers/binance) - Adobe - Meta - PayPal - Pinterest - Square - [Al Jazeera](/customers/aljazeera) - [Aramex](/customers/aramex) - [Bazaar Technologies](/customers/bazaar) - [ComparaOnline](/customers/compara) - [Emma](/customers/emma) ## A reply arrives. Your agent has context. Ask Bird MCP to find the customer’s reply and read the message. Your agent can work with the actual email and its attachments, alongside the application context you provide. [Connect Bird MCP](/docs/ai/mcp-server) [Explore the Email API](/email-api) [Receiving email](/docs/guides/email/receiving-email) ## Read the message. Keep the details. Inspect the rendered email, plain text, headers and original message in Bird. Authentication results and reply references help your team understand what arrived before taking the next action. Access the original message when you need the complete MIME source. ## Receive the reply. Build what happens next. Receive email on your domain or a forwarding address. Use the webhook’s message reference to fetch the body and attachments. [Receive email](/docs/guides/email/receiving-email)[Email events](/docs/guides/email/events)[Retrieve attachments](/docs/api/reference/list-inbound-message-attachments)[Inboxes for agents](/mailbox-api) ## A reply belongs to a conversation. Use the sender, subject and reply references to connect incoming mail to an order, support case or account in your application. Fetch the body and attachments when your team or agent needs to act on the customer’s request. [Receiving and forwarding](/docs/guides/email/receiving-email) [Email webhooks](/docs/guides/email/events) [Dedicated inboxes for agents](/mailbox-api) ## Inbound email, explained. ### Do I need a domain to receive email? No. A generated forwarding address lets you forward an existing inbox without DNS changes. Receiving directly on your own subdomain requires its MX records. ### Does the webhook include the whole message? The email.received webhook contains message metadata and its inbound message ID. Fetch the body, attachments or original MIME through the inbound-message API when you need them. ### How long are received messages retained? Received messages are retained for 30 days. If your application needs a longer history, retrieve and store the required data under your own retention policy. ## Scale without losing control. Organize teams in workspaces, control API access, and trace changes through audit logs. [PowerMTA](/email-api/features/power-mta)[Momentum](/email-api/features/momentum)[Workspaces](/docs/guides/workspaces)[Team roles](/docs/guides/users-teams-roles)[API authentication](/docs/guides/authentication)[Audit logs](/docs/knowledge-base/account-security/audit-log)[Explore Enterprise](/email-api/enterprise) ## Go further. With Email. Everything from your first send to delivery at scale. - [Transactional email](/email-api/features/transactional-email) — Send receipts, confirmations and notifications. - [Email marketing](/email-api/features/email-marketing) — Create broadcasts, newsletters and promotions. - [Email API](/email-api) — Build email into your app or agent. - [Email automation](/email-api/features/email-automation) — Connect customer events to relevant messages. - [Email templates](/email-api/features/templates) — Create reusable, personalized emails. - [Contacts & audiences](/email-api/features/audiences) — Organize contacts and maintain audiences. - [SMTP relay](/email-api/features/smtp) — Connect your existing mail stack. - [Inbound email](/email-api/features/inbound) — Receive replies and attachments. - [Email deliverability](/email-api/features/deliverability) — Authenticate senders and manage reputation. - [Email analytics](/email-api/features/analytics) — Trace delivery, engagement and failures. - [Inbox Insights](/email-api/features/inbox-insights) — Measure inbox placement and run seed tests. - [Competitive Insights](/email-api/features/competitive-insights) — Explore competitor campaigns and sending patterns. [Email quickstart](/email-api/getting-started)[Email pricing](/pricing/email)[Compare providers](/email-api/compare)[Email FAQs](/email-api/faqs)[Email resource library](/email-api/resources) ## Start with one. Build across channels. Bring your next customer conversation into the same workspace. - [Email](/email-api) — Send, receive, and track email. - [SMS](/sms-api) — Send updates. Keep replies connected. - [WhatsApp](/whatsapp-api) — Rich messages and conversations. - [Apple Messages](/apple-messages-api) — Help customers in Messages. - [Voice](/voice-api) — Connect calls and guide conversations. - [Verify](/verify-api) — Confirm access with a code. - [Lookup](/lookup-api) — Check contact details before sending. - [Mailbox](/mailbox-api) — Give your application an inbox. - [eSIM](/esim-api) — Build mobile connectivity into your product. - [Realtime](/realtime-api) — Keep your applications in sync. ## Your next idea. Ready to connect. [Get Started](/dashboard/signup?returnTo=%2Fdashboard%2Fw%2Femail%2Finbound)[Contact Sales](/demo?product=inbound)