Email DNS · with Mailaholic
MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records explained
The short answer
Four DNS records make business email work. MX says which server receives your mail. SPF lists the servers allowed to send as you. DKIM adds a signature that proves a message really came from your domain. DMARC tells receivers what to do when SPF or DKIM fail, and where to send reports. Without them, mail is lost or lands in spam.
Before you start
- Nothing to install. These records live with whoever runs your domain’s DNS.
- Mailaholic shows the exact values for your domain and checks each one live.
The records you will add
Mailaholic shows the exact values for your domain. For a domain like yourdomain.com they look like this:
| Type | Name | Value | Priority | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TXT | _mailnest-verify | mailnest-verify=… (your own code, shown in the dashboard) | — | Step 1 only: proves the domain is yours |
| MX | @ | mx.workaholicdevelopers.com | 10 | Brings incoming email to your mailboxes |
| TXT | @ | v=spf1 a:mx.workaholicdevelopers.com ~all | — | SPF: lets our server send as you |
| TXT | dkim._domainkey | v=DKIM1;… (your own key, shown in the dashboard) | — | DKIM: signs every message you send |
| TXT | _dmarc | v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:… (shown in the dashboard) | — | DMARC: reporting, starting in monitor mode |
Step by step
MX: where your mail is delivered
Senders look up your domain’s MX record to find the receiving server. With Mailaholic it is
mx.workaholicdevelopers.com, priority 10. If an old MX record stays, some mail goes to the old provider.SPF: who may send as you
A TXT record on the domain itself, starting with
v=spf1. Mailaholic’s isv=spf1 a:mx.workaholicdevelopers.com ~all. A domain may have only ONE SPF record, so merge instead of adding a second.DKIM: a signature on every message
Your outgoing mail is signed with a private key, and receivers check it against the public key in a TXT record named
dkim._domainkey. A wrong name or a key cut short in copying is the usual mistake.DMARC: the policy and the reports
A TXT record named
_dmarc. Mailaholic starts you onp=none, which only asks for reports. Once you are sure all your mail passes, you can tighten it to quarantine or reject.
Check that it worked
- Mailaholic checks MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC live and marks each green or red.
- From a terminal you can look them up too, for example
dig MX yourdomain.comordig TXT _dmarc.yourdomain.com.
Checked October 2026 against each provider’s own help pages. Menus move — if a label differs on your screen, look for the nearest match.
Problems and questions
Mail still goes to my old provider
SPF shows red
DKIM shows red
Do I need all four?
What does ~all mean in SPF?
Is p=none safe?
Can I use these records for a subdomain?
_dmarc.mail for mail.yourdomain.com. Mailaholic shows the right names for you.Sources: developers.cloudflare.com/dns/troubleshooting/email-issu..., godaddy.com/resources/mindset/configuring-dns-for-email-...
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