Route Incoming Mail for a Domain

The Routing tab decides where incoming mail goes. Each option solves a different problem:

Which rule wins?

TrekMail checks the most specific destination first and stops as soon as it finds one:

1. An exact mailbox, alias, or forwarding address on this domain.
2. The same address name on the domain connected as its domain alias.
3. This domain's catch-all inbox.
4. If nothing matches, the message is returned to the sender.

This order protects rules you created on purpose. For example, a forwarding rule for sales@brand.example wins before the domain alias or catch-all is considered.

Forward one exact address

Use a forwarding address when one address should deliver somewhere else without its own TrekMail mailbox.

orders@brand.example → owner@another-provider.example

The sender writes to the address on the left. TrekMail passes the message to the inbox on the right.

Forwarding delivery is available on Pro and Agency. Nano and Starter can save up to 25 forwarding addresses for later use; Pro supports 100 and Agency supports 300. Learn how to set up a forwarding address.

Share address names with another domain

A domain alias lets this domain receive through the matching address on another TrekMail domain.

hello@brand.example → hello@company.example

People email the address on the left. The message arrives in the existing mailbox, alias, or forwarding destination for the address on the right. The part before @ must be the same.

Use this for a second brand, an old domain, or another country domain that should share your team's existing inboxes. You do not need to create every address twice.

A domain alias is receive-only. It does not create a mailbox, add a From address, or let anyone send from the second domain. Dashboard delivery starts on Starter. Starter API and MCP tokens can read the setting; Pro and Agency can also change it through API or MCP. See Domain Aliases via API and MCP for automation details.

Catch unknown addresses

A catch-all handles mail only after no exact address or domain-alias match was found.

anything-else@brand.example → support@brand.example

It is useful for a short migration while you discover old or misspelled addresses people still use. Leaving it on permanently usually attracts more spam. Read Set Up a Catch-All Inbox before choosing a destination.

Check your setup

After saving a change:

1. Send a test message from an account outside TrekMail.
2. Use an address that demonstrates the rule you changed.
3. Confirm the message reached the destination shown on the right side of the diagram.
4. If it did not arrive, check that the domain is active and its MX records are healthy under DNS & Health.

For plan-by-plan access and limits, see the TrekMail Plans Overview.