Guide
Set up email on your own domain
Everything between owning a domain and receiving mail at it: which DNS records to publish, what each one does, and how to create the first mailbox. Most domains are done in a few minutes.
Four steps
- 01
Add the domain
Sign in, open Domains and add the domain you want addresses on, such as yourcompany.com. Rovela generates a DKIM key for it and lists the records it needs.
- 02
Turn on receiving
On the domain page, switch on Receiving. A sending-only domain cannot hold mailboxes; receiving adds the MX record that tells the world where mail for the domain should go.
- 03
Publish the DNS records
Connect Cloudflare, Aliyun or DNSPod and Rovela writes the records for you. With any other DNS host, copy them in by hand. The domain is verified once the records are visible.
- 04
Create mailboxes
Open Mailboxes, choose New mailbox, and pick an address on the domain. It is ready in webmail immediately; mail apps need a credential, described in the mail app guide.
The records, and what each is for
The values below are the shape every domain gets. Your dashboard shows the exact ones, including the DKIM selector, which is unique to each domain.
| Type | Host | Value | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| MX | @ | 10 mx.rovela.dev | Routes incoming mail for the domain to Rovela. Without it, nobody can write to your addresses. |
| TXT | @ | v=spf1 include:_spf.rovela.dev ~all | SPF: names Rovela as allowed to send for the domain. A domain may have only one SPF record, so if one exists, add the include to it. |
| TXT | rovela<id>._domainkey | v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=… | DKIM: the public key receivers use to check the signature Rovela puts on every message you send. |
| TXT | _dmarc | v=DMARC1; p=none; | DMARC: tells receivers what to do when SPF and DKIM fail. Only suggested when the domain has no DMARC record yet. |
One-click DNS
If the domain is on Cloudflare, Aliyun (Alibaba Cloud DNS) or DNSPod, connect the provider on the domain page and Rovela creates the records itself. A record that already exists with a different value is left alone and reported, so nothing you rely on is overwritten.
Common questions
- How long does verification take?
- As long as your DNS host takes to publish the records, usually minutes. Some registrars cache for an hour or more; the dashboard rechecks when you ask it to.
- I already have email on this domain. What happens to it?
- Mail goes wherever the MX record points. Changing MX to mx.rovela.dev moves incoming mail to Rovela, so create the mailboxes you need before switching, and keep the old service until you have moved what you want to keep.
- Can I use a subdomain instead?
- Yes. Add a subdomain such as mail.yourcompany.com as its own domain and publish its records on that name. The main domain and its existing mail are untouched.
- My SPF record already includes another provider.
- Keep a single record and list both: v=spf1 include:_spf.rovela.dev include:other.example ~all. Two separate SPF records make SPF fail for every message.