Inbound email

Receiving Domains

Add and verify your own domain to receive email at addresses like hello@yourdomain.com, and route its traffic to your sender IDs.

By default, sender IDs receive on mailafrica.online. To receive at your own domain (e.g. orders@yourcompany.co.tz), add the domain and verify ownership with a DNS TXT record.

Messages on your own receiving domain cost the same flat 5 TZS as the platform domain — see Pricing & Limits.

Add a receiving domain

bash

curl -X POST https://api.mailafrica.online/api/inbound/domains \
  -H "X-API-Key: MAIL_<your_api_key_here>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"domain": "mail.yourcompany.co.tz"}'

The response includes the verification record you must publish in DNS:

json

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "domain": "mail.yourcompany.co.tz",
    "verification_record": {
      "type": "TXT",
      "host": "@",
      "value": "mail-verify=<64-hex-chars>"
    },
    "verification_records": [
      { "type": "TXT", "host": "@", "value": "mail-verify=<64-hex-chars>" },
      { "type": "MX", "host": "@", "value": "10 mx.mailafrica.online" },
      { "type": "A", "host": "mx.mailafrica.online", "value": "<mail server public IP>" }
    ]
  }
}

Verify the domain

Publish all three records at your DNS provider, then ask MailAfrica to check them:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.mailafrica.online/api/inbound/domains/5/verify \
  -H "X-API-Key: MAIL_<your_api_key_here>"

If the records haven't propagated yet, the response is HTTP 200 with the error code PENDING. Retry in a few minutes — propagation is usually under 10 minutes. The TXT record proves ownership; the MX record must point at the MailAfrica inbound mail server; and the MX host's A record must resolve to the mail server's public IP — otherwise email to your domain is routed elsewhere and never delivered.

In the dashboard

On the Domains page of the dashboard (app.mailafrica.online), each domain shows two panels. The Receiving (inbound) panel — *"Email sent to any address on this domain lands in your inbox"* — lists exactly the records you must publish, each with Type, Host, Value, and a copy button, plus a Verify button:

Type	Host	Value	Why it's needed
TXT	@	`mail-verify=<token>`	Proves you own the domain
MX	@	`10 mx.mailafrica.online`	Routes mail to the MailAfrica mail server
A	`mx.mailafrica.online`	`<mail server public IP>`	Makes the MX hostname resolve to the server

Publish all three at your DNS provider, then click Verify. Until they match, the badge reads Pending verification; if DNS hasn't propagated yet the app returns a PENDING notice — wait a few minutes and click Verify again. When every record checks out, the badge turns Verified with the timestamp and mail to any address on the domain is delivered. If the A record's value shows a hint like *"point this host to your MailAfrica mail server IP"*, the platform hasn't published its inbound IP yet — contact support.

Two easy mistakes. Host names are relative to your zone: on providers like Spaceship, entering the full mx.mailafrica.online as the host turns it into mx.mailafrica.online.mailafrica.online — enter just the label shown. And the A record must exist in the zone that owns the MX hostname (mx.mailafrica.online), not under your own domain. Keep all three records in place permanently — removing the MX or A record silently stops delivery.

Once verified, create addresses with domain_id to receive at that domain:

bash

curl -X POST https://api.mailafrica.online/api/inbound/addresses \
  -H "X-API-Key: MAIL_<your_api_key_here>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"local_part": "orders", "domain_id": 5}'

List and delete

bash

# List your receiving domains
curl https://api.mailafrica.online/api/inbound/domains \
  -H "X-API-Key: MAIL_<your_api_key_here>"

# Delete (fails with 409 CONFLICT while addresses still use it)
curl -X DELETE https://api.mailafrica.online/api/inbound/domains/5 \
  -H "X-API-Key: MAIL_<your_api_key_here>"

You can register up to 100 receiving domains. Deleting one that still has addresses returns 409 CONFLICT — delete its addresses first.

MX records

TXT verification proves you own the domain. Once verified, mail is routed to your MailAfrica inbox through the MX record — publish MX @ → 10 mx.mailafrica.online at your DNS provider (the exact target is shown in the app). The MX hostname must resolve to the MailAfrica mail server: publish the matching A record (mx.mailafrica.online → <mail server public IP>) so mail actually reaches the server instead of whatever host the MX points at. Keep both in place; without them, email to your domain is never delivered.