---
title: "Receiving Emails"
description: "Receive inbound email on your own domain with Reloop: add the MX record, create a mailbox, and read messages in the dashboard, over the API, with webhooks, over MCP or over IMAP."
---
> For the complete documentation index, see [llms-docs.txt](/llms-docs.txt) or the site index [llms.txt](/llms.txt). Full docs corpus: [llms-full-docs.txt](/llms-full-docs.txt). Prefer markdown URLs (append `.md`) for agent consumption. Product skill: [skill.md](/skill.md).


Reloop receives email for any domain you have added, stores it in a mailbox, threads it by conversation and gives every message a spam verdict. You can then read and reply from the dashboard, your code, an AI agent or a normal mail client.

## Set up receiving

<Steps>
  <Step title="Pick the hostname">
    Use a subdomain such as `inbox.yourdomain.com` or `agents.yourdomain.com`. If your root domain already receives mail through Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, pointing its MX at Reloop would split or divert that mail. See [Sending vs receiving](/docs/guides/connect-domain/sending-vs-receiving) and [MX conflicts](/docs/guides/avoid-mx-conflicts).
  </Step>
  <Step title="Turn on Email Receiving">
    Add the domain in the [dashboard](https://reloop.sh/dashboard) or open an existing one. **Email Receiving** is on by default for new domains. You can toggle it on the domain detail page.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Add the MX record">
    At your DNS host, add the MX record Reloop shows for the domain:

    | Type | Name | Value | Priority |
    | --- | --- | --- | --- |
    | `MX` | your subdomain, for example `inbox` | `inbound.reloop.sh` | `10` |

    [Auto-populate](/docs/guides/connect-domain/auto-populate) adds it for you on supported DNS hosts.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Create a mailbox">
    Create a mailbox for the address, for example `support@inbox.yourdomain.com`, from the domain page or with the API. Mail sent to that address now lands in the mailbox.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Send a test">
    Send a message to the address from any personal account. It should appear in the mailbox within a few seconds.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Read and reply

Choose how your app, agent or team works with received mail:

| Method | Best for | Docs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Dashboard** | People reading and replying by hand | [Agent inbox](/docs/learn/agent-inbox) |
| **Webhooks** | Reacting to each new message in your code | [`email.received`](/docs/webhooks/emails/received) |
| **API and SDKs** | Listing threads, fetching messages, replying in a thread | [API reference](/docs/api) |
| **MCP** | Letting Claude, Cursor or another AI client read and answer mail | [MCP server](/docs/integrations/ai-tools/mcp-server) |
| **IMAP** | Apple Mail, Outlook, Thunderbird or any IMAP client | See below |

### Webhooks

Subscribe a webhook to `email.received`. Each event includes the mailbox, sender, subject, `thread_id`, `is_spam` and the `email_id` you use to fetch the full message or reply. Always [verify the signature](/docs/webhooks/verify-webhooks-requests) before trusting the payload.

To forward received mail to another address, see [Forward emails](/docs/guides/inbound-forward-emails).

### IMAP

| Setting | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Host | `imap.reloop.sh` |
| Port | `993` (TLS) |
| Username | The mailbox address, for example `support@inbox.yourdomain.com` |
| Password | A Reloop API key with access to that mailbox |

Changes sync both ways: messages you read, move or archive in your mail client show the same way in the dashboard and the API.

## Troubleshooting

- **Nothing arrives.** Check the MX record with `dig MX inbox.yourdomain.com +short`. It should return `10 inbound.reloop.sh.` DNS changes can take up to an hour to propagate.
- **Mail arrives somewhere else.** Another MX record on the same hostname has a lower priority number. Remove it or use a different subdomain.
- **Mail is marked as spam.** Every message gets a spam verdict. Messages with `is_spam: true` are still stored in the mailbox, so check for flagged messages before assuming mail was lost.

## Learn more

- [Agent inbox](/docs/learn/agent-inbox)
- [Domains](/docs/learn/domain)
- [Webhook event types](/docs/webhooks/event-types)
- [Give an AI agent its own email address](/blog/give-ai-agent-email-address)