Setup guide / Vercel
Set up email on your domain with Vercel
Vercel hosts your site but not your email. Point the domain’s mail records at Episto and both keep working side by side.
Automatic setup
If your domain uses Vercel’s nameservers, Episto can connect to your Vercel account and add the records for you. You approve the connection in Vercel and Episto changes only the email records listed below (and removes MX records of an earlier mail provider); the records for your site are not touched.
If the domain is only added to a Vercel project but its nameservers are elsewhere (for example at your registrar), DNS is not managed by Vercel. Add the records at the provider that runs your nameservers instead.
Add the records manually
- Open the Domains page in the Vercel dashboard and select your domain.
- In DNS Records, add each record from the table below. For the root of the domain, use
@or leave the name empty, depending on the form. - For the MX record, enter
mail.epistomail.comas the value and10as the priority.
Episto shows the exact records for your domain in the panel under Domains → your domain → DNS records, with the values filled in. The table below shows their shape, so you know what to expect. Use a TTL of 3600 (1 hour) where your provider asks for one.
| Type | Name (host) | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| TXT | _episto | episto-verification=… | Proves you own the domain. The token is shown in the panel. |
| MX | @ | mail.epistomail.com | Priority 10. Remove other MX records for the domain. |
| TXT | @ | v=spf1 include:spf.smtp2go.com ~all | SPF. If you already have an SPF record, add include:spf.smtp2go.com to it instead of creating a second one. |
| TXT | episto._domainkey | v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=… | DKIM signing key, generated for your domain. |
| TXT | _dmarc | v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:… | DMARC policy. Keep an existing DMARC record if you have one. |
| CNAME | em… | return.smtp2go.net | Return path for outgoing mail. Exact host in the panel. |
| CNAME | s…._domainkey | dkim.smtp2go.net | Signing key of the outgoing relay. Exact host in the panel. |
Recommended: mail app discovery
These records are optional. They help mail apps such as Apple Mail, Thunderbird and Outlook find the right servers on their own. Domain activation never waits for them.
| Type | Name (host) | Value |
|---|---|---|
| SRV | _imaps._tcp | 0 1 993 mail.epistomail.com |
| SRV | _submissions._tcp | 0 1 465 mail.epistomail.com |
| SRV | _submission._tcp | 0 1 587 mail.epistomail.com |
| SRV | _jmap._tcp | 0 1 443 mail.epistomail.com |
| SRV | _autodiscover._tcp | 0 1 443 autodiscover.epistomail.com |
Common pitfalls with Vercel
- Nameservers elsewhere. Records added in Vercel do nothing unless the domain uses Vercel’s nameservers. Episto shows which provider answers for your domain.
- Existing MX records from an earlier mail provider must be removed, or some mail keeps going there.
- One SPF record only. Merge
include:spf.smtp2go.cominto an existingv=spf1record instead of adding a second one.
Check and activate
Go back to the Episto panel and run the DNS check. Episto compares your records with public DNS and marks each one as found. Most providers publish changes within minutes. Some resolvers cache old values for up to the TTL of the record they replaced, so allow an hour or two before you worry.
When the MX record is live, new mail for your domain arrives at Episto. Create your mailboxes and aliases first, so no message arrives for an address that doesn’t exist yet.
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