Help Centre

How to perform a lookup

Go to the App page, type a domain name (e.g. example.com), and click "Look up". Mailrecord will fetch the published MX, SPF, and DMARC records for that domain and explain them in plain language.

Checking DKIM selectors

DKIM selectors are not discoverable from the outside — no tool can enumerate them. If you know which DKIM selectors your domain uses, enter them in the DKIM field (comma-separated) before clicking "Look up". If you do not know your selectors, leave the field blank. Mailrecord will not report "no DKIM" when it simply did not know where to look.

What does the SPF lookup count mean, and why do I care about the limit of 10?

An SPF record typically includes include: statements that reference other domains, each of which triggers a DNS lookup. The DNS specification limits these lookups to 10. If your SPF record exceeds 10 lookups, receiving mail servers stop evaluating the rule partway through — the later include: statements, a: mechanisms, and mx mechanisms are simply ignored.

Mailrecord counts the lookups and reports whether the record is within the limit. This is the finding a simple checklist cannot give you: a record that exceeds the limit and one that does not look identical to the naked eye.

My DMARC record says p=none — am I protected?

No. A DMARC policy of p=none means monitoring only. Receiving mail servers will still deliver mail that fails SPF and DKIM checks — they simply send back a report (if you have a report address configured). The domain is not protected from spoofing.

For protection, the policy should be p=quarantine (send suspicious mail to spam) or p=reject (block it outright). You should only tighten the policy after you have confirmed that all legitimate mail passes authentication.

I have DKIM set up. Why does Mailrecord say no DKIM record found?

DKIM selectors are not discoverable from the public DNS. Mailrecord can only check the selectors you tell it about. If you entered the wrong selector name, or you left the field blank, the tool will not find a record. This is different from saying "no DKIM exists" — it means the tool was not asked to look in the right place.

Check your email provider's documentation to find the correct selector name, then try again. Mailrecord reports clearly that it can only check the selectors you name.

Does Mailrecord tell me if my email is being delivered?

No. Mailrecord reads what DNS records are published. It cannot tell you whether mail is delivered, whether a message passed authentication, or whether anyone is spoofing your domain. Delivery depends on many factors beyond DNS records: sender reputation, content, authentication results at the receiving end, and more.

Mailrecord is a diagnostic tool for DNS configuration, not a mail delivery monitor.

What DNS records should I check for my domain?

For any domain that sends or receives email, you should check:

MX records — Which servers handle mail for your domain.
SPF record — Which servers are authorised to send mail from your domain.
DMARC record — What policy receivers should apply to mail that fails authentication.
DKIM records — Cryptographic signatures that verify mail was not tampered with in transit.

Mailrecord checks all four. For DKIM, you need to provide the selector names yourself.

Mailrecord says the lookup failed. Is my DNS broken?

Not necessarily. A lookup failure means the DNS resolver could not complete the query. This could be a temporary network issue, a problem with the resolver, or the domain's DNS servers being unreachable. Mailrecord reports this separately from a "no record found" result — a resolver failure is not a finding about your domain's configuration.

If the failure persists, try again later. If a specific record type fails but others succeed, that may indicate a partial DNS configuration issue.

No email, alerts, or scheduled re-checks

Mailrecord does not send email, notifications, alerts, or scheduled reports. There is no mechanism to notify you if a domain's DNS records change. Each lookup is a one-time, independent check. This is a deliberate design constraint — the tool has no mailbox and no email sender. If you need monitoring, the owner must add that capability.

No account system or storage

Mailrecord does not offer user accounts, does not store lookup history, and does not retain any data you submit. Results are displayed in the browser only and are lost when you close or refresh the page. This is a deliberate constraint — the tool is stateless by design.

Pro plan is not yet available

The Pro plan (bulk lookups, CSV/JSON export, API access) is planned but not yet available to purchase. The checkout preview on the pricing page is a demonstration only — it does not accept real payment information and creates no subscription. The payment processor is not connected.

DKIM selectors are not discoverable

Mailrecord cannot enumerate DKIM selectors. If you do not know your selector names, there is no way for the tool to find them. This is a limitation of DNS itself, not of the tool. Mailrecord will never guess selector names or report "no DKIM" when it simply did not know where to look.

No domain scanning or subdomain enumeration

Mailrecord checks only the domain you type. It does not scan subdomains, enumerate records, or perform any bulk discovery. Checking a subdomain requires typing it explicitly.

No compliance or security certification claims

Mailrecord is a diagnostic tool for informational purposes. It does not claim compliance with any standard, certification, or audit regime. The results are not a security audit, and the tool does not protect, secure, or certify anything.