Cloudflare
Add usend's DNS records in Cloudflare, with one-click auto-configure or by hand.
If your domain's DNS is on Cloudflare, you have two ways to add the records.
Option 1: auto-configure (one click)
usend can publish the records for you. On the domain's page choose Auto-configure and paste a Cloudflare API token created from the Edit zone DNS template, limited to the zone of this domain. usend uses the token once for that request and never stores or logs it, then starts verification. It never deletes records, never replaces an existing DMARC policy or an MX that points elsewhere, and always creates CNAMEs as DNS only. Anything in its way is reported as a conflict and left for you to decide.
Step by step, including the API call: Auto-configure with Cloudflare. Delete the token in Cloudflare afterwards.
Option 2: add the records yourself
Before you start
- Add the domain in usend (Domains, or
POST /domains). usend shows the exact records for it, and the values are unique to your domain, so copy them from there. - Find where the domain's DNS is hosted. DNS is edited at whoever runs the domain's nameservers, which is not always the registrar you bought it from. If it is not Cloudflare, follow that provider's guide instead.
The records
usend shows this set of records. Names are relative to your domain, acme.com in the example.
| Record | Name | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| DKIM | rs1._domainkey | TXT | v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIIB... (long, unique to your domain) |
| Return path and SPF | send and/or send-ses | CNAME | the host usend shows, for example rp-ses-us-east-1.usend.et |
| DMARC (recommended) | _dmarc | TXT | v=DMARC1; p=none; |
| Receiving (only if you enabled it) | @ | MX | the host usend shows, priority 10 |
The domain's page lists one return-path CNAME for each sending transport enabled on usend, so you may see send, send-ses or both. Add every one that is shown. The MX and SPF records for the return path live behind that CNAME, so you do not add a separate MX or SPF record for sending, and your own SPF record at the root does not need to change. See Custom return path to choose another label, and DMARC before you tighten the policy.
Only add the receiving MX record if you turned on receiving. An MX at the root sends all mail for that name to usend. Use a dedicated subdomain if the domain already receives mail elsewhere.
Add them in Cloudflare
- Open the Cloudflare dashboard, choose your domain and open DNS → Records.
- Choose Add record, pick the Type, enter the Name and the value, then Save.
- Cloudflare takes the name relative to the zone:
rs1._domainkey, not the full name. Use@for the domain itself.
Cloudflare-specific notes
- Set every CNAME to DNS only (grey cloud). A proxied (orange cloud) CNAME hides the MX and TXT records behind it, and verification fails. Auto-configure does this for you.
- Cloudflare shows the TXT value without quotes. Paste the DKIM value exactly as usend shows it.
- Cloudflare's Email Routing adds MX and SPF records at the root. They do not conflict with sending, but never point the root MX at usend if you use Email Routing.
- Cloudflare negative-caches a missing record for a while, so a check right after publishing can miss it. usend queries several resolvers and keeps re-checking.
Verify
Press Verify on the domain. If a record stays pending, see Domain not verifying. Background: Verify a domain.