Connect your registrar
To send email from your domains, each one needs a handful of technical settings called DNS records. You don’t have to set any of them yourself. Instead, you give Maildeck access to the registrar where you bought the domains, and our team adds the records for you.
What the access is used for
Section titled “What the access is used for”Your registrar is where your domains’ settings live. With access, our team can:
- add the DNS records that let your domains send email (SPF, DKIM, DMARC and the rest),
- point the domains to Outlook, Google Workspace or your SMTP servers, depending on what you ordered,
- fix a record later if something stops checking out.
Quick Start says it plainly: credentials are encrypted and only used for DNS configuration.
What Quick Start asks for
Section titled “What Quick Start asks for”In the Domains step of Quick Start you’ll see a short form after you paste your domains:
| Field | Required? | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Registrar | Yes | Porkbun, Namecheap, GoDaddy, or Other (then type its name) |
| Email / Username | Yes | The login for your registrar account |
| Password | Yes | The password for that account |
| Registrar API key | Optional | A key that lets software change DNS for you. Only fill it in if your registrar issued one. |
| Registrar secret key | Optional | Some registrars (Porkbun, for example) issue a secret key alongside the API key |
Login vs API key
Section titled “Login vs API key”- The login (email and password) lets our team sign in to your registrar account and set the records by hand. Some registrars only let you change DNS from their website, which is why the login is required.
- An API key lets our tools change DNS records directly, without signing in. It’s a nice extra where your registrar
offers one. On Porkbun you’ll find it under Account, then API Access, and it starts with
pk1_(the secret key starts withsk1_).
Turn off two-factor login for setup
Section titled “Turn off two-factor login for setup”If your registrar account uses two-factor authentication (2FA, the extra code from your phone or an app), Quick Start asks you to switch it off temporarily. Our team can’t receive your codes, so 2FA would block them from signing in.
- Turn off 2FA in your registrar account settings.
- Tick I’ve disabled 2FA in Quick Start.
- Once your order shows as set up on the dashboard, turn 2FA back on.
Keep your registrar access safe
Section titled “Keep your registrar access safe”- Only enter credentials in Quick Start. Never paste passwords or API keys into chat, email or Slack messages. Maya will never ask for them.
- Use a separate registrar account for sending domains if you can, so it doesn’t hold your main company domain. That way, the access you share only touches the domains you bought for cold email.
- Use a strong, unique password for the registrar account.
- Turn 2FA back on once setup is done.
- In a team workspace, only Owners and Admins can see registrar logins in the app.
What if the access is wrong?
Section titled “What if the access is wrong?”If the login doesn’t work, or 2FA is still on, our team can’t add the DNS records. Without those records the domains can’t send, so setup for those domains waits until access is fixed.
If you think you typed something wrong, or you changed your password, message a person rather than placing a new order: use your private Slack channel or the chat bubble in the app. Don’t send the new password in the message; the team will tell you how to update it safely.