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Netgrimoire/mxroute-mailcow.md
Administrator a2643cd07d docs: update mxroute-mailcow
2026-02-15 02:33:46 +00:00

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title description published date tags editor dateCreated
Recieving Mail thru MXRoute Trusted receiver true 2026-02-15T02:33:37.376Z markdown 2026-02-15T01:44:15.683Z

MXroute Incoming Mail to Mailcow

Overview

Configuration guide for using MXroute to receive incoming mail for your domains and forward to your Mailcow server.

Architecture

Incoming: Internet → MXroute → Mailcow subdomain → Alias → Mailbox
Outgoing: Mailbox → Mailcow → MXroute relay → Internet

This setup allows MXroute to handle incoming mail filtering, spam protection, and then forward clean mail to your Mailcow server. Users send and receive using clean @yourdomain.com addresses.

Address Structure Explained

What users see (clean addresses):

  • john@yourdomain.com
  • jane@yourdomain.com

What happens behind the scenes:

  • Mailboxes actually exist as john@mail.yourdomain.com
  • Aliases in Mailcow map john@yourdomain.com → john@mail.yourdomain.com
  • MXroute forwards to john@mail.yourdomain.com
  • Users send FROM john@yourdomain.com (configured as default sender)
  • Users login with john@yourdomain.com (Dovecot auth configured to accept aliases)

Benefits:

  • 100% transparent to users - they only ever see/use @yourdomain.com
  • Clean, professional email addresses
  • Easier for users to remember and communicate
  • No confusion about which address to use

MXroute Configuration

1. Add Domain to MXroute

  1. Log into MXroute DirectAdmin panel
  2. Navigate to Email Accounts → Email Domains
  3. Add your domain (e.g., yourdomain.com)

2. Create Catch-All Forwarder

  1. Navigate to Email Accounts → Forwarders
  2. Create catch-all forwarder:
    • Email Address: *@yourdomain.com
    • Forward To: @mail.yourdomain.com
  3. This forwards all mail to your Mailcow server, preserving the username

How it works:

  • Mail to john@yourdomain.com → forwarded to john@mail.yourdomain.com
  • Mail to jane@yourdomain.com → forwarded to jane@mail.yourdomain.com

DNS Configuration

Update MX Records

Point your domain's MX records to MXroute servers:

yourdomain.com → MX 10 arrow.mxroute.com
yourdomain.com → MX 20 eagle.mxroute.com

Note: Check your MXroute account for the correct server hostnames (arrow, eagle, hermes, etc.)

SPF Record

Update SPF to allow MXroute to send on your behalf:

v=spf1 include:mxroute.com -all

If you also send from Mailcow directly:

v=spf1 ip4:192.168.5.16 include:mxroute.com -all

DKIM Records

  1. Generate DKIM key in MXroute DirectAdmin:

    • Navigate to Email Authentication → DKIM Keys
    • Generate key for your domain
    • Copy the DNS record

  2. Add DKIM TXT record to your DNS:

    default._domainkey.yourdomain.com → [MXroute DKIM public key]

DMARC Record

_dmarc.yourdomain.com → v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:admin@yourdomain.com

Note: Start with p=quarantine for testing, then move to p=reject once confirmed working.

Mailcow Configuration

1. Add Domain

Add mail.yourdomain.com as a domain in Mailcow:

  1. Navigate to Mailcow admin → Configuration → Mail setup → Domains
  2. Add domain: mail.yourdomain.com
  3. Configure as needed

2. Create Mailboxes

Create mailboxes using the subdomain:

  1. Navigate to Mailboxes
  2. Create mailbox: john@mail.yourdomain.com
  3. Set password and quota
  4. Repeat for each user

3. Create Aliases for Clean Addresses

For each mailbox, create an alias so users can use clean @yourdomain.com addresses:

  1. Navigate to Configuration → Mail setup → Aliases
  2. Create alias:
    • Alias: john@yourdomain.com
    • Destination: john@mail.yourdomain.com
  3. Repeat for each user

Alternative: Alias Domain (Easier for Multiple Users)

  1. Navigate to Configuration → Mail setup → Alias Domains
  2. Add alias domain: yourdomain.com → aliases to → mail.yourdomain.com
  3. This automatically creates aliases for ALL mailboxes:
    • john@yourdomain.com → john@mail.yourdomain.com
    • jane@yourdomain.com → jane@mail.yourdomain.com

4. Configure Default Sender Address

Set users to send FROM their clean address by default:

Method 1: Per-Mailbox Settings

  1. Edit each mailbox in Mailcow
  2. Under Sender addresses, add john@yourdomain.com
  3. Set as default sender address

Method 2: SOGo Webmail Users can configure in SOGo:

  1. Log into webmail
  2. Settings → Mail → Accounts
  3. Set "From" address to john@yourdomain.com

Method 3: Email Client Configure email client (Thunderbird, Outlook, etc.):

  • Identity name: john@yourdomain.com
  • Reply-to: john@yourdomain.com
  • SMTP still authenticates as john@mail.yourdomain.com

5. Enable Login with Alias Addresses (Make Transparent to Users)

Allow users to login with john@yourdomain.com instead of john@mail.yourdomain.com:

  1. SSH into your Mailcow server

  2. Edit the Dovecot configuration:

    cd /opt/mailcow-dockerized
nano data/conf/dovecot/extra.cf

  3. Add the following line:

    auth_username_format = %Ln@%Ld

  4. Restart Dovecot:

    docker-compose restart dovecot-mailcow

Alternative method - Edit via Mailcow UI:

  1. Navigate to System → Configuration → Configuration & Details
  2. Under Dovecot, add custom config
  3. Add: auth_username_format = %Ln@%Ld

Result: Users can now login with EITHER address:

  • john@yourdomain.com ✓
  • john@mail.yourdomain.com ✓

Both will work for IMAP, SMTP, and webmail authentication.

6. Allow MXroute IP Addresses

Add MXroute server IPs to Mailcow's trusted networks to skip spam filtering:

  1. Navigate to Configuration → Configuration & Details → Options
  2. Under mynetworks, add MXroute IPs
  3. Or edit via command line in data/conf/postfix/extra.cf: 
    mynetworks = 127.0.0.0/8 [::1]/128 192.168.0.0/16 [MXroute IPs]

7. Disable Greylisting for MXroute (Optional)

If you experience delays:

  1. Navigate to Configuration → Configuration & Details
  2. Find your domain
  3. Under Greylisting, add MXroute IPs to whitelist

Testing

1. Test Mail Flow

Send test email from external provider (Gmail, Outlook):

From: test@gmail.com
To: john@yourdomain.com

Expected Flow:

  1. Mail arrives at MXroute for john@yourdomain.com
  2. MXroute forwards to john@mail.yourdomain.com
  3. Mailcow receives at john@mail.yourdomain.com
  4. Mailcow alias delivers to john@mail.yourdomain.com mailbox
  5. Mail appears in John's inbox

2. Test Reply

Have John reply to a message:

Expected behavior:

  • Reply FROM: john@yourdomain.com (clean address)
  • Reply goes through Mailcow → MXroute relay → Internet

3. Check Headers

Review email headers in Mailcow to verify:

  • Received: headers show MXroute server
  • To: shows john@yourdomain.com
  • Delivered-To: shows john@mail.yourdomain.com
  • SPF, DKIM, DMARC all pass
  • No spam flags

3. Monitor Logs

MXroute Logs:

  • Check DirectAdmin → Email Logs
  • Verify forwarding is occurring

Mailcow Logs:

docker-compose logs -f postfix-mailcow

Look for incoming connections from MXroute IPs.

Example Configuration: gnarlypandaproductions.com

Mailcow Setup

Domain: mail.gnarlypandaproductions.com

Mailboxes:

  • admin@mail.gnarlypandaproductions.com
  • contact@mail.gnarlypandaproductions.com
  • info@mail.gnarlypandaproductions.com

Alias Domain: gnarlypandaproductions.com → aliases to → mail.gnarlypandaproductions.com

This automatically creates:

  • admin@gnarlypandaproductions.com → admin@mail.gnarlypandaproductions.com
  • contact@gnarlypandaproductions.com → contact@mail.gnarlypandaproductions.com
  • info@gnarlypandaproductions.com → info@mail.gnarlypandaproductions.com

MXroute Setup

Catch-all Forwarder:

*@gnarlypandaproductions.com → @mail.gnarlypandaproductions.com

DNS Records

Record Type Name Value
MX @ 10 arrow.mxroute.com
MX @ 20 eagle.mxroute.com
A mail 192.168.5.16
TXT @ v=spf1 ip4:192.168.5.16 include:mxroute.com -all
TXT _dmarc v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:admin@gnarlypandaproductions.com
TXT default._domainkey [MXroute DKIM key]

User Experience

Users use clean addresses for EVERYTHING (completely transparent):

  • Send FROM: admin@gnarlypandaproductions.com
  • Receive AT: admin@gnarlypandaproductions.com
  • Login with: admin@gnarlypandaproductions.com (and password)
  • SMTP/IMAP Server: mail.gnarlypandaproductions.com

Users never need to know about the mail. subdomain!

Troubleshooting

Mail Not Being Forwarded

  1. Check MXroute forwarder configuration

    • Verify forwarder exists in DirectAdmin
    • Check destination address is correct
    • Review MXroute email logs

  2. Verify DNS propagation

    dig MX yourdomain.com
dig TXT yourdomain.com

  3. Check Mailcow firewall

    • Ensure port 25 is open
    • Verify MXroute IPs aren't blocked

SPF/DKIM Failures

  1. SPF not passing

  2. DKIM not passing

    • Confirm DKIM record published in DNS
    • Verify selector matches (usually default)
    • Check DKIM record format (no spaces in key)

Mail Delayed or Bouncing

  1. Greylisting delays

    • Disable greylisting in Mailcow for MXroute IPs
    • Or wait 5-15 minutes for retry

  2. Mailbox full

    • Check quota in Mailcow
    • Increase quota or clean mailbox

  3. Spam filtering

    • Check Mailcow spam folder
    • Whitelist MXroute IPs in Rspamd

MXroute Server Information

Common MXroute Mail Servers

  • arrow.mxroute.com
  • eagle.mxroute.com
  • hermes.mxroute.com
  • zen.mxroute.com

Your assigned server: Check MXroute DirectAdmin welcome email or DNS settings

MXroute IP Ranges

Consult MXroute documentation for current IP ranges to whitelist in Mailcow.

Advantages of This Setup

  • Spam filtering: MXroute handles initial spam filtering
  • DDoS protection: MXroute absorbs mail-based attacks
  • Reliability: If Mailcow is down, mail queues at MXroute
  • Deliverability: MXroute IPs have good reputation
  • Offload processing: Reduces load on your Mailcow server

References