> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mailbreeze.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Configure Routes
> Route incoming emails to different destinations based on recipient address
Routes determine what happens when an email arrives at a specific address on your domain. You can forward emails, send them to webhooks, or store them in MailBreeze—and you can configure different routes for different addresses.
## How Routes Work
When MailBreeze receives an inbound email, it evaluates routes in this order:
1. **Exact match** — Does a route exist for this exact address? (e.g., `support@yourdomain.com`)
2. **Catch-all** — Does a wildcard route exist? (e.g., `*@yourdomain.com`)
3. **Default** — Use the domain's default route
If no route matches and no default is configured, the email is stored in the MailBreeze Inbox.
## Route Types
### Email Forwarding
Forward incoming emails to one or more email addresses.
| Setting | Description |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Forward to** | Comma-separated list of email addresses |
| **Preserve headers** | Keep original From/Reply-To headers (may affect deliverability) |
| **Add prefix** | Prepend text to subject line (e.g., `[Support]`) |
**Example configuration:**
```
Address: support@yourdomain.com
Forward to: help@company.com, cto@company.com
Subject prefix: [Customer Support]
```
Forwarded emails may be flagged by receiving providers due to SPF/DKIM changes. For critical workflows, consider using webhooks instead.
### Webhook Delivery
Send email data to your server as an HTTP POST request.
| Setting | Description |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **URL** | Your webhook endpoint (must be HTTPS) |
| **Secret** | Shared secret for request signing (optional but recommended) |
| **Include attachments** | Send attachment data inline or as download URLs |
**Webhook request format:**
```json theme={null}
POST https://your-server.com/webhook/inbound
Content-Type: application/json
X-MailBreeze-Signature: sha256=abc123...
{
"id": "inb_a1b2c3d4e5f6",
"from": {
"address": "sender@example.com",
"name": "John Doe"
},
"to": [
{ "address": "support@yourdomain.com", "name": null }
],
"cc": [],
"subject": "Help with my account",
"text": "Plain text content...",
"html": "HTML content...
",
"attachments": [...],
"headers": {...},
"spamScore": 0.1,
"receivedAt": "2026-01-27T15:30:05.123Z"
}
```
See [Webhook Integration](/inbound/webhooks) for implementation details.
### MailBreeze Inbox
Store emails in MailBreeze for viewing in the dashboard. This is useful for:
* Manual review before automating
* Low-volume addresses
* Compliance archiving
* Backup for webhook failures
Emails are retained for 90 days by default. You can download them as `.eml` files or retrieve via API.
## Create a Route
Go to **Domains** > select your domain > **Inbound Settings** > **Routes**
Click the **Add Route** button to create a new route.
**Address pattern**: Enter the address to match
* Exact address: `support@yourdomain.com`
* Catch-all: `*@yourdomain.com` (matches any address)
* Pattern: `support+*@yourdomain.com` (matches support+anything)
**Destination**: Select where emails should go
* Forward to email
* Send to webhook
* Store in MailBreeze
**Options**: Configure destination-specific settings
Click **Save** and send a test email to verify the route works correctly.
## Route Examples
### Customer Support System
Route support emails to your helpdesk via webhook:
| Address | Destination | Configuration |
| ------------------------ | ----------- | ---------------------------------- |
| `support@yourdomain.com` | Webhook | `https://api.helpdesk.com/inbound` |
| `help@yourdomain.com` | Webhook | `https://api.helpdesk.com/inbound` |
### Team Forwarding
Forward department emails to team inboxes:
| Address | Destination | Forward To |
| ---------------------- | ----------- | ------------------------------------ |
| `sales@yourdomain.com` | Email | `sales-team@company.slack.com` |
| `hr@yourdomain.com` | Email | `hr-team@gmail.com` |
| `legal@yourdomain.com` | Email | `legal@lawfirm.com, ceo@company.com` |
### Reply Tracking
Capture replies to transactional emails:
| Address | Destination | Configuration |
| ------------------------ | ----------- | --------------------------------------- |
| `reply+*@yourdomain.com` | Webhook | `https://api.yourapp.com/email-replies` |
The `+*` pattern matches addresses like `reply+order123@yourdomain.com`, allowing you to include metadata in the reply-to address.
### Catch-All with Exceptions
Store most emails, but route specific addresses differently:
| Address | Destination | Priority |
| ------------------------ | ---------------- | --------------- |
| `support@yourdomain.com` | Webhook | 1 (exact match) |
| `sales@yourdomain.com` | Forward | 2 (exact match) |
| `*@yourdomain.com` | MailBreeze Inbox | 3 (catch-all) |
## Multiple Destinations
A single route can send emails to multiple destinations simultaneously:
This is useful when you want to:
* Archive emails in MailBreeze AND process via webhook
* Forward to multiple team members
* Send to primary webhook with backup forwarding
To configure multiple destinations, click **Add Destination** when creating or editing a route.
## Route Priority
Routes are evaluated from most specific to least specific:
1. **Exact match** — `support@domain.com` beats `*@domain.com`
2. **Pattern match** — `support+*@domain.com` beats `*@domain.com`
3. **Catch-all** — `*@domain.com`
4. **Default route**
If two routes have the same specificity, they're evaluated in the order they were created.
## Disable vs Delete
* **Disable** a route to temporarily stop it without losing configuration
* **Delete** a route to permanently remove it
Disabled routes are skipped during evaluation—emails will fall through to the next matching route or default.
## API Management
You can also manage routes via the API:
```bash Create a route theme={null}
curl -X POST https://api.mailbreeze.com/v1/inbound/routes \
-H "x-api-key: sk_live_xxx" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"domainId": "dom_abc123",
"address": "support@yourdomain.com",
"destinations": [
{
"type": "webhook",
"url": "https://api.yourapp.com/inbound",
"secret": "whsec_xxx"
}
]
}'
```
See [API Reference: Inbound Routes](/api-reference/inbound/routes) for full documentation.
## Next Steps
Build your webhook endpoint to process incoming emails
Retrieve and manage inbound emails programmatically