Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is a DNS record that tells receiving mail systems which services are allowed to send email for a domain. It is one part of email authentication. A correct SPF setup can help receiving systems recognize authorized mail, but it does not guarantee delivery or resolve every delayed or missing notification.
Before you change DNS
Contact Vanilla Support to confirm the sending service and the return-path domain used for your community email. The address your members see in the From field is not always the domain that SPF checks. If Support has provided sender-authentication DNS records for your site, follow those site-specific instructions.
Ask Support which of these SPF mechanisms is appropriate for the confirmed sending path:
include:vanilla.email for a Vanilla-managed path, when Support confirms that the vanilla.email record covers the active sending IPs for your site.include:sendgrid.net for a SendGrid path, when Support confirms that this is the appropriate record for your setup.
Use the confirmed mechanism for your setup. Do not add both by default, and do not substitute a single static IP address for the confirmed include. An include references a record maintained by the sending provider, allowing its authorized IP pool to be updated centrally.
Update and verify your SPF record
- Ask your IT or DNS administrator to find the existing SPF TXT record for the domain that Support identified.
- Add the confirmed include to that existing record. Keep the mechanisms for your other authorized email senders and the existing policy qualifier unless your administrator has a reason to change them. Do not publish a second
v=spf1 record for the same domain. - Have your administrator check SPF syntax and the DNS lookup limit, then verify that the updated TXT record is visible in public DNS.
- Send a test email from your community. Ask Vanilla Support to confirm that sender authentication is working for the actual sending path. If mail remains delayed or missing, provide Support with recipient addresses and message times so they can investigate delivery separately.
For the rest of your email setup, see Email Deliverability.