Forward mail sent to an address on your domain, like hello@example.com, to an inbox you already use, Gmail, Outlook, or anywhere else. No mail server to run: Brimble handles receiving and relaying.
Prerequisites
- The domain’s nameservers set to Brimble’s (
ns1.brimble.io and ns2.brimble.io). See Manage DNS records if you haven’t switched over yet.
- No existing mail setup on the domain. If you’re already using something like Google Workspace or another mail provider (i.e. the domain has
MX records pointing elsewhere), remove those records first, forwarding and an external mail provider can’t run on the same domain at once.
- A payment method on file, forwarding is a paid add-on (see Pricing below).
Add a forwarding address
- Open the domain in the dashboard and go to its DNS tab.
- Scroll to Email Forwarding and click Add first address (or Add Address if you already have some set up).
- If this is the first address on the domain, you’ll be asked to confirm enabling forwarding, and to add a card if you don’t have one on file yet.
- Enter:
- Address, the part before
@, e.g. hello for hello@example.com. Letters, numbers, dots, hyphens, and underscores are allowed.
- Destination, the real inbox to deliver to, e.g.
you@gmail.com.
- Click Add address.
The address appears with a Pending status while Brimble sets up the mail records behind the scenes, this is automatic and usually finishes within a few minutes. Once it flips to Active, mail sent to that address starts forwarding.
Add as many addresses as you like on the same domain, hello@, support@, billing@, whatever routes you need. They all route to whatever destination you set per address.
Test an address
Once an address is Active, click the send icon next to it to fire off a test message. Brimble delivers a message with the subject “Brimble email forwarding test” to the configured destination, delivery can take a few moments. This is the fastest way to confirm a route actually works before you start giving the address out.
Edit or delete an address
- Edit (pencil icon), change where an address forwards to. The address itself (the part before
@) can’t be changed, delete the address and add a new one instead.
- Delete (trash icon), stops forwarding for that address immediately. This can’t be undone.
Deleting the last remaining address on a domain turns off forwarding for that domain entirely.
Status reference
Pricing
Email forwarding costs $0.75/month per domain, not per address. Add as many addresses as you need on that domain at no extra charge. Billing starts when you create the first forwarding address on a domain.
Limits
Each domain can forward up to 500 messages a day, tracked on a rolling UTC day. This is a generous limit for personal and small-business use and exists to prevent abuse. If a domain hits it, forwarding pauses for the rest of the day, addresses show as Disabled, and the domain owner gets an email notice. Forwarding resumes automatically at the start of the next UTC day, no action needed on your part.
Troubleshooting
Address stuck on “Pending” for a while. This is usually just propagation, wait a few minutes. If it’s been more than 30 minutes, double-check the domain’s nameservers point at Brimble:
If you don’t see ns1.brimble.io and ns2.brimble.io, the domain isn’t using Brimble’s DNS and forwarding can’t complete setup.
Address shows “Failed”. Read the error shown under the address. The most common cause is a conflicting MX record on the domain, check the domain’s DNS records for any MX entries you (or a previous provider) added, and remove them.
Can’t add an address at all. Check the banner or tooltip on the Add Address button, it tells you why: nameservers not pointed at Brimble, a conflicting MX record, or the domain’s daily limit.
Test email never arrives. Check spam/junk at the destination first. If the address’s status isn’t Active yet, wait for it to finish propagating, a test can’t send until it is.
Next steps
Last modified on September 15, 2026
