GreenHouse SPF and DKIM Configuration: Step by Step

This instructional article will demonstrate the GreenHouse configuration process of Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) Signatures to ensure GreenHouse passes the DMARC alignment check and eliminate spam from your domain and increase security.

The SPF record identifies the mail servers and domains that are allowed to send email on behalf of your domain. The DKIM record, on the other hand, is a specially formatted DNS TXT record that stores the public key the receiving mail server will use to verify a message’s signature. These email authentication methods will be used to prove to ISPs and mail services that senders are truly authorized to send email from a particular domain and are a way of verifying your email sending server is sending emails through your domain.

The process of Domain verification

1. Login to your GreenHouse platform
2. Go to the “Email Setting” page

3. Enter your domain name in the box mentioned and click on Register

Important Note: If your DKIM records have a character limit and need to be shorter than the default 2048-bit key, check the box Use shorter DKIM key when registering your domain.

The process of Email verification

To ensure the emails from GreenHouse are sent on behalf of your domain, we need to create or update your existing SPF record, as well as DKIM record, by following the steps below:

1. Go to the “Email Setting” page
2. Click on “Show verification details”
3. Click on “Check DNS Records Now”
4. Now, you have access to DNS records that you need to add to your DNS zone

Add SPF Record to GreenHouse

1. Head to your DNS zone (We are using Cloudflare for this example)
2. Create a new TXT record and enter the generated value in the DNS value

3. Click on “Save”
4. Wait up to 72 hours to allow your DNS to process the changes

Important Note: Each domain must have only one SPF TXT Record. If you have multiple SPF Records, SPF will return a PermError. 

If you are using multiple IPs, ESPs, Third-Party services for your various email strategies, you should include them in a single SPF Record.
E.g v=spf1 ip4:18.57.156.221 include:mg-spf.greenhouse.io include:thirdpartyservice.com ~all 

Add DKIM Record to GreenHouse

1. Navigate to your DNS zone
2. Create a new TXT record 
3. Fill in the information which HostName as your DNS record name and Required Value as your DNS value

4. Click on Save

Important Note: It may take up to 48 hours for DNS changes to appear online. If your new domain doesn’t show as Verified right away, try checking again in a couple of hours.

Congratulations, you now successfully authenticated your outgoing mail stream from GreenHouse with SPF and DKIM.