Where this lives. Sign in and open /domain-inbox-forge in the app.
What it does
Domain & Inbox Forge is the tool for taking a sending domain from an idea to a staffed, authenticated domain ready for warmup. The route /domain-inbox-forge redirects to /infrastructure, which is where the feature actually lives, and a dedicated bulk tool sits at /forge/domains/bulk for buying many domains at once. Forge is organized into four tabs: Setup workflow, Domain search, DNS manager, and Mailbox profiles.
Every step that costs money or changes live DNS stops for approval first. Checking availability, previewing price, and generating profile suggestions are free and read-only; registering a domain, writing a DNS fix, and creating a real mailbox account all require someone to approve them.
Before you start
- Your workspace needs a registrar connected so Forge can check live availability and pricing. Without one, search and purchase have nothing to query.
- Approving a purchase or a DNS fix requires approval rights in your workspace; searching and previewing do not.
- Mailbox profile suggestions only create planned mailbox records inside the app. Turning one into a live, working mailbox account at a provider is a separate, later approval-gated step.
Set it up, step by step
- For a single domain, open the Domain search tab, type a Brand keyword, and click Check availability. Results rank candidates by score, availability, price per year, readability, brand fit, and spam risk. Click any available domain to jump into the Setup workflow tab with that domain pre-filled for an Autopilot purchase run.
- For many domains at once, click Open bulk search to reach
/forge/domains/bulk. Choose Keywords × TLDs (up to 10 keywords, plus a set of TLDs to try) or Paste domain list (one per line or comma-separated; pasted URLs are cleaned automatically). Click Search availability. - Bulk results show each candidate's status (available, taken, already yours, premium — not via API, or error), its Inbox odds rating, and its first-year and renewal price. Inbox odds scores a name for cold-email deliverability from its TLD, hyphens, digits, and promotional words; names rated avoid cannot be selected because a registrar will sell them even though they would hurt your sending reputation.
- Check the domains you want, or click Select all N, then either Save N to wishlist or Request approval to buy N. Every domain is re-priced against the registrar immediately before any charge, so the amount you approve is confirmed live, not cached.
- Approve the purchase from the Autopilot run (single domain) or from the resulting "Approval requested" batch (bulk). Once approved, the registrar purchase executes and the domain becomes yours.
- Open the DNS manager tab and pick the domain from the dropdown to see its SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MX, and tracking records, each with a status and when it was last verified. If any record shows drifted or failed, click Prepare fix (approval-gated). The fix waits in the approvals queue; live DNS never changes without someone approving it there.
- Open the Mailbox profiles tab, pick a domain, and click Suggest profiles to generate four candidate sender identities with a name, title, email address, timezone, and signature preview. Uncheck any you do not want, then click Create N mailbox records.
- From here, staff the domain further (connect the mailbox accounts for real) and start warmup, following the same path described for a single domain in Infrastructure's Pilot checklist.
What you should see
A domain search returns a ranked table before you commit to anything; nothing is written until you click into a purchase. A bulk search shows a live progress bar with "X/Y checked · Z available" as it queries the registrar. After requesting a bulk purchase, an "Approval requested" card shows the batch ID, how many domains were accepted, the total price, and the registrar; domains that could not be included appear under Skipped with a reason for each. In the DNS manager, a clean domain shows every record verified with no Prepare fix button; one with a pending fix shows Fix waiting for approval → instead, linking to the approvals panel.
Common problems
- A domain is rated "avoid" and its checkbox is disabled: Inbox odds considers it a deliverability risk. You cannot select it here even though it is technically purchasable.
- "premium — not via API": some registrars will not sell premium names through their API. You would need to register that one manually at the registrar directly.
- Price changed between search and approval: purchases are re-priced live right before charging, so a moved price can change the total you see at approval time, or in rare cases cause the purchase to fail.
- "Fix waiting for approval": someone already prepared a DNS fix for this domain. A second fix cannot be prepared until that one is approved or it clears.
- Mailbox records created but no mailbox works yet: this tab only creates planned records in the app. Making them live mailbox accounts is a further, separate approval-gated step.
Related
Common questions
What happens if one step fails?
The order records the failure against that step rather than failing the whole job silently. That matters because the recurring failure mode in provisioning is work recorded but never surfaced: a record written and never verified, a token refreshed and never re-checked.
Can I order domains without mailboxes?
Yes, and it is often the right order of operations, since domains benefit from ageing while you get everything else ready.
Read next
Last updated September 19, 2026. Written by the team that operates the platform.