Gmail email header analyzer: trace any message

Paste Gmail's Show original text into this email header analyzer to see the route, the sending service, and each check's verdict.

Try:

Runs in your browser. Nothing is sent or stored.

How to copy the headers in Gmail
  1. From a browser, open Gmail.
  2. Open the email you want to check the headers for.
  3. Next to Reply, click More, then Show original.
  4. The full header opens in a new window. Click Copy to clipboard and paste it here.

Source: support.google.com (opens in a new tab). Checked Nov 9, 2026.

What this reader recognises: 18

18 of 18

  • Google Workspace and GmailMail hosts

    Google's mail service. Mail for a Google Workspace domain is delivered to smtp.google.com (older domains use hosts that start with aspmx), and the default DKIM selector Google Workspace suggests is google.

    • A Received hop through a host under google.com
    • A DKIM-Signature with s=google (the default Google Workspace selector)

    Source: knowledge.workspace.google.com (opens in a new tab), knowledge.workspace.google.com (opens in a new tab), knowledge.workspace.google.com (opens in a new tab). Checked Nov 9, 2026.

  • Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online)Mail hosts

    Microsoft's business mail service. Its sending servers greet as hosts under outbound.protection.outlook.com, mail for a Microsoft 365 domain is delivered to a host under mail.protection.outlook.com, and mail from the initial onmicrosoft.com domain is DKIM signed by that domain. Every message delivered to a cloud mailbox gets the X-Forefront-Antispam-Report and X-Microsoft-Antispam headers.

    • A Received hop from a host under outbound.protection.outlook.com (sent from Microsoft 365)
    • A Received hop by a host under mail.protection.outlook.com (delivered to Microsoft 365)
    • A DKIM-Signature with d= ending in onmicrosoft.com
    • X-Forefront-Antispam-Report or X-Microsoft-Antispam headers (delivered to Microsoft 365)

    Source: learn.microsoft.com (opens in a new tab), learn.microsoft.com (opens in a new tab), learn.microsoft.com (opens in a new tab), learn.microsoft.com (opens in a new tab). Checked Nov 9, 2026.

  • Zoho MailMail hosts

    Zoho's mail service. Mail for a Zoho Mail domain is delivered to mx.zoho.com, mx2.zoho.com and mx3.zoho.com (the top-level domain varies by data center), and its SPF include is zohomail.com.

    • A Received hop through a host under zoho.com or zohomail.com

    Source: zoho.com (opens in a new tab), zoho.com (opens in a new tab). Checked Nov 9, 2026.

  • Amazon SESSending services

    Amazon's sending service. Unless a custom MAIL FROM domain is set up, the Return-Path is a subdomain of amazonses.com, and every message carries a Feedback-ID header that ends with the static tag AmazonSES.

    • Return-Path or smtp.mailfrom under amazonses.com
    • A Feedback-ID header that ends with AmazonSES

    Source: docs.aws.amazon.com (opens in a new tab), docs.aws.amazon.com (opens in a new tab), docs.aws.amazon.com (opens in a new tab). Checked Nov 9, 2026.

  • SendGridSending services

    Twilio's sending service. Its authenticated domains point to hosts under sendgrid.net, and mail from an unauthenticated domain shows the tagline via sendgrid.net (via eu.sendgrid.net for regional accounts).

    • Return-Path, DKIM d= or a Received hop under sendgrid.net

    Source: twilio.com (opens in a new tab). Checked Nov 9, 2026.

  • PostmarkSending services

    A transactional sending service. Unless a custom Return-Path domain is set up, bounces go to an address at pm.mtasv.net. Postmark also replaces the Message-ID of messages sent over SMTP by default.

    • Return-Path or smtp.mailfrom under pm.mtasv.net

    Source: postmarkapp.com (opens in a new tab), postmarkapp.com (opens in a new tab). Checked Nov 9, 2026.

  • Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)Sending services

    Mailchimp's transactional sending service. By default the return-path points to mandrillapp.com.

    • Return-Path or smtp.mailfrom under mandrillapp.com

    Source: mailchimp.com (opens in a new tab). Checked Nov 9, 2026.

  • Mailchimp marketing emailSending services

    Mailchimp's campaign sender. Its sending domain usually contains mcsv.net, mcdlv.net, mailchimpapp.net or rsgsv.net, and mail clients show it next to the From name until the sender sets up their own domain authentication.

    • Return-Path, DKIM d= or a Received hop under mcsv.net, mcdlv.net, mailchimpapp.net or rsgsv.net

    Source: mailchimp.com (opens in a new tab). Checked Nov 9, 2026.

Photo of Utku Zihnioglu

By

· CEO & co-founder

Updated Nov 11, 2026

Shorter page: the tool first, the answer in a few lines.

A Gmail email header analyzer reads what Gmail keeps two menus down: the route a message took, the services behind it, and the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC verdicts written when it arrived. In Gmail, open the message, choose Show original, copy the full header, and paste it above.

It is read in your browser and never sent or logged, which matters because headers carry your address and the sender's.

What Gmail's headers tell you

For mail in a Gmail inbox, the top Authentication-Results line is normally the verdict of Google's own servers, so it is the one to trust. Copy the whole block, because the top is the part the analyzer needs most.

Mail sent from Google Workspace shows Google on the sending side too: a Received hop through a host under google.com, or a DKIM signature with the selector google.

The via label Gmail shows beside a sender means the signing domain differs from the From domain. Google's help page on why Gmail shows via next to a sender gives the fix: sign with DKIM for your own domain, and keep the From domain the same as the one you authenticate.

Forwarded mail, and what to check next

A forward can fail SPF and break DKIM without the sender doing anything wrong. ARC, set out in RFC 8617, lets each server record the results it saw, and when a header has no Authentication-Results line, the analyzer reads the ARC copy.

The most useful message to check is your own. Send a cold email to your Gmail address, open Show original, and paste it here.

For every part of the result and what each finding asks you to change, see the email header analyzer page.

Gmail email header analyzer: common questions

Does Gmail require DMARC from bulk senders?

Yes. Gmail asks bulk senders to publish a DMARC record, and a policy of none is enough. It also asks for SPF and DKIM, and a From domain aligned with one of them.

Does Gmail require one-click unsubscribe?

Yes, on marketing mail from bulk senders. Google's sender guidelines ask for a List-Unsubscribe header with one-click unsubscribe, and the analyzer flags bulk mail that carries none.

Does passing SPF, DKIM and DMARC mean my email reaches the inbox?

No. Authentication proves who sent the message, not that anyone wants it. Google's sender guidelines also ask you to send only to people who want your messages and to watch your spam rate.

About this article

Photo of Utku Zihnioglu

Utku Zihnioglu

CEO & co-founder

Serial entrepreneur who built infrastructure companies handling billions of requests. Now leads engineering at Oneprofile, which finds the people worth talking to, researches each one, and follows up until they reply.

Drafted with AI from our product docs and code. Utku Zihnioglu answers for what it says.

See your cold email the way Gmail sees it

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See your cold email the way Gmail sees it

Oneprofile mails you a test of any sequence step, so you can read its headers here.

Free plan: 200 credits a month, 3 integrations, no card