SPF Record
Raw Checker
Analyze SPF record syntax and mechanisms
Validate SPF without DNS lookup
Analyze SPF Record
Paste an SPF record to validate syntax and analyze mechanisms
Enter the complete SPF record including v=spf1
Syntax Check
Validate SPF record format
DNS Lookups
Count DNS lookup mechanisms
Best Practices
Get optimization suggestions
Why Analyze SPF Records?
SPF records can fail due to syntax errors, too many DNS lookups, or incorrect mechanisms. This tool helps identify issues before deploying to DNS.
Get SPF Management HelpSPF Record Analysis Guide
Understanding SPF mechanisms and optimization
SPF Mechanism Types
- include: Authorizes servers from another domain's SPF (counts as DNS lookup)
- a: Authorizes servers with A records (counts as DNS lookup)
- mx: Authorizes mail exchange servers (counts as DNS lookup)
- ip4/ip6: Directly authorizes IP addresses (no DNS lookup)
- exists: Advanced mechanism for custom checks (counts as DNS lookup)
- all: Catch-all policy for unmatched servers
SPF Qualifiers Explained
Each mechanism can have a qualifier that determines the result when matched:
- + (Pass): Authorize the server (default if no qualifier)
- - (Fail): Reject emails from this server
- ~ (Softfail): Mark as suspicious but don't reject
- ? (Neutral): No policy statement (not recommended)
Common SPF Issues
The 10 DNS lookup limit is the most common SPF failure. Each include, a, mx, ptr, and exists mechanism counts toward this limit. Nested includes also count, so a single include statement might trigger multiple lookups. Large organizations often hit this limit when including multiple third-party services. The solution is to use IP addresses directly or consolidate includes through SPF flattening services.
Simplify SPF Management
InboxKit automatically optimizes SPF records and manages the 10-lookup limit