{"id":502,"date":"2026-10-05T11:27:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T05:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/?p=502"},"modified":"2026-10-05T11:31:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T06:01:26","slug":"catch-all-email-alias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/catch-all-email-alias\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Set Up a Catch-All Email Alias on Your Domain"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"post-tldr\">\n  <p class=\"post-tldr__title\">The short version<\/p>\n  <ul>\n    <li><strong>A catch-all email alias turns your whole domain into alias space<\/strong> \u2014 any address at it (anything@yourdomain) works instantly, with no need to create each one first.<\/li>\n    <li><strong>You switch it on per domain in EmailAlias<\/strong> (Premium, on a verified custom domain): pick the inbox to forward to, flip the toggle, and every address starts auto-creating a real alias on its first email.<\/li>\n    <li><strong>The usual downside of a catch-all is spam<\/strong> \u2014 EmailAlias tames it with per-alias kill switches, a one-click &#8220;Disable all,&#8221; and built-in rate limits, so you get the convenience without the flood.<\/li>\n  <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>A catch-all email alias is the simplest way to get an endless supply of addresses on your own domain without creating a single one in advance \u2014 you just invent an address on the spot and it works. In EmailAlias this is a per-domain toggle on any verified custom domain, and the moment it&#8217;s on, anything@yourdomain quietly becomes a working alias that forwards to you. This guide shows exactly how to set up a catch-all email alias, what happens when mail arrives, and \u2014 honestly \u2014 how to keep the one real downside, spam, firmly under control.<\/p>\n\n<nav class=\"post-toc\" aria-label=\"Table of contents\">\n  <h2 class=\"post-toc__title\">Table of contents<\/h2>\n  <ol class=\"post-toc__list\">\n    <li><a href=\"#what\">What a catch-all email alias is<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#set-up\">How to set up a catch-all email alias<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#arrives\">What happens when mail arrives<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#why\">Why use a catch-all email alias<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#control\">Keeping your catch-all under control<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#compared\">Catch-all vs one alias per service<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#limits\">Limits and plan<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#tips\">Tips for running a catch-all<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#final-thoughts\">Final thoughts<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/a><\/li>\n  <\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n\n<h2 id=\"what\">What a Catch-All Email Alias Is<\/h2>\n<p>Normally an <a href=\"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/what-is-an-email-alias\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">email alias<\/a> is an address you create one at a time: you make <em>shopping@yourdomain<\/em>, hand it out, and mail to it forwards to your real inbox. A catch-all email alias flips that around. Instead of registering each address first, you tell your domain to accept <em>every<\/em> address and forward it \u2014 so <em>anything<\/em>@yourdomain reaches you, whether or not you ever set it up. The domain &#8220;catches all&#8221; the mail.<\/p>\n<p>That means you can invent an address in the moment \u2014 at a checkout, on a form, over the phone \u2014 and it simply works. We won&#8217;t re-explain the mechanics in depth here; our <a href=\"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/catch-all-email-address\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">guide to what a catch-all email address is<\/a> covers the full definition and the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Email_forwarding\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">email forwarding<\/a> underneath. This guide is about <em>using<\/em> one in EmailAlias: turning it on, what you get, and how to keep it tidy.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"post-keytakeaway\"><strong>Key takeaway:<\/strong> A catch-all email alias makes every address at your domain work automatically, so you can make up an address on the spot instead of creating each one in advance. This guide focuses on using one in EmailAlias, not redefining the concept.<\/aside>\n\n<h2 id=\"set-up\">How to Set Up a Catch-All Email Alias<\/h2>\n<p>Setting up a catch-all email alias in EmailAlias takes a verified custom domain and a Premium plan. Once those are in place, it&#8217;s a single toggle. Here&#8217;s the whole flow:<\/p>\n<ol>\n  <li><strong>Add and verify your domain.<\/strong> In the dashboard, open <a href=\"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/custom-domain-email-alias\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Custom Domains<\/a> and add your domain, then publish the DNS records it gives you (ownership, MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC). When every check passes, the domain shows as verified \u2014 catch-all only appears for verified domains.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Open the domain&#8217;s card.<\/strong> Each verified domain has a <strong>Catch-all<\/strong> section with a toggle and a &#8220;Forward catch-all mail to&#8221; picker.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Choose the destination.<\/strong> Pick the inbox that should receive the caught mail. It must be your account&#8217;s primary email or a forwarding destination you&#8217;ve already verified \u2014 you can&#8217;t point a catch-all at an address you don&#8217;t control.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Flip the toggle on.<\/strong> That&#8217;s it. From this moment, any address at the domain forwards to your chosen inbox.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>There&#8217;s nothing to configure per address and no wildcard record to hand-edit at your registrar \u2014 EmailAlias already receives your domain&#8217;s mail through the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/MX_record\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MX record<\/a> you set during verification, so turning catch-all on is purely a setting on our side. If you ever want to stop, the same toggle switches it back off.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n  <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/catch-all-email-alias-example.jpg?resize=1080%2C608&#038;ssl=1\"\n       alt=\"catch-all email alias: one glowing domain funnelling many envelopes into a single inbox\"\n       width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" \/>\n  <figcaption>With catch-all on, every address at your domain funnels into the one inbox you chose \u2014 no need to create each alias first.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n<aside class=\"post-keytakeaway\"><strong>Key takeaway:<\/strong> On a verified custom domain (Premium), open the domain card, pick a destination you control, and flip the Catch-all toggle. There&#8217;s no per-address setup and no registrar wildcard to edit \u2014 it&#8217;s one switch, and the same switch turns it off.<\/aside>\n\n<h2 id=\"arrives\">What Happens When Mail Arrives<\/h2>\n<p>With catch-all on, the magic happens the first time a brand-new address receives a message. Say you gave a shop <em>acme-shop@yourdomain<\/em> that you never created. When their first email lands, EmailAlias does three things automatically:<\/p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Creates a real alias for that address.<\/strong> The address becomes a normal alias in your account, marked as auto-created so you can tell it apart from ones you made by hand.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Forwards the message<\/strong> to the destination you picked, exactly like any other alias.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Lists it in your dashboard,<\/strong> where it now behaves like every other alias \u2014 you can label it, re-route it, or switch it off.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So a catch-all doesn&#8217;t dump mail into a mysterious bucket; it mints a proper alias on demand. The domain card even shows a running count of how many aliases catch-all has auto-created, so you always know how much it has generated. Addresses that have already been auto-created simply keep forwarding \u2014 the auto-create step only happens the first time each new address is seen.<\/p>\n<p>The part that varies from message to message is the bit before the @ \u2014 the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Email_address\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">local part of the email address<\/a>. A catch-all accepts any local part at all: a tidy one like <em>newsletter@<\/em>, a random one like <em>x7f2@<\/em>, or a company name you coined at a checkout. Each distinct local part becomes its own alias the first time it&#8217;s used, which is exactly why you can invent them freely and still end up with a clean, per-address list afterwards rather than one undifferentiated pile of mail.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"post-keytakeaway\"><strong>Key takeaway:<\/strong> The first email to any new address auto-creates a normal alias (flagged as auto-created), forwards the message, and lists it in your dashboard. A catch-all mints real, manageable aliases on demand rather than pooling mail into an untracked bucket.<\/aside>\n\n<h2 id=\"why\">Why Use a Catch-All Email Alias<\/h2>\n<p>The appeal of a catch-all email alias is pure convenience \u2014 you never have to stop and create an address before you need it. That unlocks a few everyday wins:<\/p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Hand out addresses anywhere, instantly.<\/strong> At a till, on a paper form, or reading one aloud over the phone, you can give <em>store-name@yourdomain<\/em> on the spot and know it&#8217;ll reach you \u2014 no app, no setup.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Never miss mail from a typo or a guess.<\/strong> If a sender slightly mistypes your address, or writes to <em>hello@<\/em> or <em>info@<\/em> that you never set up, it still arrives instead of bouncing.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Keep the one-address-per-company habit effortlessly.<\/strong> Give every service its own address without the friction of creating each one, so you still know exactly who leaked or sold your address if spam starts.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Catch anything sent to your domain.<\/strong> Old addresses, role addresses, forgotten sign-ups \u2014 a catch-all sweeps them all to one place.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In other words, a catch-all gives you the <a href=\"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/private-email-alias\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">private, per-service address<\/a> habit with none of the up-front effort. It&#8217;s the difference between planning every alias and simply making them up as life throws sign-ups at you \u2014 the domain does the remembering.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"post-keytakeaway\"><strong>Key takeaway:<\/strong> Use a catch-all when you want addresses on demand \u2014 give out a fresh one anywhere with zero setup, never bounce a mistyped or role address, and keep a per-company address for everything effortlessly, so you can still trace exactly who leaked your address.<\/aside>\n\n<h2 id=\"control\">Keeping Your Catch-All Under Control<\/h2>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the honest part. A plain catch-all has one real weakness: because it accepts <em>every<\/em> address, spammers who run <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Directory_harvest_attack\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">directory-harvest attacks<\/a> \u2014 blasting <em>a@<\/em>, <em>admin@<\/em>, <em>sales@<\/em>, and thousands of guesses at a domain \u2014 will all land in your inbox, and a raw catch-all gives you no per-address off switch. That&#8217;s why our explainer calls an unmanaged catch-all a bit of a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Email_spam\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">spam<\/a> magnet. EmailAlias is built to give you the convenience without that pain, in a few ways:<\/p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Every caught address is a real, individual alias.<\/strong> Because each auto-created address is a normal alias, you get a per-address kill switch a raw catch-all never has \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/disable-an-email-alias\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">disable one noisy alias<\/a> and the rest keep working.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>One-click &#8220;Disable all.&#8221;<\/strong> If a flood does start, the domain card has a <strong>Disable all<\/strong> button that switches off every auto-created alias at once. Forwarding stops immediately, nothing is deleted, and any aliases you made by hand are left untouched \u2014 so you can re-enable the ones you actually want.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Built-in rate limits.<\/strong> EmailAlias caps how many new addresses a catch-all will auto-create per hour, per day, and per domain. A dictionary attack can&#8217;t spin up an unlimited pile of aliases, and if the safeguard can&#8217;t run for any reason, catch-all fails closed and simply stops auto-creating rather than opening the floodgates.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Spam filtering still applies.<\/strong> Caught mail goes through the same <a href=\"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/email-alias-spam-protection\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">alias spam protection<\/a> as everything else, so obvious junk is handled before it reaches you.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Turn it off anytime.<\/strong> Flip the toggle off and no new addresses are auto-created. Addresses already created keep forwarding until you disable them \u2014 use &#8220;Disable all&#8221; if you want to stop those too.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This is what we mean by a catch-all done right: the convenience of accepting everything, paired with the per-alias control and guardrails that a bare catch-all lacks. You decide how open the door is, and you can close it \u2014 fully or selectively \u2014 in one click.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"post-keytakeaway\"><strong>Key takeaway:<\/strong> A raw catch-all is a spam magnet with no off switch per address. EmailAlias fixes that: every caught address is an individual alias you can disable, a one-click &#8220;Disable all&#8221; stops a flood without deleting anything, and rate limits (that fail closed) stop dictionary attacks creating unlimited aliases.<\/aside>\n\n<h2 id=\"compared\">Catch-All vs One Alias Per Service<\/h2>\n<p>A catch-all isn&#8217;t the only way to work, and it isn&#8217;t always the right one. Here&#8217;s how a catch-all email alias compares with deliberately creating one alias per service.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><caption>Catch-all versus creating one alias per service, compared on effort, control, and spam exposure<\/caption>\n  <thead>\n    <tr><th>Approach<\/th><th>Setup effort<\/th><th>Addresses available<\/th><th>Spam exposure<\/th><th>Best for<\/th><\/tr>\n  <\/thead>\n  <tbody>\n    <tr><td>Catch-all email alias<\/td><td>One toggle, then none<\/td><td>Unlimited, on demand<\/td><td>Higher (accepts every address)<\/td><td>Giving out addresses on the fly<\/td><\/tr>\n    <tr><td>One alias per service (manual)<\/td><td>Create each one<\/td><td>Only the ones you made<\/td><td>Lower (unknown addresses bounce)<\/td><td>Deliberate, tightly controlled use<\/td><\/tr>\n    <tr><td>Both together<\/td><td>Toggle + a few by hand<\/td><td>Unlimited, plus named favourites<\/td><td>Managed with the controls above<\/td><td>Most people<\/td><\/tr>\n  <\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/figure>\n\n<p>The two approaches aren&#8217;t rivals \u2014 they layer. Many people keep a catch-all on for convenience <em>and<\/em> create a handful of named aliases by hand for their most important accounts. If you&#8217;d rather lock things down tightly, leaving catch-all off and making each alias deliberately means any address you didn&#8217;t create simply won&#8217;t exist \u2014 the strictest setting. EmailAlias lets you run either way, or mix them, on the same domain.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"limits\">Limits and Plan<\/h2>\n<p>A few practical things to know before you switch it on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>It&#8217;s a Premium feature.<\/strong> Catch-all, like custom domains, is part of <a href=\"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/pricing\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Premium<\/a> ($4\/month). The free plan includes 10 aliases you create yourself; catch-all and your own domain come with the upgrade.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Custom, verified domains only.<\/strong> Catch-all works on a domain you own and have verified \u2014 not on the shared alias domains everyone uses. That&#8217;s why it needs the domain-verification step first.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>The destination must be yours.<\/strong> You can only forward caught mail to your primary email or a forwarding destination you&#8217;ve already verified, so nobody can aim your domain&#8217;s mail somewhere they don&#8217;t control.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Auto-creation is rate-limited.<\/strong> The per-hour, per-day, and per-domain caps described above protect you (and the service) from a flood; normal use never comes close to them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<aside class=\"post-keytakeaway\"><strong>Key takeaway:<\/strong> Catch-all is a Premium feature on a verified custom domain, forwards only to an inbox you control, and rate-limits auto-creation for safety. The free plan&#8217;s 10 self-made aliases don&#8217;t include catch-all.<\/aside>\n\n<h2 id=\"tips\">Tips for Running a Catch-All<\/h2>\n<p>To get the convenience without the clutter:<\/p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Use a consistent naming pattern.<\/strong> Give addresses like <em>company-name@yourdomain<\/em> so that months later you can tell at a glance who each caught alias was for.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Label the ones that matter.<\/strong> When an auto-created alias turns out to be important, add a label so it stops looking anonymous in your list.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Prune occasionally.<\/strong> Glance at the auto-created count on the domain card now and then; if it&#8217;s ballooned from spam guesses, &#8220;Disable all&#8221; and re-enable only the aliases you recognise.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Pair it with a named alias for critical accounts.<\/strong> For your bank or main logins, create a deliberate alias by hand so it never depends on the catch-all staying on.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Keep the real inbox private.<\/strong> The whole point is that senders only ever see an address at your domain, never the inbox behind it \u2014 the same principle as ordinary <a href=\"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/anonymous-email-forwarding\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">private email forwarding<\/a>, applied to your entire domain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<aside class=\"post-keytakeaway\"><strong>Key takeaway:<\/strong> Name caught addresses consistently, label the important ones, prune with &#8220;Disable all&#8221; if spam piles up, and still hand-make aliases for critical accounts so they don&#8217;t depend on the catch-all being on.<\/aside>\n\n<h2 id=\"final-thoughts\">Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>A catch-all email alias is the most convenient way to use your own domain for privacy: switch it on once and every address you can imagine already works, ready to hand out the instant you need it. The classic objection \u2014 that catching everything invites spam \u2014 is real, but it&#8217;s a tooling problem, and it&#8217;s the part EmailAlias is built to solve. Because every caught address becomes a normal alias, you keep a kill switch for each one, a one-click way to shut them all off, and rate limits that stop a flood before it starts. Turn it on, hand out addresses freely, and if any of them ever turns noisy, close that door and leave the rest open. That&#8217;s a catch-all worth running.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"faq\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-q-1\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">How do I set up a catch-all email alias in EmailAlias?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Add your domain under Custom Domains and verify it by publishing the DNS records EmailAlias gives you (ownership, MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC). Once the domain shows as verified, open its card, find the Catch-all section, choose the inbox to forward caught mail to (your primary email or a verified forwarding destination), and flip the toggle on. From that moment every address at the domain forwards to you. There&#8217;s no per-address setup and no wildcard record to edit at your registrar \u2014 it&#8217;s a single switch on EmailAlias&#8217;s side, and the same switch turns it off.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-q-2\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">What is a catch-all email alias?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>It&#8217;s a setting that makes every address at your domain work automatically, instead of you creating each alias in advance. With it on, anything@yourdomain forwards to your inbox \u2014 so you can invent an address on the spot and it just works. In EmailAlias, the first email to any new address turns it into a real, normal alias in your account (marked as auto-created) and forwards the message. Our separate explainer covers the underlying mechanics in depth; this feature guide is about turning one on and using it.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-q-3\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Does a catch-all email alias get more spam?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>It can, because a catch-all accepts every address, so spammers guessing addresses at your domain all reach you \u2014 a raw catch-all has no per-address off switch. EmailAlias is built to tame this: each caught address becomes an individual alias you can disable, a one-click &#8220;Disable all&#8221; switches off every auto-created alias at once without deleting them, caught mail still passes through spam filtering, and rate limits cap how many new addresses can be auto-created per hour, day, and domain. If the safeguard can&#8217;t run, catch-all fails closed and stops auto-creating rather than flooding you.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-q-4\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Do I need a custom domain for catch-all?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Yes. Catch-all works on a custom domain that you own and have verified in EmailAlias \u2014 not on the shared alias domains available to everyone. That&#8217;s why setup starts with adding your domain and publishing its DNS records; once it&#8217;s verified, the Catch-all toggle appears on the domain&#8217;s card. Both custom domains and catch-all are part of Premium ($4\/month). If you don&#8217;t have a domain yet, you can still create up to 10 aliases by hand on the free plan.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-q-5\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">What happens to aliases a catch-all already created if I turn it off?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Turning catch-all off stops NEW addresses from being auto-created and clears the forwarding destination, but any aliases it already created keep forwarding as normal \u2014 switching off the catch-all doesn&#8217;t retroactively disable them. If you want those to stop too, use the &#8220;Disable all&#8221; button on the domain card, which switches off every auto-created alias at once (forwarding stops, nothing is deleted, and aliases you made by hand are left alone). You can re-enable individual ones whenever you like.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-q-6\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Can I still create aliases by hand with catch-all on?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Yes, and it&#8217;s a good idea for important accounts. Catch-all and manually created aliases live side by side on the same domain: the catch-all handles addresses you make up on the fly, while a hand-made alias for your bank or main logins stays under your deliberate control and doesn&#8217;t depend on the catch-all being on. The &#8220;Disable all&#8221; bulk action only affects auto-created aliases, so your hand-made ones are never touched by it.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-q-7\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Where do caught messages go?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>To the single destination you choose when you turn catch-all on \u2014 either your account&#8217;s primary email or a forwarding destination you&#8217;ve already verified. You can&#8217;t point a catch-all at an address you don&#8217;t control, which stops anyone from aiming your domain&#8217;s mail somewhere it shouldn&#8217;t go. Each caught address becomes its own alias, so later you can re-route an individual one to a different verified inbox if you want finer control over where specific mail lands.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-q-8\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Can I set catch-all through the API?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Yes. Catch-all is exposed on the EmailAlias API at PATCH \/api\/domains\/{id}\/catch-all, and the official client libraries wrap it (for example setCatchAll in the Node SDK, with equivalents in the Python, PHP, and MCP packages). There&#8217;s also an endpoint to bulk-disable the aliases a catch-all created. That means you can enable, disable, and clean up catch-all programmatically from your own scripts or tools, the same way you manage aliases and domains through the API.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The short version A catch-all email alias turns your whole domain into alias space \u2014 any address at it (anything@yourdomain) works instantly, with no need to create each one first&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"rank_math_focus_keyword":"catch-all email alias","rank_math_title":"Catch-All Email Alias: How to Set One Up","rank_math_description":"Learn how to set up a catch-all email alias on your own domain in EmailAlias \u2014 hand out any address on the fly, with per-alias control to keep spam in check.","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-502","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-features"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/catch-all-email-alias.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":241,"url":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/improvmx-alternative\/","url_meta":{"origin":502,"position":0},"title":"ImprovMX Alternative: An Honest Review","author":"Troy Hunt","date":"July 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"If you're hunting for an ImprovMX alternative, you're probably in one of two camps: you love the idea of email forwarding on your own domain but want stronger privacy, or you've hit a limit ImprovMX simply isn't built to solve. ImprovMX is a genuinely good custom-domain forwarder \u2014 but it's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Comparisons&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Comparisons","link":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/category\/comparisons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/og-improvmx-alternative.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/og-improvmx-alternative.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/og-improvmx-alternative.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/og-improvmx-alternative.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/og-improvmx-alternative.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":400,"url":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/email-leak-detection\/","url_meta":{"origin":502,"position":1},"title":"Email Leak Detection: How to Know When an Alias Is Exposed","author":"Troy Hunt","date":"September 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The short version Email leak detection tells you which of your addresses was exposed \u2014 not just that you were in a breach, but which service leaked or sold your details. Aliases make it work. Each alias is used with one service, so a strange sender on it is a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Features&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/category\/features\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"email leak detection, shown as a wall of brass mailboxes with one flag raised","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/email-leak-detection.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/email-leak-detection.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/email-leak-detection.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/email-leak-detection.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/email-leak-detection.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":309,"url":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/forwardmx-alternative\/","url_meta":{"origin":502,"position":2},"title":"ForwardMX Alternative: What to Use Instead","author":"Troy Hunt","date":"August 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"ForwardMX is a capable email-forwarding service, but it is not the right fit for everyone \u2014 and if you have landed here, you are probably weighing a ForwardMX alternative for a specific reason. Maybe you do not own a domain and do not want to. Maybe you want a free\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Comparisons&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Comparisons","link":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/category\/comparisons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/og-forwardmx-alternative.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/og-forwardmx-alternative.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/og-forwardmx-alternative.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/og-forwardmx-alternative.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/og-forwardmx-alternative.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":364,"url":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/simplelogin-vs-addy-io-vs-emailalias\/","url_meta":{"origin":502,"position":3},"title":"SimpleLogin vs addy.io vs EmailAlias: 2026 Comparison","author":"Troy Hunt","date":"September 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The short version All three hide your real inbox behind forwarding aliases \u2014 the differences are price, free-tier generosity, open-source, and each one's standout feature. SimpleLogin is the pick for Proton users and open-source fans; addy.io is the most flexible and cheapest for tinkerers and self-hosters; EmailAlias focuses on a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Comparisons&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Comparisons","link":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/category\/comparisons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SimpleLogin vs addy.io vs EmailAlias compared, shown as three keyed mailboxes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/simplelogin-vs-addy-vs-emailalias.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/simplelogin-vs-addy-vs-emailalias.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/simplelogin-vs-addy-vs-emailalias.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/simplelogin-vs-addy-vs-emailalias.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/simplelogin-vs-addy-vs-emailalias.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":510,"url":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/namecheap-private-email\/","url_meta":{"origin":502,"position":4},"title":"Namecheap Private Email: Review and Private Alternatives","author":"Troy Hunt","date":"October 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The short version Namecheap Private Email is a cheap, hosted mailbox for your own domain \u2014 IMAP\/POP\/SMTP, webmail, calendars and contacts \u2014 starting around $14.88\/year. Good value for what it is. The \"private\" in the name means a private mailbox for your domain, not a privacy toolkit. It is not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Guides &amp; How-To&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Guides &amp; How-To","link":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/category\/guides-how-to\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"namecheap private email shown as a glowing mailbox on a custom domain behind a privacy alias shield","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/namecheap-private-email.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/namecheap-private-email.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/namecheap-private-email.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/namecheap-private-email.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/namecheap-private-email.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":253,"url":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/33mail-alternative\/","url_meta":{"origin":502,"position":5},"title":"33mail Alternative: What to Use in 2026","author":"Troy Hunt","date":"July 9, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Looking for a 33mail alternative usually starts with one small annoyance: every alias you create lives on a you.33mail.com subdomain that quietly broadcasts the same username to everyone you email. 33mail is a veteran, genuinely useful forwarding service with an unbeatable \"unlimited aliases\" free tier \u2014 but that shared-subdomain design,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Comparisons&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Comparisons","link":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/category\/comparisons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/og-33mail-alternative.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/og-33mail-alternative.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/og-33mail-alternative.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/og-33mail-alternative.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/og-33mail-alternative.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":504,"href":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502\/revisions\/504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emailalias.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}