Documentation

Aliases, Domains & Watch Addresses

Send from multiple addresses, configure catch-all domains, and watch receive-only addresses.

What are Aliases?

Aliases let you send email from addresses other than your main account email. For example, you might receive email to [email protected] but want to reply as [email protected] or [email protected].

Listing Aliases

View all configured aliases:

$ pontius aliases
Account: Work ([email protected])
  - [email protected] "Support Team" [send: yes]
  - [email protected] "Sales" [send: yes]
Account: Personal ([email protected])
  - [email protected] "Newsletter" [send: yes]

Adding Aliases

Add a new alias to your account:

$ pontius alias add [email protected]
Alias added.
Gmail Requirements
For Gmail, you need to first add the alias in Gmail Settings → Accounts → "Send mail as" and verify ownership before you can use it in Pontius.

Configuring Custom SMTP

For aliases that use external SMTP (like ImprovMX, Mailgun, or your own server), configure the SMTP settings:

$ pontius alias config [email protected] \
    --smtp-server smtp.improvmx.com \
    --smtp-user [email protected] \
    --smtp-pass "your-smtp-password" \
    --name "Support Team"
Alias configured.

SMTP Options

OptionDescriptionDefault
--smtp-serverSMTP server hostnameGmail SMTP
--smtp-portSMTP port587
--smtp-userSMTP usernameAlias email
--smtp-passSMTP passwordRequired
--nameDisplay nameNone

Setting Display Name

Set or update the display name for an alias:

$ pontius alias name [email protected] "Customer Support"
Display name updated.

The display name appears in the "From" field: "Customer Support" <[email protected]>

Using Aliases

Specify an alias when sending or replying:

# Reply from an alias
$ pontius reply 37801 --from [email protected] "Thank you for reaching out..."
Sent.
# Send new email from alias
$ pontius send --from [email protected] [email protected] "Introduction" "Hi, I wanted to reach out..."
Sent.

Removing Aliases

$ pontius alias remove [email protected]
Alias removed.

ImprovMX Setup

ImprovMX is a popular service for email forwarding on custom domains. Here's how to set it up:

  1. Set up your domain in ImprovMX and create the alias
  2. Enable SMTP sending in ImprovMX dashboard
  3. Get your SMTP password from ImprovMX
  4. Configure the alias in Pontius:
$ pontius alias add [email protected]
$ pontius alias config [email protected] \
    --smtp-server smtp.improvmx.com \
    --smtp-pass "your-improvmx-password" \
    --name "Your Name"
Alias configured.
Sent Folder
When sending via ImprovMX SMTP, Pontius automatically saves a copy to your Gmail Sent folder via IMAP, so all sent emails appear in one place.

Catch-All Domains

Catch-all domains receive emails sent to any address at that domain. This is useful when you want to receive emails like [email protected] without configuring each address individually.

Listing Domains

$ pontius domains
  Catch-all domains:
    - *@yourdomain.com
    - *@another-domain.com
To add a catch-all domain:    pontius domain add <domain> [--account <email|label>]
To remove a catch-all domain: pontius domain remove <domain> [--account <email|label>]

Adding a Domain

# Add to first account (default)
$ pontius domain add yourdomain.com
Domain added.
# Add to specific account
$ pontius domain add yourdomain.com --account Work
Domain added.

Removing a Domain

$ pontius domain remove yourdomain.com
Domain removed.
DNS Configuration Required
Adding a catch-all domain in Pontius only tells Pontius to watch for those emails. You must also configure your domain's MX records to forward email to your inbox (using ImprovMX, Cloudflare Email Routing, or similar).

Watch Addresses

Watch addresses let Pontius show emails that were delivered to your inbox but addressed to a different email. This is useful for notification emails, forwarded addresses, or mailing lists that land in your inbox.

Unlike aliases (which are for sending), watch addresses are receive-only.

Listing Watch Addresses

$ pontius watch
# Work
# Personal

Adding a Watch Address

# Add to first account (default)
$ pontius watch add [email protected]
Watch address added.
# Add to specific account
$ pontius watch add [email protected] --account Work
Watch address added.

Removing a Watch Address

$ pontius watch remove [email protected]
Watch address removed.
Aliases vs Watch Addresses
Aliases = addresses you can send from
Watch addresses = addresses you receive mail to (but can't send from)

Common Use Cases

Multiple Brands

Running multiple products from one inbox:

$ pontius aliases
Account: Business ([email protected])
  - [email protected] "Product A Support" [send: yes]
  - [email protected] "Product B Support" [send: yes]
  - [email protected] "Billing" [send: yes]

Role-Based Addresses

Different personas for different contexts:

$ pontius aliases
Account: Work ([email protected])
  - [email protected] "CEO" [send: yes]
  - [email protected] "Hiring Manager" [send: yes]

Personal + Business

Separating personal and professional identity:

$ pontius aliases
Account: Main ([email protected])
  - [email protected] "Your Name" [send: yes]
  - [email protected] "Your Blog" [send: yes]
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