> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kurrier.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What are Identities?

> Domains and email addresses you send and receive mail from using Kurrier

## What are identities?

An **identity** represents **who your emails are sent from**.

In Kurrier, identities can be:

* **Domains** (e.g. `kurrier.io`)
* **Email addresses** (e.g. `support@kurrier.io`)

Every identity is linked to a **provider** such as Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, or a custom SMTP server.

***

## How identities work in Kurrier

Kurrier abstracts away provider-specific setup.

The flow is simple:

1. Add a provider
2. Add an identity (domain or email)
3. Update DNS records provided by Kurrier
4. Verify
5. Start sending or receiving mail

Kurrier automatically configures the provider (SES, SendGrid, etc.) on your behalf.
You only need to publish the DNS records.

***

## Domain identities (recommended)

Domain identities are the recommended setup for production use.

### Why use a domain identity?

* Send from **unlimited addresses**
* Better deliverability
* One-time DNS setup
* Works across providers

### Example

```text theme={null}
Domain: kurrier.io
Valid senders:
  support@kurrier.io
  billing@kurrier.io
  notifications@kurrier.io
```

When you add a domain identity, Kurrier generates:

* DKIM records
* SPF records
* Provider verification records

Add these to your DNS, click **Verify**, and you’re done.

***

## Email address identities

Email identities are useful when:

* You only need a single sender
* The provider does not support domain-level verification
* You want a quick test setup

Example:

```text theme={null}
debug@kurrier.io
```

Verification may happen via:

* DNS (if domain is already verified)
* Email confirmation (provider-dependent)

***

## Incoming vs outgoing mail

Each identity supports:

* **Outgoing mail** (sending)
* **Incoming mail** (receiving / syncing)

Kurrier shows verification status for both directions so you always know what’s active.

***

## Using identities

Once verified, identities can be used immediately via:

* **Kurrier API**
* **SMTP credentials**

No additional configuration is required.

***

## Best practices

* Use **domain identities** for production
* Verify DNS once and reuse across providers
* Separate transactional and marketing domains
* Keep test identities separate from production