Standard email setup for Proton Mail

Connect your Proton Mail email to Commslayer using the recommended Standard setup. This gives you unlimited sending with no daily caps.

Time required: About 10–15 minutes

Note: Proton Mail requires a paid plan (Proton Mail Plus, Unlimited, or any Business plan) to use email forwarding. Free Proton accounts do not support auto-forwarding.

Before you start

You'll need:

A paid Proton Mail account
A custom domain email address (e.g., support@yourstore.com) — or a Proton Mail address (e.g., support@proton.me) on a paid plan
Access to your domain's DNS settings if you're using a custom domain (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, Shopify, etc.)

Note on custom domains: If your Proton Mail account uses a custom domain (e.g., support@yourstore.com), make sure your domain is already connected to Proton Mail before proceeding. See Proton's custom domain setup guide if you haven't done this yet.

Step 1: Create your inbox in Commslayer

Go to Settings → Inboxes and click Add inbox
Select Email
Choose Standard setup (the recommended option)
Enter your Proton Mail address (e.g., support@yourstore.com or support@proton.me)
Give your inbox a name (e.g., "Support" or your store name)
Click **Create inbox **

Step 2: Add DNS records

Commslayer will show you two DNS records to add. These allow Commslayer to send emails on your behalf.

Add the DKIM record

Log in to your domain registrar (where you manage your domain's DNS)
Find DNS settings or DNS management
Add a new TXT record:
- Name/Host: Copy from Commslayer (looks like xxxxxxxx._domainkey)
- Value: Copy the long string from Commslayer
- TTL: Leave as default
Save the record

Add the Return-Path record

Add a new CNAME record:
- Name/Host: Copy from Commslayer (looks like pm-bounces)
- Value: Copy from Commslayer
- TTL: Leave as default
Save the record

Verify your records

Click Verify in Commslayer. Records usually verify within a few minutes, but can take up to 48 hours to propagate.

Tip: If you're using Cloudflare, make sure the proxy is set to "DNS only" (gray cloud) for these records.

Step 3: Set up email forwarding in Proton Mail

Sign in to your Proton Mail account at mail.proton.me
Click the Settings (⚙️) icon → All settings
In the left sidebar, click Forward and auto-reply
Click Add forwarding rule
In the Forward to field, paste the forwarding address from Commslayer
If you have multiple addresses on your account, open the Forward from dropdown and select the correct support address
Click Next (skip custom conditions unless you need them)
Click Save

Important: Proton Mail will send a confirmation request to Commslayer. Open your Commslayer inbox, find the email from Proton Mail, and click Accept (or the confirmation link inside). Forwarding won't activate until you do this.

Back in Proton Mail settings, confirm the forwarding rule is active (it should show as enabled)

Step 4: Test your setup

Send a test email to your Proton Mail address from a different email account. It should appear in your Commslayer inbox within a minute or two.

Only new forwarded emails will appear in Commslayer. Historical emails are not imported.

What changes with Standard setup

With Standard setup, Commslayer sends emails through our servers instead of Proton Mail's servers.

Sent emails won't appear in Proton Mail. Your replies to customers will only be visible in Commslayer. They won't show up in Proton Mail's Sent folder. Incoming emails still appear in both Proton Mail and Commslayer (since they're forwarded).

This is normal. Commslayer becomes your main workspace for customer conversations.

Common issues

DNS records not verifying

Wait up to 48 hours for propagation (usually much faster)
Check whatsmydns.net to see if your records have propagated
Make sure you didn't include your domain twice in the Name field
If using Cloudflare, ensure proxy is off (gray cloud)

Forwarding not working

Check your Commslayer inbox for the Proton Mail confirmation email. You must accept the request before forwarding activates
Verify the forwarding rule is enabled (not paused) in Proton Mail settings under Forward and auto-reply
Check that the correct address is selected in the Forward from dropdown if you have multiple addresses

Emails not appearing in Commslayer

Make sure no Proton Mail filters are intercepting or moving emails before forwarding triggers
Confirm you're forwarding from the correct address — the one customers actually write to

Forwarding not available on my plan

Email forwarding requires a paid Proton plan (Plus, Unlimited, or Business). If you're on a free plan, you'll need to upgrade before you can set up forwarding.