Email Routing Module

The Email Routing module enables you to forward emails from your domain to destination addresses using Cloudflare's email routing service.

Features

• Email Forwarding: Forward emails from your domain to any destination address
• Rule-Based Routing: Create sophisticated routing rules with matchers
• Priority System: Control rule evaluation order with priorities
• Pattern Matching: Support for literal, wildcard, and regex patterns
• Multiple Actions: Forward, drop, or process with Workers
• Automatic MX Records: Cloudflare manages MX records automatically

Basic Usage

module "email" {
  source = "AutomationDojo/management/cloudflare//modules/email"
  version = "2.3.0"

  zone_id    = var.cloudflare_zone_id
  account_id = var.cloudflare_account_id

  email_routing = {
    enabled = true

    addresses = [
      {
        email = "[email protected]"
      }
    ]

    rules = [
      {
        name     = "Forward contact emails"
        enabled  = true
        priority = 0
        matchers = [
          {
            type  = "literal"
            field = "to"
            value = "[email protected]"
          }
        ]
        actions = [
          {
            type  = "forward"
            value = ["[email protected]"]
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Advanced Examples

Multiple Forwarding Rules

module "email" {
  source = "AutomationDojo/management/cloudflare//modules/email"
  version = "2.3.0"

  zone_id    = var.cloudflare_zone_id
  account_id = var.cloudflare_account_id

  email_routing = {
    enabled = true

    addresses = [
      {
        email = "[email protected]"
      },
      {
        email = "[email protected]"
      },
      {
        email = "[email protected]"
      }
    ]

    rules = [
      # Contact form
      {
        name     = "Contact form emails"
        enabled  = true
        priority = 0
        matchers = [
          {
            type  = "literal"
            field = "to"
            value = "[email protected]"
          }
        ]
        actions = [
          {
            type  = "forward"
            value = ["[email protected]"]
          }
        ]
      },
      # Support requests
      {
        name     = "Support emails"
        enabled  = true
        priority = 1
        matchers = [
          {
            type  = "literal"
            field = "to"
            value = "[email protected]"
          }
        ]
        actions = [
          {
            type  = "forward"
            value = ["[email protected]"]
          }
        ]
      },
      # Sales inquiries
      {
        name     = "Sales emails"
        enabled  = true
        priority = 2
        matchers = [
          {
            type  = "literal"
            field = "to"
            value = "[email protected]"
          }
        ]
        actions = [
          {
            type  = "forward"
            value = ["[email protected]"]
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Catch-All with Wildcards

module "email" {
  source = "AutomationDojo/management/cloudflare//modules/email"
  version = "2.3.0"

  zone_id    = var.cloudflare_zone_id
  account_id = var.cloudflare_account_id

  email_routing = {
    enabled = true

    addresses = [
      {
        email = "[email protected]"
      }
    ]

    rules = [
      # Specific address - higher priority
      {
        name     = "Contact emails"
        enabled  = true
        priority = 0
        matchers = [
          {
            type  = "literal"
            field = "to"
            value = "[email protected]"
          }
        ]
        actions = [
          {
            type  = "forward"
            value = ["[email protected]"]
          }
        ]
      },
      # Catch all - lower priority
      {
        name     = "Catch all emails"
        enabled  = true
        priority = 100
        matchers = [
          {
            type  = "wildcard"
            field = "to"
            value = "*@yourdomain.com"
          }
        ]
        actions = [
          {
            type  = "forward"
            value = ["[email protected]"]
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Subject-Based Routing

rules = [
  {
    name     = "Urgent emails"
    enabled  = true
    priority = 0
    matchers = [
      {
        type  = "wildcard"
        field = "subject"
        value = "*URGENT*"
      }
    ]
    actions = [
      {
        type  = "forward"
        value = ["[email protected]", "[email protected]"]
      }
    ]
  }
]

Regex Pattern Matching

rules = [
  {
    name     = "Team member emails"
    enabled  = true
    priority = 0
    matchers = [
      {
        type  = "regex"
        field = "to"
        value = "^(alice|bob|charlie)@yourdomain\\.com$"
      }
    ]
    actions = [
      {
        type  = "forward"
        value = ["[email protected]"]
      }
    ]
  }
]

Drop Spam

rules = [
  {
    name     = "Drop spam"
    enabled  = true
    priority = 0
    matchers = [
      {
        type  = "literal"
        field = "to"
        value = "[email protected]"
      }
    ]
    actions = [
      {
        type = "drop"
      }
    ]
  }
]

Inputs

Name	Description	Type	Required
zone_id	Cloudflare zone ID	string	Yes
account_id	Cloudflare account ID	string	Yes
email_routing	Email routing configuration	object	No

Email Routing Object

Field	Description	Type	Required	Default
enabled	Enable email routing	bool	No	true
addresses	Destination email addresses	list(object)	No	[]
rules	Email routing rules	list(object)	No	[]

Address Object

Field	Description	Type	Required
email	Destination email address	string	Yes

Rule Object

Field	Description	Type	Required	Default
name	Rule name	string	Yes	-
enabled	Enable rule	bool	No	true
priority	Rule priority (lower = higher priority)	number	Yes	-
matchers	List of matchers	list(object)	Yes	-
actions	List of actions	list(object)	Yes	-

Matcher Object

Field	Description	Type	Required
type	Matcher type: literal, wildcard, regex	string	Yes
field	Field to match: to, from, subject	string	Yes
value	Value/pattern to match	string	Yes

Action Object

Field	Description	Type	Required
type	Action type: forward, drop, worker	string	Yes
value	Array of destination emails (for forward)	list(string)	Conditional

Matcher Types

Literal

Exact string match. Case-sensitive.

{
  type  = "literal"
  field = "to"
  value = "[email protected]"
}

Wildcard

Pattern matching using * (zero or more characters) and ? (single character).

{
  type  = "wildcard"
  field = "to"
  value = "*@yourdomain.com"  # Matches any address at yourdomain.com
}

{
  type  = "wildcard"
  field = "subject"
  value = "*invoice*"  # Matches subjects containing "invoice"
}

Regex

Regular expression matching. Supports full regex syntax.

{
  type  = "regex"
  field = "to"
  value = "^team-.*@yourdomain\\.com$"  # Matches team-*@yourdomain.com
}

Matcher Fields

Field	Description	Example
to	Recipient email address	[email protected]
from	Sender email address	[email protected]
subject	Email subject line	Order Confirmation

Action Types

Forward

Forward email to one or more destination addresses.

actions = [
  {
    type  = "forward"
    value = ["[email protected]", "[email protected]"]
  }
]

Drop

Reject/drop the email.

actions = [
  {
    type = "drop"
  }
]

Worker

Process with a Cloudflare Worker (advanced).

actions = [
  {
    type  = "worker"
    value = ["email-processor-worker"]
  }
]

Priority System

Rules are evaluated in order of priority (lower numbers first). The first matching rule is applied.

rules = [
  # Priority 0 - checked first
  {
    name     = "Specific contact"
    priority = 0
    # ...
  },
  # Priority 10 - checked second
  {
    name     = "Support emails"
    priority = 10
    # ...
  },
  # Priority 100 - checked last (catch-all)
  {
    name     = "Catch all"
    priority = 100
    # ...
  }
]

Priority Best Practice

• Use priority 0-10 for specific rules
• Use priority 100+ for catch-all rules
• Leave gaps for easier insertion later

Important Notes

Email Verification Required

All destination addresses must be verified by Cloudflare before they can receive forwarded emails. Cloudflare automatically sends verification emails when addresses are added.

MX Records

When email routing is enabled, Cloudflare automatically manages MX records for your domain. Any existing MX records will be overridden.

Testing

After setting up rules, test by sending emails to verify routing works as expected.

Limitations

• Free plan: Up to 200 destination addresses
• Email size limit: 25 MB
• Attachments are preserved when forwarding

DNS Requirements

Email routing requires your domain to use Cloudflare nameservers. The module will automatically configure the necessary MX records.

Verification Process

1. Add destination addresses to the configuration
2. Apply Terraform configuration
3. Check the email inbox for verification emails from Cloudflare
4. Click the verification link in each email
5. Addresses are now ready to receive forwarded emails

Troubleshooting

Emails Not Being Forwarded

1. Check that destination addresses are verified
2. Verify MX records are configured correctly
3. Check rule priorities and matcher patterns
4. Review Cloudflare dashboard for email routing logs

Verification Email Not Received

1. Check spam/junk folder
2. Ensure email address is correct
3. Try resending from Cloudflare dashboard

Related

• DNS Module - Manage DNS records
• Complete Setup Example
• Cloudflare Email Routing Documentation