Skip to content

Bounce processing

Enable bounce processing in Settings -> Bounces. POP3 bounce scanning and APIs only become available once the setting is enabled.

POP3 bounce mailbox

Configure the bounce mailbox in Settings -> Bounces. Either the "From" e-mail that is set on a campaign (or in settings) should have a POP3 mailbox behind it to receive bounce e-mails, or you should configure a dedicated POP3 mailbox and add that address as the Return-Path (envelope sender) header in Settings -> SMTP -> Custom headers box. For example:

[
    {"Return-Path": "your-bounce-inbox@site.com"}
]

Some mail servers may also return the bounce to the Reply-To address, which can also be added to the header settings.

Webhook API

The bounce webhook API can be used to record bounce events with custom scripting. This could be by reading a mailbox, a database, or mail server logs.

Method Endpoint Description
POST /webhooks/bounce Record a bounce event.
Name Data type Required/Optional Description
subscriber_uuid String Optional The UUID of the subscriber. Either this or email is required.
email String Optional The e-mail of the subscriber. Either this or subscriber_uuid is required.
campaign_uuid String Optional UUID of the campaign for which the bounce happened.
source String Required A string indicating the source, eg: api, my_script etc.
type String Required hard or soft bounce. Currently, this has no effect on how the bounce is treated.
meta String Optional An optional escaped JSON string with arbitrary metadata about the bounce event.
curl -u 'username:password' -X POST localhost:9000/webhooks/bounce \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    --data '{"email": "user1@mail.com", "campaign_uuid": "9f86b50d-5711-41c8-ab03-bc91c43d711b", "source": "api", "type": "hard", "meta": "{\"additional\": \"info\"}}'

External webhooks

listmonk supports receiving bounce webhook events from the following SMTP providers.

Endpoint Description
https://listmonk.yoursite.com/webhooks/service/ses Amazon (AWS) SES You can use these Mautic steps as a general guide, but use your listmonk's endpoint instead.
* When creating the topic select "standard" instead of the preselected "FIFO". You can put a name and leave everything else at default.
When creating a subscription choose HTTPS for "Protocol", and leave "Enable raw message delivery" UNCHECKED.
* On the "SES -> verified identities" page, make sure to check
"include original headers"*.
* The Mautic screenshot suggests you should turn off email feedback forwarding, but that's completely optional depending on whether you want want email notifications.
https://listmonk.yoursite.com/webhooks/service/sendgrid Sendgrid / Twilio Signed event webhook More info