---
title: How to create a catch all email account in DirectAdmin
description: "# How to Create a Catch-All Email Account in DirectAdmin A catch-all address tells your server how to handle email sent to addresses at your domain that don't actually exist — for example, a typo like `info@` instead of `information@`.…"
url: "https://simplywebservices.net/docs/how-to-create-a-catch-all-email-account-in-directadmin/"
updated: "2026-08-14"
category: DirectAdmin
---

# How to create a catch all email account in DirectAdmin

# How to Create a Catch-All Email Account in DirectAdmin

A catch-all address tells your server how to handle email sent to addresses at your domain that don't actually exist — for example, a typo like `info@` instead of `information@`. DirectAdmin gives you three options for handling these messages.

## How to Set Up a Catch-All Email

1. [Log in to your DirectAdmin](https://simplywebservices.net/docs/how-to-log-into-the-directadmin-control-panel/) control panel by accessing https://yourdomain:2222
2. Look for the **Catch-All E-Mail** (under **Advanced Features**) link and click on it
3. You have three options here:
    – **Fail:** the sender will be notified that the recipient doesn’t exist (recommended)
    – **Ignore:** the email is dropped; no message is sent back
    – **Address:** the email will be forwarded to an email address of your choice
    Click the **Update** button

### Why "Fail" Is Recommended

Forwarding everything with **Address** (a true catch-all) may seem convenient, but it comes with real risks:

- **Directory harvest attacks:** spammers send messages to random addresses at your domain to find out which ones are "live." A catch-all confirms every guess.
- **Backscatter and blacklisting**: if the forwarded address later bounces spam back to the original (often forged) sender, your domain's server can get flagged as a spam source.

**Fail** rejects unknown addresses immediately at the mail server, avoiding both problems while still letting real senders know their message didn't reach a valid mailbox.

If you're worried about missing typo'd emails, a better alternative is [email forwarding](https://simplywebservices.net/docs/how-to-setup-email-forwarding-in-directadmin/) or [creating additional named email accounts](https://simplywebservices.net/docs/how-to-create-a-pop-email-account-in-directadmin/) for the specific addresses you expect people to use.