Deliverability glossary · Updated 2026-08-10
Reply capture
Reply capture is the inbound routing that delivers replies back into your sending platform. Without it, warmup cannot be verified and genuine responses from prospects are lost.
Sending is only half of an email system. Something has to receive, and for a dedicated cold email domain that means routing inbound mail somewhere it can be recorded — typically an email routing rule that forwards to a webhook.
When reply capture is missing, two things break at once. Warmup becomes unverifiable, because the replies that prove the loop closed never arrive. And real prospect replies bounce, which is both a lost deal and a negative signal.
There is a trap specific to domains already using Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Enabling inbound routing on the apex domain replaces the MX records that carry your actual company mail. The correct move is always a dedicated sending domain or subdomain with its own MX, never the domain your business runs on.
The honest test for any platform is whether it will refuse to send from a mailbox whose inbound path is unproven. Most will not, because sending is what you are paying for.
How Raechly handles it
A per-mailbox `reply_capture` flag is reconciled hourly against the routing provider, and sends are gated on it. Domains whose MX points at a real mail provider are deliberately skipped rather than hijacked.
Related terms
Email warmup
Email warmup gradually increases sending from a new mailbox while generating positive engagement, so mailbox providers build a reputation for the address before it sends cold volume.
MAIL FROM domain
The MAIL FROM domain is the address in the SMTP envelope that receives bounces.
Inbox placement
Inbox placement is the share of delivered messages that reach the primary inbox rather than spam or a promotions tab.
Back to the full deliverability glossary, or read how these pieces fit together in how Raechly protects deliverability.