How to Set Up a Catch-All Email Forwarder in StackCP

Misspelled email addresses happen constantly — a customer types sales@ instead of sale@, or a colleague guesses at a format that doesn't exist. Without a catch-all forwarder, mail sent to any address on your domain that doesn't actually exist simply bounces back to the sender as undeliverable, and you never see it. A catch-all forwarder closes that gap.

What Is a Catch-All Forwarder?

A Catch-All Forwarder captures any email sent to your domain that doesn't match an existing mailbox or individual forwarder, and redirects it to a single address you specify. Importantly, catch-all forwarding only activates when nothing else matches — if a mailbox or specific forwarder already exists for the address being emailed, mail goes there as normal, and the catch-all rule doesn't apply.

Catch-All Forwarders are free with all Email Hosting.

Step 1: Open Catch-All Forwarders

1. Log in to StackCP.
2. Go to Manage Hosting, then Manage on your package.
3. Select Catch-all Forwarders under the Email section.

Step 2: Configure Your Catch-All Address

1. In the Domain field, select the domain you want this to apply to.
2. In the Destination field, enter the email address where you want unmatched mail forwarded.
3. Save your changes.

From this point on, any mail sent to an address on that domain that doesn't match a real mailbox or forwarder will land in your chosen destination instead of bouncing.

Step 3: Consider Wildcard Forwarding Instead (If It Fits Better)

StackCP also supports Wildcard Forwarding, which works differently: rather than sending all unmatched mail to one destination address, it forwards mail to the same local part at a different domain. For example, mail sent to sales@yourdomain.com could be automatically forwarded to sales@anotherdomain.com — same "sales" prefix, different domain. This is useful if you manage a secondary or parked domain and want its mail structure to mirror your main domain's addresses automatically, rather than consolidating everything into a single inbox.

Common Uses for a Catch-All Forwarder

• Catching typos and misremembered addresses — someone guesses at info@ when your actual address is hello@, and the email still reaches you instead of bouncing.
• Testing new addresses before officially setting them up — see what unmatched mail is actually arriving before deciding which specific mailboxes or forwarders you need to create.
• A safety net during a domain or email migration, ensuring nothing addressed to an old or forgotten address is silently lost.

Common Mistakes Beginners Make

• Setting a catch-all destination that isn't checked regularly. Since this mailbox will also attract spam sent to random, made-up addresses on your domain (a known side effect of catch-all forwarding), pick a destination you'll actually monitor, or apply strong Junk Mail Filters to it.
• Confusing catch-all forwarding with individual forwarding. Catch-all only applies when nothing else matches — it won't override an existing mailbox or forwarder for a specific address.
• Not expecting increased spam volume. Catch-all addresses are more exposed to automated spam targeting random guessed addresses on your domain, since anything unmatched gets through rather than bouncing.

Troubleshooting

"My catch-all destination is receiving a lot of spam." This is a known trade-off of catch-all forwarding — since it accepts mail to any unmatched address, it's more exposed to automated spam attempts. Review and configure your Junk Mail Filters (see our companion guide) for that destination mailbox.

"I set up a catch-all but a specific address still bounces." Confirm there isn't an existing mailbox or individual forwarder already configured for that exact address, since catch-all rules only apply when nothing else matches.

"I'm not sure whether I want catch-all or wildcard forwarding." Use catch-all if you want all unmatched mail consolidated to one address. Use wildcard forwarding if you want unmatched mail mirrored to the same prefix on a different domain instead.

A Worked Example

Imagine your business card lists contact@yourbusiness.com, but a customer misremembers it and emails info@yourbusiness.com instead — an address you never actually created. Without a catch-all forwarder, that email bounces back to the customer as undeliverable, and you never know a potential customer tried to reach you. With a catch-all forwarder in place, that same email lands in your chosen destination mailbox instead, giving you the chance to respond even though the address itself was never something you set up. This single scenario is often reason enough for most small businesses to enable catch-all forwarding by default.