> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.noxity.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Default Address

> Decide what happens to mail sent to addresses you haven't created on your domain.

The Default Address tool decides where mail goes when someone sends to an address that doesn't exist on your domain. Without configuring this, those messages bounce back to the sender. With it, you can catch every stray message, discard them silently, or send a custom error.

Open it from cPanel home → **Email** → **Default Address**.

<Frame caption="Default Address page with the three behavior options">
  <img src="https://mintlify.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/noxity/images/cpanel/email-management/default-address/page-light.png" alt="Default Address page showing Discard, Forward, and Pipe options" className="block dark:hidden" />

  <img src="https://mintlify.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/noxity/images/cpanel/email-management/default-address/page-dark.png" alt="Default Address page showing Discard, Forward, and Pipe options" className="hidden dark:block" />
</Frame>

## Three behaviors

<Steps>
  <Step title="Discard (recommended)">
    Mail to non-existent addresses on your domain is rejected at SMTP time with the error `:fail: No Such User Here` (you can customize the message). Sender's mail server bounces it back.

    This is the cPanel default and what you want in almost every case. It tells legitimate senders they typo'd the address.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Forward to one address (catch-all)">
    Every message to an unknown address on your domain lands in one mailbox you specify. Useful in some niche cases (auditing inbound mail, tracking what addresses people guess), but invites spam catastrophically. Spammers blast random addresses across your domain and the catch-all swallows it all.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pipe to a script (advanced)">
    Hand the message to a custom script for processing. For developers building mail-driven applications.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Avoid catch-all in production. The volume of spam to random addresses on a publicly-known domain is enormous. Use forwarders and explicit mailboxes instead.
</Warning>

## Per-domain settings

If you host multiple domains on one cPanel account, each domain has its own Default Address setting. Switch between them at the top of the page.

## Need a hand?

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    Best for anything that needs an account check or a config change on our end.
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  <Card title="Live chat" icon="messages" href="https://noxity.io/contact">
    Faster for quick questions during business hours.
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