# Email Setup -- Step-by-Step for Brendon

## OVERVIEW
Set up 3 email accounts on Zoho Mail Free for LLMHosts.com domain (hosted on GoDaddy).
Estimated time: 15-20 minutes.

## WHAT YOU NEED
- Your GoDaddy account login (for LLMHosts.com domain)
- A personal email address (for Zoho account recovery)
- A browser (Chrome recommended)

---

## STEP 1: Sign Up for Zoho Mail Free

1. Open: **https://www.zoho.com/mail/zohomail-pricing.html**
2. Scroll to the **"Forever Free Plan"** column (far left)
3. Click **"Sign Up"** (or "Try Now" under the Free plan)
4. Fill in:
   - **Name**: Brendon
   - **Email or Phone**: (your personal/recovery email)
   - **Password**: (pick something for your Zoho *admin* account -- this is separate from the email passwords)
5. Complete signup, verify your recovery email if prompted

---

## STEP 2: Add LLMHosts.com Domain

1. After signup, you'll land in the Zoho Mail setup wizard
2. You'll see "Add your existing domain" -- click **"Add Now"**
3. Enter: **llmhosts.com**
4. Click **"Add"**

---

## STEP 3: Verify Domain (One-Click -- GoDaddy)

1. On the domain verification page, click **"Login to my DNS"**
2. Zoho will detect GoDaddy automatically
3. A GoDaddy login popup appears -- **log in with your GoDaddy credentials**
4. Click **"Connect"**
5. Wait a moment -- status should change to **"Verified"**

**If one-click fails**, use manual TXT method:
1. Copy the TXT verification code shown in Zoho
2. Open new tab: **https://dcc.godaddy.com/domains**
3. Find llmhosts.com → click **"Manage DNS"**
4. Click **"Add Record"** → Type: TXT, Host: @, Value: [paste Zoho code], TTL: 600
5. Save, go back to Zoho, click "Verify by TXT"

---

## STEP 4: Configure MX Records (One-Click -- GoDaddy)

1. In Zoho Admin Console → **Domains** → llmhosts.com → **Email Configuration** → **MX**
2. Click **"Login to my DNS"**
3. GoDaddy popup → click **"Connect"**
4. MX records added automatically

**If one-click fails**, add manually in GoDaddy DNS:
1. Go to: **https://dcc.godaddy.com/domains** → llmhosts.com → Manage DNS
2. **DELETE all existing MX records first**
3. Add these 3 MX records:

| Type | Host | Value | Priority | TTL |
|------|------|-------|----------|-----|
| MX | @ | mx.zoho.com | 10 | 600 |
| MX | @ | mx2.zoho.com | 20 | 600 |
| MX | @ | mx3.zoho.com | 50 | 600 |

---

## STEP 5: Configure SPF Record (One-Click or Manual)

1. In Zoho Admin Console → **Domains** → llmhosts.com → **Email Configuration** → **SPF**
2. Click **"Login to my DNS"** → Connect

**If manual:**
1. GoDaddy DNS → Add Record
2. Type: **TXT**, Host: **@**, Value: **`v=spf1 include:zohomail.com -all`**, TTL: 600
3. Save

---

## STEP 6: Configure DKIM Record

1. In Zoho Admin Console → **Domains** → llmhosts.com → **Email Configuration** → **DKIM**
2. Click **"+Add"**
3. Select **2048-bit** key length
4. Enter selector name: **zoho**
5. Click **"Add"**
6. Zoho generates the DKIM record. Now click the selector name from the list.
7. Click **"Login to my DNS"** → Connect

**If manual:**
1. Copy the **Host** value (will look like: `zoho._domainkey`)
2. Copy the **Value** (will look like: `v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIIB...long string...`)
3. GoDaddy DNS → Add Record → Type: TXT, Host: [paste host], Value: [paste value], TTL: 600

---

## STEP 7: Add DMARC Record (Manual -- Required)

This one is always manual (Zoho doesn't do one-click for DMARC).

1. Go to: **https://dcc.godaddy.com/domains** → llmhosts.com → Manage DNS
2. Add Record:
   - Type: **TXT**
   - Host: **_dmarc**
   - Value: **`v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:brendon@llmhosts.com`**
   - TTL: 600
3. Save

(We start with `p=none` to monitor. After 2 weeks of confirmed working, we change to `p=quarantine`.)

---

## STEP 8: Create the 3 Email Accounts

1. In Zoho Admin Console → **Users** → **Add User**
2. Create account #1:
   - **First Name**: Brendon
   - **Email**: brendon (will become brendon@llmhosts.com)
   - **Password**: `P+QKJkxEySGeC2TIX-r61ni7`
3. Create account #2:
   - **First Name**: Support
   - **Last Name**: LLMHosts
   - **Email**: support (will become support@llmhosts.com)
   - **Password**: `PXUa24DXM9xagc^PyiyR=E=7`
4. Create account #3:
   - **First Name**: No Reply
   - **Last Name**: LLMHosts
   - **Email**: no-reply (will become no-reply@llmhosts.com)
   - **Password**: `8XXjQuJ4CHNfCcitR#aD!Eoc`

---

## STEP 9: Enable IMAP on Each Account

For each of the 3 accounts:

1. Go to **https://mail.zoho.com**
2. Log in with the account email and password
3. Click the **gear icon** (Settings) → **Mail Accounts**
4. Select your email address
5. Check **"IMAP Access"**
6. Click **Save**

---

## STEP 10: Verify Everything Works

### Test 1: Send from Zoho
1. Log into https://mail.zoho.com as brendon@llmhosts.com
2. Compose an email to your personal Gmail/email
3. Send it
4. Check your personal inbox -- it should arrive

### Test 2: Receive at Zoho
1. From your personal email, send an email to brendon@llmhosts.com
2. Check https://mail.zoho.com -- it should arrive

### Test 3: Verify SPF/DKIM/DMARC
1. In the email you received at your personal Gmail, click **"Show original"** (three dots → Show original)
2. Look for:
   - **SPF: PASS** ✓
   - **DKIM: PASS** ✓
   - **DMARC: PASS** ✓
3. If any FAIL, wait 4-48 hours for DNS propagation and retry

### Test 4: MX Record Check
1. Go to: **https://www.zoho.com/toolkit/mx-lookup.html**
2. Enter: **llmhosts.com**
3. Verify you see: mx.zoho.com (10), mx2.zoho.com (20), mx3.zoho.com (50)

---

## STEP 11: Enable 2FA (Immediately After Setup)

1. Go to: **https://accounts.zoho.com/home#security/security_mfa**
2. Enable Two-Factor Authentication for each account
3. Use an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, etc.)

---

## WHAT TO REPORT BACK

After completing all steps, I need the following to configure our platform:

1. **Confirmation**: All 3 accounts created and working? (Y/N)
2. **SPF/DKIM/DMARC**: All passing? (Y/N)
3. **DKIM selector value**: The public key value from Zoho Admin Console → DKIM (I need this for transactional email setup later)
4. **Any errors**: Screenshot or copy any error messages

---

## TROUBLESHOOTING

| Problem | Fix |
|---------|-----|
| Domain verification fails | Wait 15 min, DNS propagation can be slow. Try manual TXT if one-click fails. |
| MX records not showing | Wait up to 1 hour. Check you deleted OLD MX records in GoDaddy. |
| SPF fails | Ensure only ONE SPF TXT record exists. Delete duplicates. |
| DKIM fails | DNS propagation takes 4-48 hours. Be patient. |
| Can't receive email | Verify MX records at https://www.zoho.com/toolkit/mx-lookup.html |
| Can't send email | Check SPF record is correct. Try from webmail first before IMAP client. |
| One-click GoDaddy connect fails | Try in incognito mode. Or use manual method. |
