An SPF record is a DNS TXT record that consists of several key components to define your email-sending policy.
The SPF record begins with v=spf1, which indicates the version of SPF being used. It includes mechanisms like include to authorize third-party email services, ip4 and ip6 to specify authorized IP addresses, and mx to designate mail servers based on your domain’s DNS MX records. At the end of the record, you’ll find a qualifier such as -all, which tells email providers to reject unauthorized messages, or ~all, which marks them as suspicious but allows delivery.
Together, these components provide a clear set of instructions for email providers to authenticate messages, ensuring only legitimate emails are sent from your domain while blocking unauthorized ones.