Email forensics

Email Source Analyzer

Headers tell the whole story. Paste the raw source of a message (View Original in Gmail, View Source in Outlook, etc) and we will decode the routing path, authentication results, sender alignment, body structure, and the spam signals that mailbox providers react to.

Need only the headers? Use the Email Header Analyzer instead.

In Gmail: open the message, click the three dots, choose Show original, copy everything. We never store the input.

How it works

What we parse

The analyzer walks the raw RFC 5322 envelope and surfaces the parts that actually affect inbox placement.

Sender alignment

From, Reply-To, Return-Path. We flag mismatches between the visible From domain and the bounce or reply paths.

Authentication results

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC results pulled from Authentication-Results and Received-SPF. None means the receiving server did not check.

Routing path

The full hop chain from Received headers, with per-hop server name, IP, and per-hop delay. Wide gaps between hops are the usual sign of a queue stall.

Body inspection

Image count, 1x1 tracking pixels, link count, shortened URLs, hidden text (display:none, font-size:0), and the text-to-HTML ratio.

Spam indicator rollup

A weighted score across the auth, sender, and body signals. Clean / suspicious / risky rating with the exact reason for each point.

When to use it

When this tool fits

The source analyzer is the right starting point when a single message landed in spam, when you suspect spoofing, or when you need a quick forensic readout.

  • A specific message landed in spam. Paste the raw source. The authentication and body sections together usually identify the cause.
  • You suspect a message is a phishing attempt. Mismatched Return-Path, missing Message-ID, hidden text, or shortened URLs surface here without any guesswork.
  • You want a forensic readout for an incident report. The hop chain plus authentication results plus spam rollup is the structure most incident reports need.

Go deeper

Related Email Almanac questions

The Almanac covers the standards behind every check the analyzer runs.

Want a full deliverability audit?

One message is a data point. We read the patterns across every signal that affects whether your mail lands in the inbox and write you a plain-English report.

Try it deeper with RME