# Reading email headers

> How to view the full headers of an email in Gmail, Outlook, webmail and Apple Mail, and what to look for when tracing delivery or spoofing.

Source: https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/email/guides/reading-email-headers/

Every email carries hidden **headers**: a record of where it came from, which servers handled it, and whether it passed security checks. They help you trace delays, find out why a message went to spam, and spot fake (spoofed) emails. Our support team may ask you for them.

## How to view headers

| App | Steps |
| --- | --- |
| **Roundcube (cPanel webmail)** | Open the message, click **More** (⋯) → **View source** |
| **Business Email webmail** | Open the message, open its menu → **View message source** |
| **Gmail** | Open the message, click the three dots → **Show original** |
| **Outlook (Windows)** | Double-click the message to open it, then **File → Properties**. Headers are in **Internet headers** |
| **Outlook on the web** | Open the message, click the three dots → **View → View message source** |
| **Apple Mail** | Open the message, then **View → Message → All Headers** |

To send headers to support, copy the whole block and paste it into your ticket.

## What to look for

- **Authentication-Results:** shows `spf=`, `dkim=` and `dmarc=` with **pass** or **fail**. Failures often explain why a message went to spam. See [Fixing Gmail's "couldn't verify" warning](https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/email/guides/gmail-couldnt-verify-domain/).
- **Received:** each server that handled the message adds a line. Read them **from the bottom up** to follow the message's path, with times, so you can see where a delay happened.
- **Return-Path** and **From:** if they belong to completely different domains, and the authentication checks fail, the message may be spoofed. See [Email spoofing](https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/email/guides/email-spoofing/).
- **X-Spam-Status / X-Spam-Score:** on our servers, shows SpamAssassin's verdict and score.

Free tools such as Google's [Messageheader](https://toolbox.googleapps.com/apps/messageheader/) turn the raw headers into an easy-to-read summary.