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Your suppression list is the set of addresses Hiveku won’t send to — automatically populated by hard bounces and spam complaints, plus anything you add manually.
Hiveku adds addresses to your suppression list automatically whenever they hard-bounce or file a spam complaint. You don’t need to do anything to keep the list healthy — but you can inspect, add, and remove entries via the API or AI chat.

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Two Ways to Manage Suppressions

The dashboard suppression UI is read-only — you can view entries but not edit them there. For changes, use AI chat or the API.
The easiest way. In your project’s AI tab, say what you want:
Add customer@example.com to my email suppression list.
Or:
Remove customer@example.com from suppressions — they confirmed they want back on the list.
The AI handles the API call for you and confirms the change.

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Suppression Reasons

Every entry has a reason that explains why it was added.
ReasonSourceWhat it means
hard_bounceAutomaticMail server permanently rejected the address (doesn’t exist, domain invalid)
complaintAutomaticRecipient clicked “Spam” in their mail client
manualYouYou added it via API or AI chat
Hiveku doesn’t auto-suppress soft bounces (mailbox full, temporary DNS failure). Those retry for a while, then suppress only after repeated failures.

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Global Suppression List

Hiveku maintains a platform-wide suppression list for addresses that have bounced or complained repeatedly across multiple customer accounts. This takes precedence over your account-level list. If you try to unsuppress someone who’s on the global list, your change succeeds at the account level but mail still won’t send. The dashboard will show both states so you know which list is blocking delivery.

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Best Practices

Wire your app’s unsubscribe handler directly to the suppression API. When a user clicks unsubscribe, add their email as reason: 'manual'. That’s faster and more reliable than managing a separate opt-out table.
  • Never remove a hard_bounce address blindly. The mail server told you the address doesn’t exist. Sending to it again damages your sender reputation.
  • Respect complaints. If someone marked you as spam, do not put them back on your list — even if they later ask. In most jurisdictions (GDPR, CAN-SPAM, CASL), re-sending to a complainer is illegal.
  • Audit manual removals. Keep a log of who removed what and why — auditors and your deliverability team will thank you.
  • Don’t try to “clean” your list by sending to everyone first. Use a list validation service (Kickbox, NeverBounce, ZeroBounce) before importing cold lists.
See the deliverability reference for more on list hygiene.

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Verify a Suppression

1

Add a test address

Use AI chat or the API to suppress a test email you control.
2

Try to send to it

Attempt a send via your normal flow. Hiveku silently filters the message — the API returns success but no email is delivered.
3

Check the logs

The email dashboard shows a suppressed status for that attempt, with the suppression reason.

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Find Your API Key

If you need an API key for suppression calls:
  1. Go to Settings > Email Service > API Keys
  2. Click Create Key if you don’t have one
  3. Copy it somewhere safe — Hiveku only shows it once
API keys let a caller send email, manage suppressions, and read webhook configuration. Treat them like passwords — don’t commit them, don’t paste them in chat, and rotate if exposed.

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Troubleshooting

Check the reason. If it’s hard_bounce, the address doesn’t exist on the recipient’s mail server — sending will bounce again. Verify the address is correct (typo? different domain?). If it’s complaint, do not re-send — they marked you as spam, and sending again can get your domain blocklisted.
The address is likely on the global suppression list, which overrides your account-level removals. Check the dashboard — if it shows global_suppressed, contact support to review.
Go to Settings > Email Service > API Keys. If the key you used was never saved, create a new one — Hiveku can’t show the old key again.
A growth rate above 2% of sends is a warning sign. Audit your opt-in flow (are people actually consenting?), check for a broken form that submits garbage addresses, and validate cold lists before importing.
Use AI chat: “Remove my-email@example.com from suppressions — it was added manually.” Then re-send your test.

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What’s Next?

Email Webhooks

React in real time when bounces and complaints happen

Deliverability Reference

Keep your sender reputation clean