Mailto link generator: email links with subject, body, cc and bcc
A mailto link is a link that opens a new email in the visitor's mail app, with the address and optionally cc, bcc, subject and body filled in. Fill in the fields in the generator to build one: spaces become %20 and line breaks %0D%0A as the mailto standard requires; copy it as a link, HTML or Markdown.
Build a mailto link
Separate several addresses with commas. Runs in your browser.
Decode an existing mailto link
Sample result
Your link opens a new email to jane@acme.example with the subject “Demo request”.
- mailto link
- jane@acme.example
- Subject
- Demo%20request
- Recipients
- 1
What this means for you
Put it on a button or page so visitors can email you in one click.
- To, cc, bcc, subject and body fields
- Spaces as %20, never +
- Line breaks encoded as %0D%0A
- Decodes an existing mailto link
- mailto
- RFC 6068
- Links
By SimpleVerifier Team · Last updated · Runs in your browser; nothing you paste is sent to us
How do I create a mailto link?
- Enter the To address. Add more than one with commas; cc and bcc work the same way.
- Write the subject and, if you want, a pre-filled body. Line breaks you type are kept.
- Copy the mailto: link, the HTML anchor or the Markdown, and press the test link to check the draft opens as expected.
- To fix an existing link, open Decode an existing mailto link, paste it, and edit the fields it fills.
Example
- You enter
- To jane@acme.example, subject “Demo request”.
- You get
- The link
mailto:jane@acme.example?subject=Demo%20request, with the space encoded as %20, plus matching HTML and Markdown versions. - Limits
- No limit; runs in your browser.
What is a mailto link?
A mailto link is a URL that starts with mailto: and opens a new message instead of a web page, as defined in RFC 6068. The simplest one is mailto:hello@example.com. Anything after a ? sets headers: cc, bcc, subject and body, joined with &, as in mailto:hello@example.com?subject=Pricing&body=Hi%20there.
The link doesn't send anything. It hands the fields to whichever mail app the visitor's device uses for email links, and they press Send themselves. That is also why it can't attach files or fill in the visitor's own address: the standard has no way to do either.
How do I add a subject and body to a mailto link?
Add ?subject= after the address, then &body= for the message, with both values percent-encoded. A space must be %20, not +: RFC 6068 section 5 notes that a + can't be told apart from a real plus sign, and many mail apps show it literally. Line breaks in the body must be %0D%0A. Characters such as &, ?, # and = inside the text have to be encoded too, or they end the value early.
The generator above does all of this, so a subject like Q&A: 20% off? arrives intact as Q%26A%3A%2020%25%20off%3F.
How do I create a mailto link in HTML?
Put the mailto URL in the href of an anchor: <a href="mailto:hello@example.com?subject=Pricing">Email us</a>. Inside an HTML attribute, & between parameters should be written &, which is what the HTML output above gives you. MDN's anchor element reference covers mailto links among the other link types.
For a button, style the same anchor as a button rather than using a form: an HTML form with action="mailto:" encodes spaces as +, the exact problem RFC 6068 warns about.
Why is my mailto link not working?
Usually because no mail app is set to handle email links on that device, or the browser's handler points somewhere unexpected. On a desktop, clicking a mailto link opens the default mail app; if there isn't one, nothing happens. In Chrome, sites such as Gmail can register as the handler for email links under site settings, described in Google's Chrome help on protocol handlers. On a Mac, the default is set in Mail settings, as Apple describes.
If the draft opens but looks wrong, the encoding is the cause: a + where a space should be, a body cut off at an unencoded &, or line breaks missing because they weren't %0D%0A. Paste the link into the decoder above to see what each field actually contains. Very long links can also be cut short by some apps, so keep pre-filled bodies brief.
Should I use a mailto link or a contact form?
| Mailto link | Contact form | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | One link, no server | Needs a form handler or service |
| Visitor needs a mail app | Yes | No |
| Your address visible to scrapers | Yes | No |
| Visitor keeps a copy in Sent | Yes | Only if the form emails one |
| Spam control | None | CAPTCHA, rate limits |
Who uses this tool, and for what?
- Websites
- Add an Email sales button that opens a draft with the subject already set, so enquiries arrive labelled and are easy to filter.
- Email signatures
- Link a support address in a signature with a pre-filled subject that includes the product name.
- Support teams
- Put a Report a problem link in help articles that copies a ticketing address in bcc.
- Developers
- Decode a mailto link from a template that renders oddly, see what each field really contains, and rebuild it.
What can’t this tool tell you?
- It builds the link; it can't make a device open it. That depends on the visitor's default mail app or browser handler.
- No attachments, no HTML formatting and no sender address: the standard has no fields for them.
- It checks that addresses look like addresses, not that the mailboxes exist.
- Some mail apps cut off very long links, so a long pre-filled body may not arrive whole.
Common questions
- What is a mailto link?
- A link starting with mailto: that opens a new email in the visitor's mail app, with the address and optionally the subject, body, cc and bcc filled in. The visitor still presses Send.
- How do I create a mailto link with multiple recipients?
- Separate the addresses with commas: mailto:anna@example.com,ben@example.com. For copies, add ?cc= or ?bcc= with a comma-separated list. The generator above accepts commas, semicolons or spaces and writes commas.
- What does a mailto link look like?
- mailto:hello@example.com?subject=Pricing%20question&body=Hi%20team. The address comes first, then a ? and the fields joined with &, each value percent-encoded.
- Why is mailto not working?
- Most often the device has no mail app set to handle email links, so the click does nothing. Set a default mail app or a web handler such as Gmail in the browser. If the draft opens but the text is wrong, the link isn't encoded correctly.
- Why is my mailto link not working in Chrome?
- Chrome passes mailto links to the operating system's default mail app, or to a website you allowed to handle email links in Chrome's site settings. If neither is set up, nothing opens.
- Are mailto links safe?
- Yes for the visitor: the link only opens a draft they can read before sending. For the site owner, an address in a mailto link is visible to scrapers, so expect more spam to it than to a contact form.
- Can a mailto link include an attachment?
- No. RFC 6068 has no attachment field, and mail apps ignore attachment parameters. Link to the file in the body instead.
Sources
Authentication and capacity are half of deliverability.
The other half is who you send to. Every hard bounce counts against the domain and inboxes you are sending from, and nothing in DNS can tell you which addresses on your list are dead.
- Bulk verification with real SMTP mailbox checks
- Hard bounces removed before a send, not discovered after
- Catch-all, disposable and role detection on every row
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