Where the DNS settings live
- Sign in to the Cloudflare dashboard.
- Choose the domain (Cloudflare calls it a "zone") from the account home.
- Click DNS in the left sidebar, then Records.
Adding a record
- Click Add record.
- Pick the type, then fill in Name (
@for the root) and IPv4 address / Target / Content. - Decide on the orange cloud: Proxied routes traffic through Cloudflare and hides your server IP. DNS only (grey cloud) returns your real value.
- Click Save.
Editing or deleting a record
- Click Edit on the record row, change the value, and click Save.
- Delete is inside the Edit panel, at the bottom left.
Changing the nameservers
- Cloudflare DNS only works if the domain's nameservers point at Cloudflare.
- Add the site in Cloudflare first and let it import your existing records.
- Cloudflare then shows you two assigned nameservers — set those at your registrar.
- Activation usually completes within minutes but can take up to 24 hours.
Gotchas at Cloudflare
- A proxied (orange cloud) record makes the public DNS answer a Cloudflare IP, so external checks will not show your server IP. That is normal.
- Mail records (MX) must always be grey-clouded — proxying breaks mail.
- Proxied records force traffic through Cloudflare's SSL settings. "Flexible" SSL with an HTTPS origin causes redirect loops; use "Full (strict)".
- Cloudflare Registrar does not allow custom nameservers — domains registered there must use Cloudflare DNS.
After you save
DNS changes aren't instant. Resolvers keep the old answer until the previous record's TTL expires, so a record with a 4-hour TTL can take 4 hours to change everywhere. Use the Route Planner's live check to see what the world sees, and the troubleshooting page if it still looks wrong after the TTL has passed.