DNS record types, in plain English

Every provider uses the same record types, even when they label the fields differently. Once you know which record you need, our provider guides tell you where to put it.

A

Points a name at an IPv4 address.

Example @ → 203.0.113.10

The workhorse record. Use it for the root domain, since a root CNAME is not allowed.

AAAA

Points a name at an IPv6 address.

Example @ → 2001:db8::1

Same as an A record but for IPv6. Optional, but harmless to add if your host supports it.

CNAME

Points a name at another name.

Example www → example.com

A CNAME cannot sit alongside any other record on the same name, so it cannot be used on the root domain. Some providers offer ALIAS or ANAME records to work around this.

ALIAS / ANAME

A CNAME-like record that is legal on the root.

Example @ → myapp.herokudns.com

Not a real DNS record type — the provider resolves it and returns an A record. Only available on some providers (Cloudflare calls it CNAME flattening).

MX

Where email for the domain should be delivered.

Example @ → 10 mail.example.com

The number is the priority — lower is tried first. The target must be a hostname, never an IP address, and never a CNAME.

TXT

Free-form text, used for verification and email policy.

Example @ → v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all

Used for SPF, DKIM, DMARC and for proving domain ownership to Google, Microsoft and others.

SPF

Which servers may send mail as your domain.

Example A TXT record starting v=spf1

There must be exactly one SPF TXT record on the root. Two of them breaks SPF entirely — merge them instead.

DKIM

Public key used to verify your outgoing mail signatures.

Example selector._domainkey → long TXT value

Your mail provider gives you the selector and value. The value is long; some panels split it into chunks automatically.

DMARC

Tells receivers what to do with mail that fails SPF/DKIM.

Example _dmarc → v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:you@example.com

Start with p=none to collect reports, then tighten to quarantine and reject.

NS

Delegates a zone to a set of nameservers.

Example @ → ns1.example.net

The NS records at your registrar decide which provider actually answers for your domain. Editing NS records inside a zone editor is rarely what you want.

SRV

Advertises a service, port and host.

Example _sip._tcp → 10 5 5060 sip.example.com

Used by VoIP, Microsoft Teams, Minecraft servers and similar. The four numbers are priority, weight, port and target.

CAA

Restricts which certificate authorities may issue certs for the domain.

Example @ → 0 issue "letsencrypt.org"

If a CAA record exists and does not list your CA, certificate issuance will fail. A common cause of mysterious SSL errors.

PTR

Reverse lookup: IP back to a name.

Example Set by whoever owns the IP

You cannot set this in your domain's zone. Ask your server or cloud provider to set reverse DNS.

SOA

Metadata about the zone itself.

Example Managed automatically

Leave it alone unless you know exactly why you are changing it.

The three fields everyone gets wrong