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DNS Record Reference

Comprehensive DNS record type reference. Look up A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, SOA, SRV, CAA, and more with examples and RFC links.

15 of 15 record types — click a row to expand details

How to Use DNS Record Reference

  1. 1Browse the complete list of DNS record types.
  2. 2Search or filter by type name or category.
  3. 3Click a record type to see detailed explanation and examples.
  4. 4Copy example values for your DNS configuration.
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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a DNS record and how does it work?▾
A DNS record is a database entry in the Domain Name System that maps a domain name to some value — typically an IP address, a mail server, or another domain. When you visit a website, your device queries a DNS resolver which looks up the relevant records for that domain. Records are stored on authoritative nameservers and cached by resolvers for the duration specified by the TTL (Time To Live) field. Each record has a type (A, MX, CNAME, etc.) that determines how the value is interpreted.
What is the difference between an A record and an AAAA record?▾
An A record maps a domain name to an IPv4 address (32-bit, e.g. 93.184.216.34). An AAAA record maps a domain name to an IPv6 address (128-bit, e.g. 2606:2800:220:1:248:1893:25c8:1946). IPv6 was introduced to solve IPv4 address exhaustion. Most modern infrastructure supports both — you can publish both A and AAAA records for the same domain so that clients preferring IPv6 use AAAA while IPv4-only clients fall back to A. If you only have IPv4 hosting, only publish an A record.
What are MX records and how do mail priorities work?▾
MX (Mail Exchanger) records specify the mail servers responsible for accepting incoming email for a domain. Each MX record has a priority value (lower number = higher priority). If the highest-priority server is unreachable, the sender tries the next one. Example: "10 mail1.example.com" and "20 mail2.example.com" means mail1 is tried first; mail2 is the fallback. You can set equal priorities (both at 10) for load-balancing. MX records must point to a hostname (an A/AAAA record), never directly to an IP address.
What is the difference between a CNAME and an A record?▾
An A record maps a name directly to an IP address. A CNAME (Canonical Name) record creates an alias that points one domain name to another domain name — the resolver then follows the chain to find the final IP. CNAMEs are useful for subdomains that should follow wherever a root domain points (e.g. www.example.com → example.com). However, CNAMEs cannot be used at the zone apex (the root domain itself) because RFC 1034 forbids coexisting records there. For apex aliasing, providers offer proprietary solutions like ALIAS or ANAME records.
What is TTL and how should I choose a value?▾
TTL (Time To Live) is the number of seconds a DNS resolver is allowed to cache a record before re-querying the authoritative server. A TTL of 3600 means resolvers cache the record for 1 hour. Lower TTL (e.g. 300 = 5 minutes) means changes propagate faster but generates more DNS queries. Higher TTL (e.g. 86400 = 24 hours) reduces query load but slows down changes. Best practice: set a low TTL (300–600 seconds) at least 24 hours before you plan to change a record, make the change, then raise the TTL back to 3600–86400 once propagation is confirmed.