DNS translates domain names into technical targets. The most common records are A and AAAA (IP), CNAME (alias), MX (email), TXT (verification and SPF), NS (nameservers), SOA (zone metadata) and TTL (cache duration).
Look up any domain with DNS Lookup. For the full pre-deploy flow, see the DNS and SSL checklist.
| Type | Definition | Example use |
|---|---|---|
| A | Maps a hostname to an IPv4 address. | example.com → 192.0.2.10 |
| AAAA | Maps a hostname to an IPv6 address. | example.com → 2001:db8::1 |
| CNAME | Alias — points one name to another hostname. | www → example.com or CDN |
| MX | Mail servers for the domain (with priority). | mail.example.com (prio 10) |
| TXT | Free-form text — SPF, DKIM, ownership verification, DMARC. | v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all |
| NS | Authoritative nameservers for the DNS zone. | ns1.cloudflare.com |
| SOA | Start of Authority — zone metadata (primary, serial, timers). | Set automatically by your DNS provider |
| TTL | Time To Live — seconds a record may be cached. | 300 (5 min) before migration; 3600+ in stable production |
| PTR | Reverse DNS — IP to hostname. | Common for mail servers; see Reverse Lookup |
Live example: DNS for cloudflare.com
A = IPv4. AAAA = IPv6. Modern sites often publish both.
CNAME for hostname targets (CDN, SaaS). A/AAAA for fixed IPs. Apex rarely accepts CNAME.
Points to mail servers. Lower priority number = higher preference.
Cache duration in seconds. Low before migrations; high in stable production.
SPF, DKIM, DMARC, Google/Microsoft verification, ACME DNS-01.
NS lists nameservers. SOA defines zone metadata and timers.