The Complete Guide to DNS Records
Every time someone visits your website, sends you an email, or calls an API on your domain, DNS records are the mechanism that makes it work. Getting them right matters: a malformed A record keeps your site offline, a broken MX record loses incoming mail, and an invalid SPF TXT record lands your emails in spam. This tool lets you build and validate record strings before deploying them so you ship correct configuration the first time.
How to Use This Tool
Select a record type using the tabs at the top. The input fields will change to match the requirements of that record. Fill in the Hostname (use @ for the root of your domain, or a subdomain like www or mail), the TTL, and any type-specific values. As you type, the two output panes update instantly: the left pane shows a table formatted for cloud dashboards, and the right pane shows the raw BIND zone file string ready for a server config. For A and AAAA records, the IP address field turns green when the format is valid and red when it contains an error, so you can catch typos before they go live.
Which Record Type Do You Need?
Use an A record to point your domain or subdomain at a specific IPv4 address (your server, load balancer, or CDN edge IP). Use AAAA for the same thing with IPv6 addresses. Use a CNAME when you want one hostname to follow another - for example, pointing www.example.com at example.com so they always resolve to the same place. Use MX records to configure email delivery for your domain, always pointing at a mail server hostname (not an IP). Use TXT records for SPF, DKIM, DMARC, or any third-party verification code that needs to live in DNS.
Cloud Dashboard vs. BIND Zone File
Cloud DNS providers (Cloudflare, AWS Route53, Vercel, Netlify, GoDaddy) all use web dashboards with separate input fields for Name, Type, Value, and TTL. They handle quoting and syntax internally. The Cloud Provider pane on this tool matches that format. When managing a VPS with BIND, PowerDNS, or a cPanel zone editor, you work with raw zone file syntax: the entire record on one line, with the "IN" class keyword, proper quoting on TXT values, and a trailing dot on fully qualified hostnames. The BIND Zone pane gives you that string directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is TTL and what number should I use?
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TTL (Time to Live) is the number of seconds that DNS resolvers and browsers are allowed to cache a record before re-checking it with your nameserver. A value of 3600 (1 hour) is the most common default and a safe choice for stable records. Use a lower value like 300 (5 minutes) before a planned migration so changes propagate faster, then raise it back after the switch is confirmed. Very high values like 86400 (24 hours) reduce DNS query volume but mean changes take a full day to reach all users.
What is the difference between an A record and a CNAME?
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An A record maps a hostname directly to an IPv4 address (e.g. example.com to 93.184.216.34). A CNAME maps a hostname to another hostname, letting the resolver follow the chain to find the IP (e.g. www.example.com to example.com). CNAMEs are useful when an IP may change (such as with load balancers or CDNs) because you only need to update the target A record. However, you cannot place a CNAME at the root or apex of a domain (@ record) on standard DNS - only A or AAAA records are allowed there. Some providers like Cloudflare offer CNAME flattening as a workaround.
Can I have multiple MX records for one domain?
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Yes. Multiple MX records are not just allowed - they are recommended for redundancy. Each MX record carries a priority number (lower number = higher priority). Mail servers try the lowest-priority (most preferred) mail host first. If it is unreachable, they try the next-lowest priority record. A typical setup has a primary server at priority 10 and a backup at priority 20. If two records share the same priority number, traffic is split roughly evenly between them.
Why does my TXT record need quotation marks?
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In BIND zone file syntax, TXT record values must be wrapped in double quotation marks so the DNS parser treats the content as a single string rather than separate tokens. Without quotes, spaces or special characters in the value cause a parse error. Most cloud DNS dashboards handle the quoting automatically, so you paste the raw value without quotes into their UI. When writing a raw zone file for BIND directly, you must include the quotes yourself - which is why this tool automatically wraps TXT values in double quotes in the BIND output pane.
What is BIND format and when do I need it?
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BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain) is the most widely deployed DNS server software, and its zone file format is the de-facto standard for raw DNS record syntax. The format is: [Name] [TTL] IN [Type] [Value]. You need it when managing a VPS or dedicated server running BIND or PowerDNS, when your hosting control panel (cPanel, Plesk) exposes a raw zone editor, or when importing or exporting zone files between systems. Cloud dashboards like Cloudflare or Route53 use their own UI but accept the same underlying data.