DNS Record Types Cheatsheet
NewSearchable reference of common DNS record types (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, SOA, PTR, SRV, CAA, and DNSSEC records) with their purpose and a real-world example.
Address Record
CoreMaps a hostname to an IPv4 address. The most fundamental DNS record type.
example.com. A 93.184.216.34
IPv6 Address Record
CoreMaps a hostname to an IPv6 address, the IPv6 equivalent of an A record.
example.com. AAAA 2606:2800:220:1:248:1893:25c8:1946
Canonical Name
CoreAliases one hostname to another; the DNS resolver follows the chain to the real record. Cannot coexist with other records on the same name.
www.example.com. CNAME example.com.
Mail Exchange
EmailSpecifies the mail servers responsible for receiving email for a domain, with a priority value (lower = higher priority).
example.com. MX 10 mail.example.com.
Text Record
EmailStores arbitrary text, commonly used for domain verification, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC policies.
example.com. TXT "v=spf1 include:_spf.example.com ~all"
Name Server
CoreDelegates a DNS zone to a specific set of authoritative name servers.
example.com. NS ns1.example.com.
Start of Authority
CoreHolds administrative information about a zone, including the primary name server, admin contact, and refresh/retry/expire timers.
example.com. SOA ns1.example.com. admin.example.com. 2024010101 7200 3600 1209600 3600
Pointer Record
CoreMaps an IP address back to a hostname, used for reverse DNS lookups (the opposite of an A record).
34.216.184.93.in-addr.arpa. PTR example.com.
Service Record
Service DiscoverySpecifies the hostname, port, priority, and weight for a specific service (like SIP or XMPP) on a domain.
_sip._tcp.example.com. SRV 10 60 5060 sipserver.example.com.
Certification Authority Authorization
SecurityRestricts which Certificate Authorities are allowed to issue SSL/TLS certificates for the domain.
example.com. CAA 0 issue "letsencrypt.org"
Delegation Signer
SecurityPart of DNSSEC — holds a hash of a DNSKEY record in the child zone, establishing the chain of trust from the parent zone.
example.com. DS 12345 8 2 1F2E3D...
DNS Public Key
SecurityPart of DNSSEC — publishes the public key used to verify signed DNS records in the zone.
example.com. DNSKEY 256 3 8 AwEAA...
Alias Record
CoreA non-standard record (provider-specific) that behaves like CNAME but can be used at the zone apex, where CNAME is disallowed.
example.com. ALIAS target.example.net.
Service Binding
Service DiscoveryA newer record type advertising service parameters like HTTP/3 support and ALPN protocols directly at the DNS layer.
example.com. HTTPS 1 . alpn=h2,h3
14 record types
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between A and AAAA records?
An A record maps a hostname to an IPv4 address, while an AAAA record maps it to an IPv6 address — both serve the same purpose for different IP versions, and a domain commonly has both.
Why can't I use a CNAME record at the root/apex of a domain?
DNS rules forbid a CNAME from coexisting with other records (like the required SOA and NS records) on the same name, and the zone apex always needs those — so most providers offer a non-standard ALIAS/ANAME record as a CNAME-like workaround at the apex.
What are DS and DNSKEY records used for?
They're both part of DNSSEC (DNS Security Extensions) — DNSKEY publishes a zone's public key for verifying signed records, while DS lives in the parent zone and holds a hash of that key, forming a chain of trust from the root down to your domain.
Can I filter the list by category?
Yes — use the category buttons (Core, Email, Security, Service Discovery) or the search box to narrow down to the record types relevant to what you're configuring.