DNS Records

DNS (Domain Name System) records tell the internet how to handle your domain. Each record type serves a specific purpose — from pointing your domain to a server to verifying ownership for third-party services. For a conceptual overview of the resolution chain, caching, and propagation, see How DNS Works.

Supported Record Types

Sitequest supports the following DNS record types:

Type	Purpose	Example Value
A	Maps a domain to an IPv4 address	`93.184.216.34`
AAAA	Maps a domain to an IPv6 address	`2606:2800:220:1:248:1893:25c8:1946`
CNAME	Aliases one domain to another	`www.example.com`
MX	Routes email to a mail server	`mail.example.com` (priority: 10)
TXT	Stores arbitrary text (SPF, DKIM, verification)	`v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all`
SRV	Specifies a server for a specific service	`_sip._tcp.example.com`
CAA	Controls which CAs can issue SSL certificates	`0 issue "letsencrypt.org"`
NS	Delegates a subdomain to other nameservers	`ns1.example.com`
TLSA	Associates a TLS certificate with a domain	`3 1 1 abc123...`
SSHFP	Publishes SSH key fingerprints in DNS	`2 1 abc123...`

Managing DNS Records

Adding a Record

Open the Domains section in your dashboard
Select the domain you want to configure
Click Add Record
Choose the record type, enter the name, value, and TTL
Save the record

The record name is relative to your domain. For example, entering www for example.com creates a record for www.example.com. Leave the name empty (or use @) for the root domain.

Editing a Record

Click on any existing record in the DNS table to modify its value, TTL, or priority. Changes take effect once you save, though propagation across the internet can take up to 48 hours (typically much faster).

Deleting a Record

Click the delete icon next to any record. Deletions are immediate but, like all DNS changes, may take time to propagate globally.

Common Configurations

Pointing Your Domain to a VPS

Create an A record (and optionally an AAAA record for IPv6) pointing to your server's IP address:

Type	Name	Value	TTL
A	@	`your.server.ip`	3600
AAAA	@	`your:server:ipv6`	3600
CNAME	www	`example.com`	3600

The www CNAME ensures that www.example.com resolves to the same address as example.com.

Setting Up Email (MX Records)

To receive email, add MX records pointing to your mail provider. Here is an example for Google Workspace:

Type	Name	Priority	Value	TTL
MX	@	1	`aspmx.l.google.com`	3600
MX	@	5	`alt1.aspmx.l.google.com`	3600
MX	@	5	`alt2.aspmx.l.google.com`	3600

The server with the lowest value is contacted first.

Domain Verification (TXT Records)

Many services ask you to verify domain ownership by adding a TXT record:

Type	Name	Value	TTL
TXT	@	`google-site-verification=abc123`	3600
TXT	@	`v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all`	3600

You can have multiple TXT records on the same name.

Restricting SSL Issuance (CAA Records)

CAA records specify which Certificate Authorities are allowed to issue SSL certificates for your domain:

Type	Name	Value	TTL
CAA	@	`0 issue "letsencrypt.org"`	3600
CAA	@	`0 issuewild "letsencrypt.org"`	3600

With these records, only Let's Encrypt can issue certificates for your domain.

TTL (Time to Live)

The TTL value (in seconds) controls how long DNS resolvers cache your record. Common values:

300 (5 minutes) — For records you change frequently or during migrations
3600 (1 hour) — Good default for most records
86400 (24 hours) — For stable records that rarely change

Lower TTL values mean faster propagation when you make changes, but result in more DNS lookups.

Propagation

After changing a DNS record, the update needs to propagate across DNS servers worldwide. This process:

Usually only takes a few minutes
Can take up to 48 hours in edge cases
Is faster when the previous TTL was low
Cannot be accelerated — it depends on caches expiring naturally

You can check propagation status using tools like dig, nslookup, or online DNS propagation checkers.