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DNS Record Types

DNS record types define the data a DNS entry carries, such as an IP address, an alias, a mail server, or verification text.

FBFenwei BianAuthorVZVictor ZhouEditorJune 22, 2026
  • glossary

DNS record types define the kind of data stored in a DNS resource record. The type tells a resolver how to interpret the answer; one domain can have different records for its website, email, and other services. 1

Common DNS record types

TypeWhat it containsTypical role
AAn IPv4 addressLocate a host by address.
AAAAAn IPv6 addressLocate a host over IPv6.
CNAMEAnother domain nameMake one name an alias of another.
MXA mail-server name and preferenceIdentify where incoming email should go.
TXTOne or more text stringsPublish text consumed by verification and other protocols.

A, CNAME, MX, and TXT are defined in RFC 1035. AAAA is defined in RFC 3596. 1 2

A custom-domain email setup uses these records together: MX directs incoming mail, while provider-supplied records support domain verification and sender authentication.

Reading an A record and a CNAME

An A record points to an IPv4 IP address; a CNAME points to another name whose records must then be resolved. A CNAME is a DNS alias, not a web-page redirect: it does not specify an HTTP redirect destination or a URL path. Choose the record your hosting provider asks for rather than treating these types as interchangeable. 1

The nameservers publish the records. Changing one type does not automatically update other services: changing a website’s A record does not, by itself, change its MX record. Cached answers can also persist during DNS propagation.

Sources and further reading

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Contributors

Fenwei Bian

Software Developer & Writer • Namefi
Author

Fenwei Bian is a software developer in her thirties who spends her working hours in pull requests and her weekends with her hands in soil or sawdust. Years of open source on GitHub taught her that names are interfaces: a good one is clear, honest about what it does, and kind to whoever has to use it next.

She gardens because it rewards patience and punishes wishful thinking, and she does woodwork because a joint either fits or it doesn't. Both habits show up in how she writes about naming — measure twice, check the source, and don't sand over a rough spot and hope no one notices.

For Namefi she writes about how domain markets actually move, the practical trade-offs of tokenizing and flipping names, and picking a domain you'll still be glad you own in twenty years.

GitHub

Victor Zhou

Founder & Standards Editor • Namefi
Editor

Victor Zhou is a technology founder and standards editor focused on digital identity and trust. He founded Namefi, edits Ethereum Improvement Proposals, and previously led smart-contract architecture work at Google Labs.

His work sits at the intersection of naming, ownership, and the systems people use to establish identity online. That perspective makes him especially interested in the way names move between personal meaning, public recognition, and digital infrastructure.

For Namefi, Victor edits and writes about domains as durable digital identity: how names become ownable onchain assets, how tokenization changes custody and trust, and what naming can learn from the systems people use to establish identity online.

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