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DNS records explained: what to set after you buy a domain (A, CNAME, MX, TXT, TTL)

What A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, CAA and SRV records do, which ones to add for a website, email or a verification, how TTL decides how fast a change shows, how to check a record with dig, and the rules that break setups.

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DNS records tell the internet where each part of your domain lives: an A or CNAME record points the website at your host, MX records say which servers take your email, and TXT records carry email policies and proofs that you own the domain. A new domain on Nymwell starts with Nymwell's DNS, so you add records on the domain's DNS tab. Most setups need only a handful of records, and most problems come from three rules: no CNAME on the root, one SPF record per name, and changes that wait for the old record's TTL to run out.

The records you'll use

RecordWhat it does, with an example
APoints a name to an IPv4 address. @ → 76.76.21.21
AAAAThe same for an IPv6 address. @ → 2001:db8::1
CNAMEMakes a name an alias of another name. www → your-site.netlify.app. Not allowed on the root, and nothing else may sit on the same name.
MXNames the servers that receive email for the domain, each with a priority; lower numbers are tried first. Points to a host name, never an IP address or a CNAME.
TXTFree text that services read: SPF, DKIM and DMARC for email, and ownership proofs such as google-site-verification=….
NSSays which servers answer DNS for a name. The domain's own nameservers are changed on the domain page, not as records.
CAALists the certificate authorities allowed to issue HTTPS certificates for the domain. With no CAA record, any authority may. Nymwell's DNS doesn't offer CAA records yet.
SRVPoints a named service to a host and port, for services that ask for one.

How to read a record

Every record has four parts, plus a priority for MX and SRV:

  • Name: @ means the domain itself (example.com); www means www.example.com. On Nymwell you can type www or www.example.com, and both save as www.
  • Type: one of the records above.
  • Value: where it points or what it says. Copy it exactly from the service that asked for it.
  • TTL: how many seconds other servers may keep a copy before asking again. Nymwell uses 300 seconds (5 minutes) unless you set more, and 300 is the lowest it accepts.

What to add for each goal

GoalWhat to add
A website on Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages or GitHub PagesA records for @ and a CNAME for www. Steps for each host: connect your domain.
Email with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho, Fastmail or iCloudMX, plus TXT for SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Steps: email on your own domain.
No email on this domainThe No email option under Set up email adds v=spf1 -all and a DMARC p=reject record, so receiving servers can reject mail that claims to come from it.
Prove you own the domain to a serviceThe TXT record the service shows you, usually on @. Keep it after verifying: some services check again later.
A subdomain on another service, such as app or docsA CNAME from that name to the address the service gives you.
Let only certain certificate authorities issue certificatesNymwell's DNS doesn't offer CAA records yet, so any authority may issue, which is what hosts expect by default. If your DNS is with another provider, add one CAA record per authority your hosts use; a wrong CAA stops HTTPS certificates.

Add a record on Nymwell, step by step

  1. Open the domain in the console and go to DNS. You'll see the records the domain has now.
  2. Use a card if one fits. Connect a website and Set up email list common services: pick yours and enter the address it gave you, if it asks for one. Prove you own it takes the TXT value a service such as Google or Microsoft gave you. Nymwell shows the records it will add before anything changes.
  3. Otherwise, add the record in the records list: choose the type, then enter the name, the value and, for MX, the priority.
  4. Confirm. Owners and admins apply the change at once. For a domain manager or DNS operator the button reads Add (needs approval), and the change waits in Approvals. An AI agent connected over MCP can stage the same changes; the workspace's setting decides whether they apply at once or wait for you.
  5. Check that it's live (next section), then come back to the service that asked for the record and press its verify button.

Check that a record is live

Ask DNS directly. With dig, which macOS and most Linux systems include:

dig +short A example.com
dig +short CNAME www.example.com
dig +short MX example.com
dig +short TXT example.com

Each line prints what the name holds now; an empty answer means no record of that type yet. To see what Google's resolver returns, which is what many visitors use, add @8.8.8.8: dig +short @8.8.8.8 A example.com.

For a quick summary of a name, including its addresses and whether it answers over HTTPS, run npx nymwell info example.com.

How long until a change shows

  • A new record has no old copy to wait for, so it shows once the domain's DNS servers have it. The exception: if someone looked the name up before it existed, their resolver may keep the "not found" answer for the zone's negative-caching time.
  • A changed record can keep its old answer until the old record's TTL runs out, because resolvers may serve a copy until then.
  • New nameservers take longest. When we checked on 2026-11-03, the .com registry handed out a domain's nameservers with a TTL of 172,800 seconds, so a nameserver change can take up to two days to reach everyone.
  • Google's cached copy can be cleared with its flush-cache page if you've just fixed a record and want to test again.

Rules that break setups

What you seeWhyFix
Nymwell won't save a CNAME on @DNS doesn't allow a CNAME on the rootUse the A (and AAAA) records your host gives
A record won't save next to a CNAME, or the host says the setup is invalidA name with a CNAME can have no other records; old A or CNAME records for the same name confuse hostsKeep one: delete the leftovers
Email fails SPF after you add a second sending serviceTwo SPF TXT records on the same name make SPF failMerge them into one v=spf1 … ~all record
SPF fails with many services listedSPF allows at most 10 DNS lookups (each include: counts)Remove services you no longer use
Mail to the domain bouncesMX points to an IP address or to a CNAMEPoint MX to the host name your email provider gives
HTTPS certificate won't issue (DNS at another provider)A CAA record doesn't list your host's certificate authorityAdd a CAA record for it there, or delete the CAA records
Everything stopped after a nameserver changeThe new DNS provider doesn't have your recordsCopy every record to the new provider before you switch
A change doesn't show yetResolvers still hold the old copyWait for the old TTL; check with @8.8.8.8 or flush Google's cache

Questions

What's the difference between an A record and a CNAME? An A record points a name to an IP address. A CNAME points a name to another name, and follows it wherever that name points. Use a CNAME when a host gives you an address like your-site.netlify.app, and A records on the root, where a CNAME isn't allowed.

What TTL should I use? Keep 300 seconds while you're setting things up, so mistakes clear in about five minutes. Once a record is stable you can raise it; a longer TTL means fewer lookups, but slower changes later.

How long does DNS take to update? A new record has no old copy to wait for. A changed record can take as long as its old TTL. A nameserver change can take up to two days for .com, because that's how long the registry lets resolvers keep the old nameservers.

Can I have two SPF records? No. A name with more than one SPF record fails SPF checks. Put every sending service in one record.

Do I need to change my nameservers? Usually not. Keep Nymwell's DNS and add the records your services ask for. Change nameservers only when a service needs to run the whole domain's DNS, such as a Cloudflare Pages site on the root, and copy every record over first.

Sources

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