DNS Records Explained: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, and NS
DNS records are the settings that tell the internet where your domain points and how its services behave. If you have ever wondered what an A record or an MX record actually does, this guide explains the essentials without the jargon.
Updated June 26, 2026
A and AAAA records
An A record maps a domain to an IPv4 address, such as 93.184.216.34. It is the most fundamental record: when someone visits your site, DNS resolves the domain to this address so their browser knows which server to contact.
An AAAA record does the same job for IPv6 addresses. Many domains have both so they work over both versions of the internet protocol.
CNAME, MX, TXT, and NS records
A CNAME record is an alias that points one name to another, for example pointing www.example.com to example.com. MX records route email by listing the mail servers that accept messages for your domain, in priority order.
TXT records store arbitrary text and are widely used for verification and email security, including SPF and DKIM entries that help prevent spoofing. NS records list the authoritative nameservers responsible for the domain.
How to look up and verify records
Use a DNS lookup tool to query any record type for a domain and see the live values. This is the first step when a site will not load or email is bouncing.
After changing a record, remember that DNS is cached based on each record's TTL. If a change does not appear immediately, a propagation checker shows how it is rolling out across resolvers worldwide.
Tools mentioned in this guide
- DNS LookupQuery public DNS records for any domain — A, AAAA, MX, TXT, NS, CNAME, SOA, SRV, CAA, and PTR.
- DNS Propagation CheckerCheck DNS record propagation across global public resolvers. Compare answers from Google, Cloudflare, Quad9, and more.
- MX Record LookupLook up mail exchange (MX) DNS records for a domain, sorted by priority with mail host IP resolution.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between an A record and a CNAME?
- An A record points a name directly to an IP address. A CNAME points a name to another name (an alias), which then resolves to an IP. You cannot use a CNAME at the root domain in most setups.
- Why does my DNS change take time to appear?
- Resolvers cache records for the length of the TTL. Until that cache expires, they keep serving the old value, which is why changes can take minutes to hours to propagate everywhere.