DNS Record Types

Complete reference for DNS record types supported by NFD

This page provides detailed examples and configurations for each DNS record type supported by NFD.

In the examples below, @ is your NFD's apex and bare labels like www or _dmarc are subnames. You can also write subnames explicitly with the .@ suffix (e.g. www.@). Every name you store resolves under your NFD —see Name Field for the accepted forms and scope rules.

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Supported Record Types

A Record — IPv4 Address

Point your domain to a server's IPv4 address.

{
  "name": "@",
  "type": "A",
  "rrData": [
    "192.168.1.1"
  ],
  "ttl": 300
}

Multiple IP addresses (for load balancing):

{
  "name": "@",
  "type": "A",
  "rrData": [
    "192.168.1.1",
    "192.168.1.2"
  ],
  "ttl": 300
}

---

AAAA Record — IPv6 Address

Point your domain to a server's IPv6 address.

{
  "name": "@",
  "type": "AAAA",
  "rrData": [
    "2001:db8::1"
  ],
  "ttl": 600
}

---

CNAME Record — Alias

Point a subdomain to another domain name.

{
  "name": "www",
  "type": "CNAME",
  "rrData": [
    "myapp.vercel.app."
  ],
  "ttl": 300
}

CNAME targets must end with a trailing dot (e.g., myapp.vercel.app.).

Common uses:

• Point www to your hosting provider

• Point subdomains to cloud services (Vercel, Netlify, etc.)

---

MX Record — Email

Configure where email should be delivered.

{
  "name": "@",
  "type": "MX",
  "rrData": [
    "10 mail.example.com.",
    "20 backup-mail.example.com."
  ],
  "ttl": 3600
}

The number before the server is the priority—lower numbers are tried first.

MX record hostnames must end with a trailing dot (e.g., mail.example.com.).

---

TXT Record — Text Data

Store text data for verification, email authentication, and more.

SPF (email sender verification):

{
  "name": "@",
  "type": "TXT",
  "rrData": [
    "\"v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all\""
  ],
  "ttl": 300
}

DMARC (email policy):

{
  "name": "_dmarc",
  "type": "TXT",
  "rrData": [
    "\"v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:[e-mail]\""
  ],
  "ttl": 3600
}

Domain verification:

{
  "name": "@",
  "type": "TXT",
  "rrData": [
    "google-site-verification=abc123xyz"
  ],
  "ttl": 300
}

---

SRV Record — Service Discovery

Define the location of specific services.

{
  "name": "_http._tcp",
  "type": "SRV",
  "rrData": [
    "10 5 80 web.example.com."
  ],
  "ttl": 300
}

Format: priority weight port target

Field	Description
priority	Lower = preferred
weight	Load balancing between same priority servers
port	Service port number
target	Server hostname (must end with .)

---

CAA Record — SSL Certificate Control

Specify which Certificate Authorities can issue SSL certificates for your domain.

{
  "name": "@",
  "type": "CAA",
  "rrData": [
    "0 issue \"letsencrypt.org\"",
    "0 issuewild \"letsencrypt.org\""
  ],
  "ttl": 3600
}

Tags:

Tag	Purpose
issue	Authorize CA for regular certificates
issuewild	Authorize CA for wildcard certificates
iodef	Report violations to an email/URL

---

Complete Configuration Examples

Basic Website

Point your NFD to a web server and create a www alias:

[
  {
    "name": "@",
    "type": "A",
    "rrData": [
      "203.0.113.50"
    ],
    "ttl": 300
  },
  {
    "name": "www",
    "type": "CNAME",
    "rrData": [
      "@"
    ],
    "ttl": 300
  }
]

---

Website + Email (Google Workspace)

Host a website and receive email via Google Workspace:

[
  {
    "name": "@",
    "type": "A",
    "rrData": [
      "203.0.113.50"
    ],
    "ttl": 300
  },
  {
    "name": "www",
    "type": "CNAME",
    "rrData": [
      "@"
    ],
    "ttl": 300
  },
  {
    "name": "@",
    "type": "MX",
    "rrData": [
      "1 aspmx.l.google.com.",
      "5 alt1.aspmx.l.google.com.",
      "5 alt2.aspmx.l.google.com."
    ],
    "ttl": 3600
  },
  {
    "name": "@",
    "type": "TXT",
    "rrData": [
      "\"v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all\""
    ],
    "ttl": 300
  }
]

---

Vercel/Netlify Deployment

Point your domain to a cloud hosting platform:

[
  {
    "name": "@",
    "type": "A",
    "rrData": [
      "76.76.21.21"
    ],
    "ttl": 300
  },
  {
    "name": "www",
    "type": "CNAME",
    "rrData": [
      "cname.vercel-dns.com."
    ],
    "ttl": 300
  }
]

---

Full Professional Setup

Complete configuration with website, email, SSL, and verification:

[
  {
    "name": "@",
    "type": "A",
    "rrData": [
      "203.0.113.50"
    ],
    "ttl": 300
  },
  {
    "name": "www",
    "type": "CNAME",
    "rrData": [
      "@"
    ],
    "ttl": 300
  },
  {
    "name": "@",
    "type": "MX",
    "rrData": [
      "10 mail.protonmail.ch.",
      "20 mailsec.protonmail.ch."
    ],
    "ttl": 3600
  },
  {
    "name": "@",
    "type": "TXT",
    "rrData": [
      "\"v=spf1 include:_spf.protonmail.ch ~all\""
    ],
    "ttl": 300
  },
  {
    "name": "_dmarc",
    "type": "TXT",
    "rrData": [
      "\"v=DMARC1; p=quarantine\""
    ],
    "ttl": 3600
  },
  {
    "name": "@",
    "type": "CAA",
    "rrData": [
      "0 issue \"letsencrypt.org\"",
      "0 issuewild \"letsencrypt.org\""
    ],
    "ttl": 3600
  }
]

---

Developer Integration

You can manage DNS records on NFDs programmatically using:

• Algorand SDKs (Go, JS, Python)

• Direct JSON updates to the dns property via contract transactions

• On-chain logic to automate record updates from a contract

The records are stored in a structured format within the NFD's application state.

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Quick Reference

I want to...	Record Type	Example rrData
Point domain to IP	A	["1.2.3.4"]
Point to IPv6	AAAA	["2001:db8::1"]
Create subdomain alias	CNAME	["target.com."]
Receive email	MX	["10 mail.provider.com."]
Add verification	TXT	["verification-code"]
Email authentication	TXT	["\"v=spf1 include:... ~all\""]
Point domain to IPFS content	TXT (_dnslink.@)	["\"dnslink=/ipfs/<CID>\""]
Restrict SSL issuers	CAA	["0 issue \"letsencrypt.org\""]
Service discovery	SRV	["10 5 80 server.example.com."]