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.

---

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:[email protected]\""],
  "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.

---

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\""]
Restrict SSL issuers	CAA	["0 issue \"letsencrypt.org\""]
Service discovery	SRV	["10 5 80 server.example.com."]