# DNS records for your domain

> Add the A or CNAME record and the _aula-challenge TXT record at your DNS provider.

When you add a [custom domain](/docs/teacher/custom-domains), the **Site** page lists the records to create, each with a type, a name and a value. You create them where your domain's DNS is managed: usually the company you bought the domain from, or Cloudflare if you moved the DNS there.

## The records [#the-records]

- **A or CNAME.** Points the domain at Aula. A bare domain such as `anateaches.com` uses an A record; a name such as `www.anateaches.com` uses a CNAME record.
- **TXT named `_aula-challenge`.** Proves the domain is yours. Its value belongs to this domain only, and adding the domain again gives a new one.
- **Other TXT records.** Some domains also show a TXT record named `_vercel`. Add it too when the page lists it.

If you also added the `www` or bare version, it has its own records, listed under it.

## Steps at any provider [#steps-at-any-provider]

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the DNS settings">
    Sign in at your DNS provider, open the domain and find its DNS records (sometimes called the DNS zone or advanced DNS).
  </Step>
  <Step title="Clear the way">
    A name can have only one CNAME record, and an old A record for the bare domain (often a parking page) keeps visitors away from your site. Delete or edit any A or CNAME record with the same name as the one Aula shows. Leave other TXT and MX records alone; your email needs them.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Add each record">
    Choose the type, then copy the name and the value from the **Site** page exactly. The name is relative to your domain, the way most providers ask for it: `www` means `www.anateaches.com`, and `@` means the bare domain. Where a provider asks you to leave the name empty for the bare domain, leave it empty instead of typing `@`.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Check the full name">
    After saving, most providers show the full name. It should read like `_aula-challenge.www.anateaches.com`. If your domain appears twice, as in `www.anateaches.com.anateaches.com`, the provider had already added it: edit the name back to what Aula shows.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Check in Aula">
    Back on the **Site** page, choose **Check now**. New records can take from a few minutes to a few hours to reach everyone, and Aula also checks by itself every few minutes. **Check now** works once every 30 seconds per domain.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What each provider calls the fields [#what-each-provider-calls-the-fields]

Menus move over time. These are the names each provider's form used when this page was written.

| Provider | Where | Name field | Value field | Bare domain |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cloudflare | DNS, Records, Add record | Name | IPv4 address (A), Target (CNAME), Content (TXT) | `@` |
| GoDaddy | Domain, DNS, Add New Record | Name | Value | `@` |
| Namecheap | Domain List, Manage, Advanced DNS, Add New Record | Host | Value | `@` |
| IONOS | Domains & SSL, DNS, Add record | Host name | Points to, or the value field for TXT | `@` |
| OVHcloud | Domain names, DNS zone, Add an entry | Subdomain | Target | Leave empty |
| Porkbun | Domain Management, DNS | Host | Answer | Leave empty |
| Squarespace Domains | DNS, DNS Settings, Custom records | Host | Data | `@` |
| Amazon Route 53 | Hosted zones, Create record | Record name | Value | Leave empty |

### Cloudflare [#cloudflare]

Set **Proxy status** to **DNS only** (the grey cloud) on the A or CNAME record. A proxied record points at Cloudflare instead of Aula, so the domain never goes live, or stops answering if it was live.

## If it does not go live [#if-it-does-not-go-live]

- **Still waiting after a few hours.** Compare each record with the **Site** page character by character, especially the TXT value, and check the full name as in the steps above.
- **Not answering after it was live.** A record was deleted or changed, often when the domain moved to another provider or a website builder took it over. Put the records back; the domain is live again at the next check.
- **Still waiting after 14 days.** Aula takes the domain off. Remove it on the **Site** page and add it again once the records are in place; the TXT value changes, so copy the new one.