How to manage DNS records in DirectAdmin
Add, edit, and delete A, CNAME, MX, and TXT DNS records in DirectAdmin. Manage DNS for domains hosted on your DirectAdmin account when nameservers point to U...
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DirectAdmin includes a DNS management interface for editing zone records on domains whose nameservers point to UnderHost. If you use external DNS (Cloudflare, your registrar), manage DNS there instead-changes in DirectAdmin will not take effect.
When to manage DNS in DirectAdmin
Use DirectAdmin DNS Management when your domain's nameservers are set to ns01.underhost.com / ns02.underhost.com (for Canada-based hosting) or equivalent UnderHost nameservers for your server location.
If your domain's nameservers point anywhere else (Cloudflare, GoDaddy, etc.), DNS changes must be made at that provider. DirectAdmin DNS changes will be ignored.
Open DNS Management
- Log in to DirectAdmin
- Go to Domain Setup → DNS Management (or Advanced Features → DNS Management)
- Select the domain you want to edit from the dropdown
The DNS records for that domain are displayed. Scroll through the list to see all current records.
Add a DNS record
- In DNS Management, scroll to the section for the record type you want to add (A Records, CNAME Records, MX Records, or TXT Records)
- Fill in the record name and value fields
- Click Add
The record is saved to the zone immediately. Propagation to external resolvers takes minutes to 48 hours.
Common records reference
| Purpose | Type | Name | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Point domain to this server | A | @ or blank | Your server IP |
| Point www subdomain | A or CNAME | www | Server IP or yourdomain.com |
| Point subdomain to server | A | shop | Server IP |
| Alias to external service | CNAME | mail | mail.google.com |
| Email routing (MX) | MX | @ | Mail server hostname, priority 10 |
| SPF record | TXT | @ | v=spf1 include:spf.underhost.com ~all |
| Domain verification (Google) | TXT | @ | Paste the verification string from Google |
| DKIM key | TXT | default._domainkey | DKIM public key value |
Edit or delete records
To edit a record: find it in the list, update the value in the field next to it, and click Save. To delete: click the Delete checkbox next to the record and save.
The default zone includes essential records for your website and email. Deleting the root A record takes your site offline. Deleting MX records stops email delivery. Only add or modify records you specifically need to change.
DNS propagation
DNS changes in DirectAdmin take effect on the UnderHost servers immediately. However, DNS resolvers around the world cache old values for the TTL period (typically 1–4 hours). Full global propagation can take up to 48 hours in rare cases.
See DNS propagation explained to see current DNS values across global resolvers and understand propagation in detail.
Related: DirectAdmin domains | Configure DNS | DNS propagation | cPanel Zone Editor
Need DirectAdmin hosting?
DirectAdmin is available for customers who want a lightweight hosting control panel on compatible UnderHost services.
