Porkbun DNS Setup How to Configure Your Domain Records Correctly

Porkbun has quietly become one of the most developer-friendly domain registrars around, offering competitive pricing and a clean control panel — but if you're staring at the DNS management page for the first time trying to point your domain at a web host, an email provider, or a CDN, it can feel overwhelming. This guide cuts through the noise and shows you exactly how to configure your Porkbun DNS records, whether you're setting up a brand-new site or migrating an existing domain.

Understanding How Porkbun DNS Works

When you register a domain through Porkbun, it automatically assigns the domain to Porkbun's own nameservers: curitiba.ns.porkbun.com, fortaleza.ns.porkbun.com, maceio.ns.porkbun.com, and salvador.ns.porkbun.com. As long as your domain is pointing at these nameservers, you can manage all DNS records directly inside the Porkbun control panel. The moment you switch to external nameservers (like Cloudflare's), Porkbun's DNS editor becomes irrelevant — changes must be made at wherever the authoritative nameservers live.

Porkbun's DNS interface supports all the common record types: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, SRV, CAA, ALIAS/ANAME, and NS. Their TTL default is 600 seconds (10 minutes), which is reasonable for most setups.

Accessing the Porkbun DNS Editor

1. Log in at porkbun.com and go to your Account dashboard.
2. Click Domain Management in the left sidebar.
3. Find your domain in the list and click the Details arrow to expand it.
4. Click the DNS button (it looks like a small globe icon). This opens the DNS record editor for that domain.

You'll see two sections: existing records at the top (Porkbun pre-populates a few default records) and the record creation form at the bottom. The default records usually include a placeholder A record pointing to a Porkbun parking page — delete those before adding your own.

Setting Up an A Record to Point to Your Web Host

An A record maps your domain (or a subdomain) to an IPv4 address. This is the most common first step when connecting a domain to a hosting provider like SiteGround, Namecheap Hosting, or a VPS.

1. In the DNS editor, set Type to A.
2. Leave the Host field blank (or type @) to apply the record to the root domain (example.com).
3. In the Answer / Value field, enter your server's IPv4 address (e.g., 123.456.78.90). Get this from your hosting control panel.
4. Leave TTL at 600 unless your host specifies otherwise.
5. Click Add.

Repeat the process with the Host field set to www so that both example.com and www.example.com resolve to your server. Alternatively, add a CNAME record for www pointing to @ (covered below).

Adding a CNAME Record

CNAME records alias one hostname to another. They're commonly used for www subdomains, third-party services like Shopify or GitHub Pages, and verifying ownership with Google Search Console.

1. Set Type to CNAME.
2. In Host, type the subdomain — for example, www or shop.
3. In Answer, enter the target hostname ending with a dot, e.g., stores.myshopify.com. (the trailing dot is optional in Porkbun's editor but good practice).
4. Click Add.

Important: You cannot have a CNAME on the root domain (@) alongside other records. If your hosting provider requires you to CNAME the root, use Porkbun's ALIAS record type instead — it behaves like a CNAME but is valid at the zone apex.

Configuring MX Records for Email

If you're using Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho Mail, or any other third-party email provider, you need MX records. Porkbun's DNS editor makes this straightforward.

1. Delete any existing MX records that Porkbun may have set by default.
2. Set Type to MX.
3. Leave Host blank (root domain).
4. In Answer, enter the mail server hostname provided by your email provider (e.g., aspmx.l.google.com.).
5. In the Priority field, enter the priority number (e.g., 1 for Google's primary MX).
6. Click Add, then repeat for each MX record your provider lists.

Adding TXT Records (SPF, DKIM, Domain Verification)

TXT records serve multiple purposes: email authentication (SPF and DKIM), domain ownership verification for Google, Microsoft, and others, and DMARC policy publishing. Here's how to add one:

1. Set Type to TXT.
2. In Host, enter @ for a root domain TXT record, or a subdomain like _dmarc for DMARC.
3. In Answer, paste the full TXT string provided by your service (include quotes if they appear in the value — Porkbun handles them automatically).
4. Click Add.

For DKIM, your email provider will give you a specific subdomain host (like google._domainkey) and a long TXT value. Enter these exactly as given. Learn more about DNS record types and their role in email authentication at Cloudflare's DNS learning center.

Using Custom Nameservers Instead of Porkbun DNS

Some workflows — particularly when using Cloudflare for CDN and security, or when a hosting provider manages your DNS — require pointing your domain to external nameservers. Here's how:

1. In Domain Management, expand your domain and click Authoritative Nameservers.
2. Click Edit.
3. Replace the four Porkbun nameservers with the ones from your external provider (e.g., Cloudflare gives you two, like alice.ns.cloudflare.com and bob.ns.cloudflare.com).
4. Click Update.

Warning: Once you do this, Porkbun's DNS editor no longer controls your domain. All record changes must be made at the external provider. Nameserver changes can take 24–48 hours to propagate fully, though many registrars complete the update within a few hours.

Verifying Your DNS Records Are Working

After adding records, don't just refresh your browser and hope for the best. Use proper DNS verification tools:

• dig (Linux/macOS): The gold standard for DNS lookups.
• nslookup (Windows/macOS): Built into most operating systems.
• Online tools: Use the DNS Lookup tool on this site to query any record type from multiple global resolvers simultaneously.

If the record shows up when querying Porkbun's nameserver directly but not from your local machine, the change has been made but hasn't propagated to your ISP's resolver cache yet — give it time.

Common Porkbun DNS Problems and Fixes

"My site still shows the Porkbun parking page"

This almost always means you forgot to delete the default A records Porkbun adds when a domain is registered. Go back to the DNS editor, find any A records pointing to 170.51.123.1 (Porkbun's placeholder IP) or similar, and delete them. Then add your own A record pointing to your actual server IP.

"I added records but nothing changed after an hour"

Check whether your nameservers are still Porkbun's. If you recently changed nameservers from Porkbun to something else (or vice versa), the old records may be cached. Use dig +trace example.com to follow the delegation chain and confirm which nameservers are actually authoritative right now.

"I can't add a CNAME to my root domain"

This is a DNS specification limitation (RFC 1035 prohibits CNAMEs at the zone apex when other records exist). Use Porkbun's ALIAS record type for root-domain aliasing — it resolves the CNAME target to an IP internally and returns an A record to clients.

"My MX records were added but email isn't working"

Double-check that you haven't left old MX records in place pointing to Porkbun's mail servers. Only the records your email provider specifies should be present. Also verify your SPF TXT record exists — many email providers reject delivery without it.

Porkbun DNS Best Practices

• Lower TTL before making changes: If you know you're going to migrate hosting, drop your TTL to 300 seconds (5 minutes) a day before. This means DNS caches expire faster and your cutover is quicker.
• Document your records: Before changing anything, screenshot or export your current DNS records. Porkbun doesn't offer bulk export natively, but you can query them all with dig AXFR if zone transfers are enabled.
• Use ALIAS over CNAME at root: Always use Porkbun's ALIAS type for root-domain aliasing to avoid DNS spec violations.
• Set DMARC early: Even a permissive DMARC record (p=none) helps you gather reports and catch spoofing attempts before they become a problem.
• Don't mix nameserver control: Pick either Porkbun DNS or an external provider — never try to manage records in both places simultaneously.

When to Use Cloudflare in Front of Porkbun

Porkbun's nameservers are reliable for straightforward setups, but if you need DDoS protection, WAF, caching, or advanced DNS features like load balancing, consider adding Cloudflare's free plan. You'd change Porkbun's nameservers to Cloudflare's, then manage all DNS records inside Cloudflare's dashboard. Your domain registration stays at Porkbun — you're only delegating DNS authority to Cloudflare. This is a common and solid setup for production websites.