What Are ALIAS Records?

An ALIAS record is a type of DNS record that points your domain name to a hostname instead of an IP address.

Important

To add and manage these records through Gandi’s interface and API, please note that your domain must be using Gandi’s LiveDNS nameservers. ALIAS records are not compatible with Gandi’s Classic nameservers (a.dns.gandi.net, b.dns.gandi,net, c.dns.gandi.net).

When do I use an ALIAS record?

You will use an ALIAS record when you want the domain itself (not a subdomain) to “point” to a hostname.

The ALIAS record is similar to a CNAME record, which is used to point subdomains to a hostname. The CNAME record only can be used for subdomains, so the ALIAS record fills this gap.

What are the requirements for an ALIAS record?

When using an ALIAS record, please note that:

  • There cannot already be an A or AAAA record on the bare domain (@).

  • An ALIAS record will break DNSSEC on the bare domain (@), because @ A and @ AAAA responses will be missing the RRSIG records, which will break resolution on all resolvers.

Can I have an example of an ALIAS record?

Here is an example:

@ 10800 IN ALIAS example.example.com.

Please note the final dot (.) at the end is necessary for the record to work correctly.