Cloudflare CNAME and A record setup
How to add a CNAME, A or TXT record at Cloudflare: the host for a subdomain and the root domain (@), and how to check it's live.
These are the steps DoDomain's hosted connect flow shows a customer whose domain is managed at Cloudflare, in Cloudflare's own vocabulary. A product using DoDomain never writes them: the connect flow detects the provider, shows these steps beside the exact records to create, and verifies each record against the zone's authoritative nameservers. They are published here for your own support articles, and for anyone who wants to see the steps before they start.
Related definitions: CNAME record, A record, apex domain.
Where the records live
Cloudflare's DNS page for a domain is https://dash.cloudflare.com/?to=/:account/<your-domain>/dns. Replace <your-domain> with the domain you are editing. (The hosted connect flow opens it for you with the right domain filled in.)
How to add a CNAME or A record in Cloudflare
- Open the Cloudflare dashboard and pick your domain.
- Go to DNS → Records → Add record.
- Add each record below. For CNAME/A on a website, set Proxy status to DNS only if verification stalls.
- Save, then come back and click Verify.
What to put in the Cloudflare host field
Enter the subdomain only (e.g. www); Cloudflare appends the domain. For a record on the domain itself, enter @.
Whatever the panel calls the field (Name, Host, Hostname), DoDomain's connect flow shows the value to paste into it already in this provider's format, and shows the fully-qualified name it will verify next to it.
Worth knowing
- Proxied A/CNAME records won't show their real value on public DNS, which is expected.
Is there a one-click option at Cloudflare?
Where a DNS provider supports Domain Connect, DoDomain can apply the records after one approval screen instead of a copy and paste. Whether Cloudflare does, which of DoDomain's templates it serves and the date of the measured state are measured every night and published at Does Cloudflare support Domain Connect?. Where a template is not one-click there, the steps above apply.
Common questions
Where do I add DNS records at Cloudflare?
Cloudflare's DNS page for a domain is https://dash.cloudflare.com/?to=/:account/<your-domain>/dns. Replace <your-domain> with the domain you are editing. (The hosted connect flow opens it for you with the right domain filled in.)
What goes in the host field at Cloudflare?
Enter the subdomain only (e.g. www); Cloudflare appends the domain. For a record on the domain itself, enter @.
How do I check that a record at Cloudflare is live?
Look the name up with the free DNS lookup, which shows the authoritative answer next to what public resolvers return. DoDomain verifies against the authoritative nameservers, so a record can be correct there while resolvers still serve the old answer until its TTL expires.
Check the record is live
A saved record is not yet a live record. DoDomain verifies against the zone's authoritative nameservers, which answer as soon as the provider publishes the change; public resolvers can lag behind for as long as the old answer's TTL. The free DNS lookup shows both answers side by side for any name, and the provider detector tells you which provider serves a domain and whether a one-click path exists for it.
If you are the product asking for this record
You do not have to send customers here. Mint a connect session and the hosted flow shows these steps to your Cloudflare customers on its own, then verifies and keeps monitoring the records. See the connect flow and the framework guides for Next.js, Rails, Laravel and Django. A customer who wants their bare domain rather than a subdomain is the apex question, which no provider panel solves on its own.
Vocabulary checked against Cloudflare's own help page on 2026-09-05: https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/manage-dns-records/reference/dns-record-types/.