Help & FAQ

Plain-language answers for managing DNS on your Avian name.

What is DNS?

DNS (Domain Name System) is the phonebook of the internet - it maps a hostname like bob.avn.zone to the actual server that should answer for it. When someone visits your site, their browser looks up the DNS record you created here to find where to connect.

Owning a name vs. managing DNS

Owning a single Avian name (like bob.avn) gives you full control over everything under its zone. You don't need to separately register www, test, api, or any other hostname - once you own the base name, you can add or remove records for any hostname beneath it at any time.

Record types

The three record types you can create here, and when to use each.

A record

Points a hostname at an IPv4 address (e.g. 203.0.113.20). Use this if your host gives you a plain numeric IP address to point at.

AAAA record

The same idea as an A record, but for an IPv6 address (e.g. 2001:db8::1) instead of an IPv4 one. Only use this if your host specifically gave you an IPv6 address.

CNAME record

Points a hostname at another hostname instead of an IP address - e.g. pointing www at your-site.github.io. Most hosting providers (GitHub Pages, Vercel, Netlify) give you a hostname to use as a CNAME target. A hostname can have A/AAAA records or a single CNAME, but never both at once.

Getting an SSL certificate (HTTPS)

What the "Add SSL Challenge" button and TXT records are for.

To get a free SSL certificate (so your site shows the padlock/https), certificate authorities like Let's Encrypt need proof that you actually control the domain. Tools like Certbot do this with a "DNS-01 challenge": they ask you to publish a specific, random text value in a TXT record under _acme-challenge, then check that it's there.

The "Add SSL Challenge" button creates that TXT record for you - paste in the value your ACME client (Certbot, etc.) gives you, save, and let the client continue. These records are temporary and expire automatically; you don't need to remember to clean them up.

Why do changes take a moment to appear?

Every record here has a 300-second (5 minute) TTL ("time to live") - that's how long other DNS servers around the internet are allowed to cache your old answer before checking again. After saving a change, it can take up to five minutes to be visible everywhere.

Who can change my records?

Only the current on-chain owner of a Avian name can manage its DNS here - every write is checked against live Avian ownership first. If the name is ever transferred to a new owner, the previous owner's records are disabled automatically and the new owner starts with a clean slate.