DNS and domains_
Fresh answers DNS for your domains, free. You keep the domain registered where it is, point its nameservers at Fresh, and manage the records in the console. Domain registration itself is coming later.
Each account can host up to 50 domains with up to 1,000 records each. Any member of the account can add domains and change records, and every change appears in Activity.
Add your domain
- Open DNS in the top navigation.
- Under Add a domain, type the domain, for example example.com, and choose Add domain. A subdomain on its own, such as shop.example.com, works too.
- The domain's page shows the Fresh nameservers: ns1.fresh.dev and ns2.fresh.dev.
Point the domain at Fresh
At the registrar where you bought the domain, replace its nameservers with ns1.fresh.dev and ns2.fresh.dev. The change can take up to a day to be seen everywhere.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Setting up | Fresh is creating the zone (a few seconds). |
| Waiting for nameservers | Fresh answers for the domain, but the domain does not point at Fresh yet. Choose Check now after changing the registrar. |
| Active | The domain points at Fresh. Record changes are published within a minute. |
| Nameservers changed | The domain no longer points at Fresh, so the records here are not used. |
A domain that is never pointed at Fresh is removed after 14 days, so that whoever really owns it can add it. If someone else has already added your domain, contact support.
Records
Add records under Add a record: choose the type, the name (www, or @ for the domain itself) and the value. The TTL, how long resolvers may cache the answer, defaults to one hour. Edit on a record changes or deletes it; all records of the same name and type share one TTL.
| Type | Value |
|---|---|
| A | An IPv4 address, such as 203.0.113.10 |
| AAAA | An IPv6 address |
| CNAME | Another hostname. A CNAME must be the only record at its name, and cannot be at @. |
| MX | Priority and mail server, such as 10 mail.example.com |
| TXT | Any text, such as an SPF or DKIM value. Long values are fine. |
| NS | A nameserver for a subdomain you host elsewhere |
| SRV | Priority, weight, port and target, such as 10 5 5060 sip.example.com |
| CAA | Which certificate authorities may issue for the domain, such as 0 issue letsencrypt.org |
To point a domain at a managed app, add the CNAME, or A and TXT records, that the app's page shows.
Import and export a zone file
Moving from another provider: export a zone file from them and paste it under Import a zone file. Choose whether to keep the records already on Fresh or replace them. Fresh keeps its own SOA and nameserver records and lists any lines it could not import. Export zone file downloads your records in the same format.
DNSSEC
DNSSEC lets resolvers check that answers really come from Fresh.
- On the domain's page, choose Turn DNSSEC on.
- Within a minute the page shows a DS record (key tag, algorithm 13, digest type 2, digest).
- Add it at your registrar.
To turn DNSSEC off, remove the DS record at your registrar first and wait a day. Turning it off on Fresh while the registrar still has the DS record makes the domain stop resolving.
Reverse DNS for your machines
Reverse DNS (a PTR record) maps a machine's public address back to a hostname. Mail servers often need it.
- Add an A record for the hostname, for example mail.example.com → your machine's address. The domain can be hosted on Fresh or anywhere else.
- On the DNS page, under Reverse DNS, type the hostname next to the address and choose Save.
Fresh checks that the hostname resolves to the address first. Reverse DNS is removed automatically when the address leaves your account. If an address says it is not available yet, contact support.
Remove a domain
On the domain's page, under Remove domain, type the domain name to confirm. Fresh stops answering for it and deletes its records. Move the domain's nameservers elsewhere first, or it stops resolving.