Manage Authoritative DNS Records in DirectAdmin

DirectAdmin DNS Management edits the zone maintained by that installation. It changes public answers only when those nameservers are authoritative for the domain or the documented external-DNS integration publishes the change. A domain appearing in a hosting panel does not establish that authority.

Check the zone before editing

Identify the domain’s delegated nameservers, record the current zone and confirm the exact owner name, type and existing values. Keep a private export or before-state and a rollback plan. DNS can contain verification tokens and mail-authentication data; do not post a full zone publicly when asking for help.

Add or change a record

1. Enter the verified HTTPS DirectAdmin account, select the intended domain and open DNS Management. Menu grouping varies by skin and account privileges.
2. Select the required record type and supply its correct data: A uses IPv4, AAAA uses IPv6, CNAME an alias target, TXT text and MX a preference plus mail-server hostname.
3. Check how the form handles relative names and fully qualified names. In zone-file notation a trailing dot makes a name absolute; inspect the effective saved name rather than accidentally creating a doubled domain.
4. Set a deliberate TTL and save. Existing cached answers retain their earlier TTL; a save is not worldwide immediate replacement.
5. For edits, use the installed interface’s supported edit procedure and confirm the exact resulting record set. Do not silently add another conflicting value instead of replacing the intended one.

MX and record deletion need extra care

MX targets are hostnames, not raw IP addresses, and lower preference numbers are tried first. The target needs appropriate address records. Check local mail-delivery settings separately when moving mail to another provider; DNS and mailbox routing are distinct controls.

To remove a record, select only the intended row and confirm. Do not delete a domain’s whole zone, delegation or mail-authentication set to repair one address. Changing an NS record inside the zone is not necessarily a registrar delegation change. PTR records are usually managed by the IP’s reverse-DNS authority, not this forward zone.

Verify authoritative and cached answers

Query the actual authoritative nameservers for the precise name/type, then compare a recursive resolver and test the affected service. If authoritative servers disagree, investigate publication/replication rather than waiting a fixed day. Preserve unrelated records and request account-specific help through a support ticket.

Reference: DirectAdmin DNS records, TTL and record formats.

Reviewed October 15, 2026. Documentation review only; no DirectAdmin zone, customer DNS or live mail route was changed.