A domain such as example.com is the name people use to open your website or application; DNS translates it into the technical target. An A record points to an IPv4 address, and a CNAME record points to another hostname. Which records your project needs, and with which values, MainPath determines from your project configuration; you only enter them at your domain provider.
From the domain to a reachable project
- If you do not have a domain yet, buy one from a registrar that lets you edit the DNS zone yourself; what that means is described under Buy a domain.
- Enter the domain when creating or editing your project, for example as the prod domain of your browser app or homepage.
- Open Domains in the sidebar. The detail view of a domain shows the expected records with type, host, and target value.
- Copy these values into the DNS management of your domain provider, as described under Configure DNS.
How MainPath derives and checks the records
MainPath derives the expected values from the assigned server and the components that should receive a domain. It then continuously compares the actual DNS values with the expected ones. As soon as they match, a check mark appears in the Status column; if it is missing, at least one record differs, or the change has not yet propagated through DNS. There is nothing to confirm or trigger.
If the domain is at a connected DNS provider
Once a DNS connection is stored under Connections (Cloudflare, IONOS, united-domains, GoDaddy, Hetzner DNS, Hostinger DNS, DigitalOcean, or Gandi), MainPath writes the A and CNAME records into your zone itself and aligns them every time you save the project. The steps are under Set DNS with Cloudflare, Set DNS with IONOS, Set DNS with united-domains, Set DNS with GoDaddy, Set DNS with Hetzner, Set DNS with Hostinger, Set DNS with DigitalOcean, and Set DNS with Gandi.