Cloudflare DNS Setup Guide

This guide explains how to configure your DNS records in Cloudflare for common scenarios like hosting on GitHub Pages or completely disabling email delivery.

1. Hosting on GitHub Pages

To point your domain to GitHub Pages, you need to add both A records (for IPv4) and AAAA records (for IPv6).

A Records (IPv4 addresses)

Add these four records to point your domain to GitHub’s servers.

Type: A
Name: @ (or your domain name)
Proxy Status: DNS Only (Gray cloud)

Type	Name	Content	Proxy Status
A	@	185.199.108.153	DNS Only
A	@	185.199.109.153	DNS Only
A	@	185.199.110.153	DNS Only
A	@	185.199.111.153	DNS Only

AAAA Records (IPv6 addresses)

These ensure your site is reachable via modern IPv6 connections.

Type: AAAA
Name: @
Proxy Status: DNS Only (Gray cloud)

Type	Name	Content	Proxy Status
AAAA	@	2606:50c0:8000::153	DNS Only
AAAA	@	2606:50c0:8001::153	DNS Only
AAAA	@	2606:50c0:8002::153	DNS Only
AAAA	@	2606:50c0:8003::153	DNS Only

2. Disabling Email (Null MX & Security)

If you do not use email on this domain and want to tell the world “do not send email here,” use these settings. This will cause any emails sent to the domain to “bounce” back as undeliverable.

The “Null” MX Record

This tells mail servers that there is no mail server here.

Type: MX
Name: @
Mail Server: . (just a single period)
Priority: 0

Security Records (SPF & DMARC)

These records prevent scammers from pretending to be you.

SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

Type: TXT
Name: @
Content: v=spf1 -all
Interpretation: “No server is authorized to send email for me.”

DMARC

Type: TXT
Name: _dmarc
Content: v=DMARC1; p=reject; sp=reject; adkim=s; aspf=s;
Interpretation: “If you get an email claiming to be from me, reject it immediately.”

3. Cloudflare “Proxied” A Record

If you want to use Cloudflare’s security features (DDoS protection, CDN, etc.), you “Proxy” the record.

Type: A
Name: @ (or a subdomain like web)
IPv4 Address: 192.0.2.1
Proxy Status: Proxied (Orange cloud)

4. System Records (Information Only)

You generally do not need to edit these manually in Cloudflare, but they are good to know:

Nameservers: These tell the internet that Cloudflare is “in charge” of your DNS.
- michael.ns.cloudflare.com
- samara.ns.cloudflare.com
SOA (Start of Authority): This is a master record that contains administrative info about your DNS zone. Cloudflare manages this automatically.

Pro-Tips for Novices

The ”@” Symbol: In DNS settings, typing @ is just a shortcut for “my main domain” (e.g., example.com).
TTL (Time to Live): Set this to Auto unless you have a specific reason to change it.
The Cloud Icon: * Orange Cloud: Traffic goes through Cloudflare (Security + Speed).
- Gray Cloud: Traffic goes directly to your server (Standard DNS).