Add your domain’s DNS records
Your Patra panel lists the DNS records your domain needs. Some prove the domain is yours and let you send; the mail server (MX) record brings your mail to Patra when you’re ready.
On this page
Before you start
- Find where your DNS is managed. It’s often where you bought the domain, but it can be your website host or a separate DNS service. Your panel shows the DNS host it found: open Domains, then your domain.
- Can’t get into your DNS? Choose Send them these instructions. Whoever manages your DNS gets a page with your records and a Verify button, with no account needed. The link works for 14 days.
- Nothing here changes where your mail goes, except the MX record for your domain itself, which you add last. No email on this domain yet? Then you can add the MX record together with the others.
The records
Copy each record exactly as your Patra panel shows it. Open Domains in your admin console (the Patra panel), then your domain. The panel lists every record your domain needs, with its type, name and value in your DNS host’s own words, and a copy button for each. The records, and how many there are, depend on your domain, so always work from the panel.
| Record | What it does | Type and name | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signing key (DKIM) | Proves the domain is yours and signs the mail you send. Your domain is verified once it’s confirmed. | The type your panel shows. The name ends in ._domainkey | Now |
| Email policy (DMARC) | Tells other mail servers how to treat mail from your domain. Needed before you can send. | TXT, named _dmarc | Now |
| Approved senders (SPF) | Lists who may send mail as your domain. | TXT on the domain itself | Now (recommended) |
| Bounce records | Only if your panel lists them. They handle bounced mail and don’t change where your mail goes. | An MX and a TXT record named bounce | Now (recommended) |
| Outlook setup | Lets some versions of Outlook set themselves up from just an email address. | SRV, named _autodiscover._tcp | Now (recommended) |
| Mail server (MX) | Brings your mail to Patra. | MX on the domain itself | Last, when you go live |
Records under Recommended for better delivery help your mail arrive but aren’t needed for it to work.
Step by step at your DNS host
Your host has an import button? Download the zone file from your panel and import it. It leaves out the SPF record on your domain itself and the go-live MX record, so add those two by hand.
Get the details right
The name field. Most DNS hosts add your domain to the name for you, so type only the short part: _dmarc, not _dmarc.yourcompany.com. Your panel already shows names in this short form. For the domain itself, type @, or leave the field empty if your host asks you to; your panel shows which. If the checker shows your domain twice in a name, remove it from the name.
Only one SPF record. A domain can have only one SPF record (a TXT record that starts with v=spf1). If you already have one, don’t add a second. Instead, edit the one you have: copy the part of your panel’s SPF value that starts with include: and paste it just before the ~all or -all at the end. For example, v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all becomes v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:… ~all, with the include from your panel in place of include:…. Once you’ve moved, remove your old provider’s include if it no longer sends mail for you.
Only one DMARC record. If you already have a DMARC record, keep it. One is enough.
Signing key as CNAME records? Some domains show the signing key as CNAME records. If your host offers a proxy for them (often shown as a cloud icon), turn the proxy off.
TTL. Keep your host’s default.
The Outlook record. It’s an SRV record. If your host’s SRV form has separate fields (service, protocol, priority, weight, port and target), your panel shows each one separately: copy them as shown. If your host has no SRV records, skip it. Outlook can always be set up by hand.
How verification works
- Your panel checks the records while the page is open, and you can press Verify at any time.
- When the signing key is confirmed, your domain is verified and we email you. You can then add people.
- Sending opens once your email policy (DMARC) record is also in place and your account is approved. Until then, the panel says what’s missing.
- Almost there means your host already serves the record, but some DNS servers still remember the old answer. The panel says roughly when that clears.
- Most DNS hosts publish changes in a few minutes; some say to allow up to 48 hours.
Last step: go live
When your team is ready, point your MX record to Patra.
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