Is DigitalOcean your DNS host?
If the domain's nameservers are ns1.digitalocean.com, ns2.digitalocean.com and ns3.digitalocean.com, yes. DigitalOcean does not sell domains, so they are set at the registrar where you bought it; adding a domain to DigitalOcean does not change them, and until they are changed, records added at DigitalOcean are answered by nobody. If the nameservers name another company, that host's guide is the one to follow.
Where the records go
- Sign in at cloud.digitalocean.com.
- Open Networking in the main menu, then Domains, then the domain.
- The form for a new record sits above the list, with one tab per record type. Choose the tab, fill in its fields, and press Create Record.
What DigitalOcean calls each field
DigitalOcean names the value field after the record type, so each of the three tabs used here looks like a different form. It is the same field.
| On imado | On DigitalOcean | What to put |
|---|---|---|
| Type | The record type's tab | Choose the tab — TXT, CNAME or MX — before filling anything in; the form is different on each. |
| Host | Hostname | Only the part before your domain — DigitalOcean adds .example.com itself. For the MX record it is @, which means the domain itself. |
| Value | TXT Value / Is an alias of / Mail providers mail server | One field under three names: TXT Value on a TXT record, Is an alias of on a CNAME, Mail providers mail server on the MX. Exactly as shown, without quotes. |
| Priority | Priority | On the MX tab, beside the mail server. 10. |
| — | TTL | Leave it at DigitalOcean's default. |
What to put for the domain itself
One record — the MX record, the one that makes mail arrive — belongs to the domain itself rather than to anything in front of it. Every DNS panel has its own way of saying that, and instructions written for a different one are the usual reason a correct-looking MX record receives nothing.
On DigitalOcean, type @. DigitalOcean's own guide says to enter the @ symbol for a record on the domain itself, and for the MX record in particular.
Do not type the domain in full. DigitalOcean appends your domain to whatever is in Hostname, so example.com there becomes example.com.example.com, a name nothing queries.
The other five records all have something in front of the domain — _imado-challenge, _dmarc, the three _domainkey names — and those go in Hostname exactly as shown, with no domain after them.
Add the six records
First the ownership record; then, once imado shows it as Added, the other five. Each is the right tab, the fields, and Create Record.
| The record type's tab | Hostname | TXT Value / Is an alias of / Mail providers mail server | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| TXT | _imado-challenge | imado-verification=… | — |
| CNAME | …._domainkey | ….dkim.amazonses.com | — |
| CNAME | …._domainkey | ….dkim.amazonses.com | — |
| CNAME | …._domainkey | ….dkim.amazonses.com | — |
| MX | @ | inbound-smtp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com | 10 |
| TXT | _dmarc | v=DMARC1; p=none; | — |
DigitalOcean adds the dot that ends a full name to the CNAME and MX values itself when it saves them, so the values go in exactly as imado shows them. Once saved, the record in the list should read the value followed by a single dot — inbound-smtp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com. — and never followed by your own domain.
What gets in the way
- Nameservers still at the registrar. A domain is added to DigitalOcean with a full set of records and no warning that the registrar still points somewhere else. Change the nameservers at the registrar to DigitalOcean's three; DigitalOcean says the change takes from half an hour to several hours to be seen.
- DNSSEC at the registrar. DigitalOcean does not sign zones, and a domain with DNSSEC switched on at its registrar cannot use DigitalOcean's nameservers — the answers fail validation and are thrown away. Turn DNSSEC off at the registrar first.
- The DigitalOcean API. If you add the records with
doctlor the API rather than the control panel, the CNAME and MX values must end in a dot —inbound-smtp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com.— or the API refuses them. The control panel adds it for you.
Then, on imado
Back on your domain's page, press Check again. A new record is usually seen within minutes of being saved. When the ownership record is Added, the other records appear; when those are, create the mailbox and send yourself a message — steps 5 and 6 of the setup.
DigitalOcean's own guides cover managing records and pointing a registrar at its nameservers.
