How to Edit DNS Records on Shopify: TXT, MX and CNAME

A service has asked you to add a TXT record or change your MX records, and you're not sure where those live or what else you might break. The first question is who holds your domain's DNS, because that decides whether you edit anything in Shopify at all.

Where Do You Edit DNS for Your Domain?

Find your row by how the domain came to your store. Shopify-managed means you bought it through Shopify or transferred it to Shopify; third-party means it stays with another provider and is only connected.

Not sure which you have? Our domains guide sets out what differs between Shopify-managed and third-party domains, stage by stage.

In Shopify adminOpen in your store

1. Settings
2. Domains

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Still unsure? Open the domain's page and read the line under its name. As of November 6, 2026, a test domain we started connecting in our development store showed Managed by Cloudflare there, and the store's myshopify.com address showed Managed by Shopify. We saw only those two states, so treat the line as a clue.

If it names another provider, go to that provider's account. If it names Shopify, look for a DNS settings section on the same page. The myshopify.com page we saw has no such section, and Shopify's DNS settings page says a store on a myshopify.com domain needs to add a custom domain before it can access DNS settings.

In Shopify adminOpen in your store

1. Settings
2. Domains
3. Your myshopify.com address

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If your domain uses custom nameservers

Your records aren't displayed on the DNS settings page: Shopify shows a Custom nameservers enabled banner instead. To manage them in your Shopify admin again, click Restore Shopify nameservers in that banner. Our separate answer covers whether a Shopify-managed domain needs Shopify's nameservers.

A third-party domain is edited at your provider

Shopify's page on third-party domains says you manage the domain, including DNS settings, renewals and billing, in your provider's account. Shopify Support can't log in to that account for you, even if you give your explicit permission.

Shopify's connection guide says to use your domain provider's default nameservers unless you manage your DNS somewhere else. If another provider, such as Cloudflare, already hosts your DNS, the record goes in there, and you don't need to move back to your registrar's default nameservers.

While you're still connecting the domain, Shopify tells you what to enter there. As of November 6, 2026, Manual setup on our test domain named Cloudflare, listed one TXT record called shopify_verification with its value, and ended with an I updated DNS records button. Copy what your own screen lists, because a different domain can need different records.

In Shopify adminOpen in your store

1. Settings
2. Domains
3. Your domain

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Once the domain is connected, values come from whichever service is asking, not from Shopify: see which record each request means.

A Safe Order for Any DNS Change

A DNS change can take a day or more to show, so this is a list you'll come back to. Tick the steps off as you go; progress is saved in this browser.

How to Add, Edit or Remove a Record in Shopify

Shopify's DNS settings page lets you access and edit six record types on a Shopify-managed domain: A, CNAME, MX, TXT, AAAA and SRV. To add a record:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Domains.
2. Click the domain that you want to configure.
3. In the DNS settings section, click Manage.
4. Click Add custom record, and then select the record type.
5. Enter the details the service gave you, and then click Confirm.

To change or delete a record, start from the same Manage page:

• To edit: click Actions > Edit for the record, change its details and click Confirm.
• To remove: click Actions > Remove for the record, and then click Remove.

The rules the record form enforces

• MX and TXT records: don't edit the name field when you add a new one.
• CNAME records: you can have several, but each one must have a unique name, such as www or shop.

Shopify's page also says this about a new CNAME record:

After you save a new CNAME, compare the record on the page with what the service asked for. If it differs, ask Shopify Support before you rely on it.

When a TXT value is too long

Enter a longer value and you get the error Value is too long (maximum is 255 characters). Shopify says you can't split it into multiple strings or add quotation marks.

Which Record Does Each Request Mean?

Find the service that asked. The last column is where the rules differ most.

Adding a TXT record to verify your domain

A verification TXT record proves you own the domain, in Google's words a unique text (TXT) record in your domain settings. Copy the whole value, including a prefix such as google-site-verification=. What you do with the record afterward depends on the service, and the rules run in opposite directions, so check that service's row in the table above.

Search Console requires a DNS record only for a Domain property, not a URL-prefix property. For a manually added record, Google says the choice between TXT and CNAME depends on how your site is configured: if its Admin Toolbox finds no CNAME record for your domain, which it calls the most common case, you follow the TXT instructions.

At a DNS provider, Search Console says to leave the Host or Name field of a TXT record blank or set it to @, as your provider's documentation describes. On a Shopify-managed domain, Shopify's rule for a new TXT record is to leave the name field alone.

Changing MX records for email

Shopify says email hosting isn't provided on Shopify, so a mailbox needs a third-party service. Our answer on getting a real inbox on your domain covers that choice.

The admin supports Zoho Mail and Google Workspace for sending from a forwarding address; any other host on a Shopify-managed domain connects through custom DNS records.

On a Shopify-managed domain, Shopify's steps for those two begin at the mail service, where you create your custom email address, verify the domain and copy the TXT code, meta tag or Zoho code it gives you. In the domain's Email forwarding section, click Switch to email hosting, select your provider, enter that code and click Save, then follow the mail service's instructions to complete the setup.

Before you add MX records, check whether you use Shopify's email forwarding on this domain. Shopify's email hosting page warns about it directly:

So decide where your forwarded addresses will go before you add the records. The values then depend on your mail host:

• Google Workspace: Google's MX instructions give smtp.google.com at Priority 1, and any account can use that value; an account that started before 2023 might have values that start with aspmx: Google says that if your email is working, no changes are required, and those values are still supported. If you see other MX records listed when you add the new value, Google's instruction is to remove them. Google says new MX records can take up to 72 hours to be recognized.
• Zoho Mail: per its delivery instructions, the MX domain ending varies with the data center that hosts your data, and if other MX entries have a lower priority number (Zoho's examples are 0 or 5), email won't be delivered to Zoho Mail. Zoho also says to ensure you have deleted all other MX records related to your previous email provider.
• Both: a trailing dot on the MX value depends on your registrar or DNS provider, so follow that provider's format.

If you can't add MX records for email forwarding on certain domain types bought through Shopify, Shopify says to contact Support.

Adding a CNAME for a subdomain

On a third-party domain, Shopify's subdomain page says to point the CNAME record for your subdomain to shops.myshopify.com, and you don't need an A record for it, even if you use it as your primary domain. Our answer on pointing a subdomain at Shopify has the full steps.

Records for sending store email

• Bought through Shopify: Shopify configures DKIM, SPF and DMARC automatically.
• Third-party domain: add every CNAME record the modal displays, because the number of records may vary. Your store must be on an active paid plan first: Shopify says adding these CNAME records isn't possible for client transfer stores, dev stores or stores on the Pause and Build plan. You don't need a separate SPF TXT record for your sender address.
• On Cloudflare, GoDaddy or IONOS: Shopify can set up your CNAME records automatically for a third-party domain, though not a DMARC record.
• DMARC: Shopify's steps use the TXT value v=DMARC1; p=none;. If you already have a DMARC record, don't add a second one, because Shopify says multiple DMARC TXT records cause DMARC validation to fail. You can update it instead, and Shopify says one that uses strict alignment (adkim=s or aspf=s) doesn't need changing.

Our answer on what DNS records Shopify Messaging needs covers this request in full.

Which Records Should You Leave Alone?

When you buy a domain through Shopify or transfer one to Shopify, the A and CNAME records are added automatically and set to Shopify's defaults. Shopify says you won't need to modify them for your store to point to your domain, and its caution says why to leave them:

An unfamiliar number in an A record isn't automatically a problem. For a third-party domain, Shopify's manual connection guide gives 23.227.38.65 for the A record and 2620:0127:f00f:5:: for the AAAA record. It adds that you might later see a different host ID, such as 23.227.38.32, depending on region, and that this is still valid.

On a Shopify-managed domain, your IP address is in the A RECORD section, in the Points to column.

Want the domain to stop pointing at your store? Shopify says you can't remove the A record of a Shopify-managed domain from the admin. To stop it pointing there immediately while keeping it in your account, park the domain.

How Long Do DNS Changes Take?

Two live Shopify pages give different upper limits that both cover a DNS change on a Shopify-managed domain. We read both on November 6, 2026.

• The DNS settings page says changes to your DNS settings can take up to 24 hours to take effect.
• The domain troubleshooting page says any update to a domain's DNS can take up to 48 hours to propagate.

You don't need to settle that to act. The troubleshooting page says to avoid additional DNS changes during propagation, because they can reset the timer and cause further delays. Treat both numbers as upper limits, not as promises, and judge the change by what a lookup tool shows, as described below.

The service that asked may give its own number, which speaks only for its own check. The table lists some of the waits stated on pages we read, including the two above:

Connecting a third-party domain rather than editing one record? Our answer on how long each kind of domain change takes covers that wait.

Check the record from outside

Shopify names two free tools for this: whatsmydns.net and DNS Checker. Enter your domain, pick the record type you changed and compare the value with the one you entered.

whatsmydns.net results for a TXT lookup of example.com

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On November 6, 2026, a TXT lookup of example.com on whatsmydns.net returned values with a green tick from some locations and a red cross with no value from others. So read the value, not only the tick. If a value is missing or differs from your settings, wait before you change anything, because Shopify's advice for a mismatch is to wait 48 hours.

How Do You Reverse a Change?

This is what your saved copy is for. Match what changed to one of these moves:

• A record you added or edited: use your copy to edit the value back or remove the record, the same way you changed it. At a third-party provider, do this in its DNS settings.
• A default A, AAAA or CNAME record: on a Shopify-managed domain, click Actions > Reset for that record. Those three types are the only ones you can reset, and each goes back to pointing to Shopify.
• Everything at once: Reset DNS settings deletes all your records except the A, AAAA and CNAME records, and it also deletes the CNAME records for any subdomains. It isn't displayed if your domain uses custom nameservers.

That last move takes your MX and TXT records with it, so use it knowingly. Our answer on whether to reset one record or all DNS settings walks through that choice. Putting a record back is also a DNS change, and Shopify says additional changes during propagation can reset the timer.

If Your Domain Shows as Not Connected After an Edit

Your domain stopped opening your store after you changed a record, or Shopify no longer treats it as connected. Start with your own edit: compare the record with your copy, and if it differs, put it back. After any fix, allow for propagation before you make more DNS changes. Shopify's troubleshooting and third-party domain pages give these checks:

• An active domain. Shopify's troubleshooting page starts with verifying that your domain is active and not expired or suspended.
• One A record and one AAAA record. Shopify's checklist asks for only one of each, and its connection guide allows only one A record and one www CNAME record on a third-party domain.
• No wildcard. There should be no wildcard record pointing at Shopify.
• DNSSEC. Shopify-managed domains don't support it. On a third-party domain, a broken DNSSEC setup means the domain isn't considered fully connected, even when all your DNS records are correct.
• Cloudflare. Cloudflare proxy setups aren't supported, so records that point to Shopify need to be set to DNS only. Other third-party proxies aren't supported either.
• CAA records on a third-party domain, if you're required to use them. Each one needs the certificate authorities letsencrypt.org, pki.goog and ssl.com; Shopify's secure connections page writes the pki.goog entry as pki.goog; cansignhttpexchanges=yes.

To see where a domain stands, look at the Status column under Settings > Domains. As of November 6, 2026, our test domain read Needs setup there, next to a myshopify.com address marked Connected. Shopify's troubleshooting page says a Needs Attention badge means there are specific issues to address.

In Shopify adminOpen in your store

1. Settings
2. Domains

Zoom

When you connect a subdomain and Shopify doesn't recognize its CNAME record, it prompts you with an I updated DNS records button, so you can run the check again after your fix. Our answer on what to check when a domain still does not connect also says what to send your domain provider.

DNSSEC needs a decision of its own on a third-party domain: see whether to turn it off or fix it.

The Bottom Line

Frequently Asked Questions