Routing & ResolutionProvider-specific (RFC Draft)
ALIAS Record — ALIAS / ANAME Record (Virtual Apex CNAME)
A virtual DNS record that allows CNAME-like behavior at the root domain apex without violating RFC 1035.
RECORD TYPE
ALIAS
STANDARD RFC
Provider-specific (RFC Draft)
DEFAULT TTL
300 seconds (5 minutes)
CATEGORY
Routing & Resolution
BIND Zone File Syntax Example
example.com. 300 IN ALIAS my-app.vercel.app.How to Query & Check ALIAS Records
Linux / Mac (dig)
dig +short A example.com # Resolves dynamically to target IPWindows / Generic (nslookup)
nslookup -type=A example.comPowerShell (Resolve-DnsName)
Resolve-DnsName -Name example.com -Type ARecommended Best Practices
Use ALIAS or CNAME Flattening whenever hosting an apex domain on modern cloud serverless platforms.
Primary Use Cases:
- •Pointing an apex domain (`example.com`) to AWS Elastic Load Balancers, Vercel, or Heroku without breaking MX records
- •Automatic IP tracking for cloud services that do not provide static IP addresses
Common Configuration Mistake
Looking for an "ALIAS" query type in dig; ALIAS records are synthesized by nameservers and always respond as A or AAAA.
Always verify records using authoritative queries (`dig @1.1.1.1 $ALIAS example.com`) to bypass local ISP caching when debugging propagation delays.
Frequently Asked Questions
DNS ALIAS Record Questions & Answers
Common questions regarding DNS propagation, TTL settings, and zone file syntax.
ALIAS (or ANAME) is implemented at the authoritative DNS provider level (Cloudflare, AWS Route 53, DNSimple). When queried, the DNS server resolves the target hostname and dynamically returns the IP address as an A or AAAA record.