Add Email for a Domain Whose DNS Is Elsewhere
Your domain doesn't have to be on CDNShark DNS. If its DNS is at your registrar or another provider, prove you own it and add the mail records there.
1. Add the domain
- Open Email and click Add external domain (you need a plan first: Buy Mailbox Seats).
- Enter the domain and choose the Plan / tier.
- Click Add & get TXT record.
If the domain is already a CDNShark CDN domain, you're asked to use Enable Email on Your CDNShark Domain instead, which sets up DNS automatically.
2. Prove you own it
The domain shows unverified with a record to add at your DNS provider:
| Type | Host / Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
| TXT | @ (or your domain name) | cdnshark-verify=… (copy it from the panel) |
Add it, wait a few minutes, then click Verify. If it says the record wasn't found, DNS hasn't caught up yet: check the record and try again later.
3. Add the mail records
Once verified, the DNS tab lists the records to add at your provider: MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC. There's a BIND9 format button to copy them all as a zone-file snippet, if your provider can import one. What each record does: Email DNS Records Explained.
- You can create mailboxes straight away. Delivery starts once your MX records point at CDNShark.
- Remove your old provider's MX records, and combine SPF into a single record (a domain may only have one).
- Long DKIM values: some providers need them pasted as one line, others accept the split version. Paste exactly what the panel shows.
We don't check these records after verification, so if mail doesn't arrive, double-check them at your provider. See Troubleshooting Email.